Mitchell Hurwitz Quotes

All I know is, I'm trying to do things that are a little different whenever I can.

When I've tried to reinvent the wheel, I get bashed for not doing the familiar things.

Every film has to be the next something else; originality isn't celebrated because you can't market it.

If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.

Since I was in my early twenties, at ABC, I was always only interested in things that were not already being done.

Don't hold back in your writing. Take risks. Go ahead and tackle that crazy idea that you think will never fly, because that may be the one that makes you stand out from the crowd. Keep pushing the envelope.

Originality is dangerous.

I feel every day that everything I create - everything I do - I want it to be a risk. I think when you take the big swings - and I've done plenty of big swings that I was told were never going to work - those are always the things that break through.

Why do something that's already been done?

No, I would never in a million years compare anything we've done to anything we've previously done. I don't believe in it - I think it's bad.

Whatever you do, don't play it safe. Don't do things the way they've always been done. Don't try to fit the system. If you do what's expected of you, you'll never accomplish more than others expect.

Pure innovation is more gross than error.

You know that I'm always a proponent of doing things differently.

Our biggest goal is to continue to force ourselves to always start our creative work on a white page and not take advantage of past successes and challenging ourselves.

Basically, everything I try to do is to present an alternative to what somebody else is doing.

The cable makers are the ones who are willing to take risks and do something original and push the envelope some.

What really excites me in a project is when it goes in a way you haven't been before.

Everyone is trying to do something that hasn't been done and that's a really good thing. You can only do so much with a story and some scripts don't give you the opportunities and other scripts do give you the opportunities to do things that haven't been done before.

Tradition is the great misleader because it's too easy to follow what has already been done - even though you may think you're giving it a kick. I was really trying to invent, instead of merely expressing myself.

You can't reinvent the wheel. I remember when we first started out at 'Late Night,' we were trying to hire directors, and this guy was like, 'I see you behind a glass desk.' I don't. And he's like, 'Yeah, the glass desk.' I go, 'I don't really see me as a glass desk guy.'

You want to stand out and be unique and do something different. I always try to zig when they zag - I guess it's a football term, but it applies to a lot of different areas of life.

Nintendo's philosophy is never to go the easy path; it's always to challenge ourselves and try to do something new.

Well, when you're trying to create things that are new, you have to be prepared to be on the edge of risk.

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.

If the idea is really new and unique and big, other people will all think it is bad and is going to fail.