Chris Meledandri Quotes

I know 'Dabangg' has some pre-requisites. Every film has some requisites that you have to fulfill. I sat down with my writer and discussed what as an audience I want to see in the second part of the film. We worked towards that and we hope what we thought connects with the audience.

When I was doing 'Baahubali 2,' the story was being discussed with many people. The story evolved over 9-10 months in that way.

It's a risk, but I'm sort of ready to let go of thinking of movies as books that you can watch. The notion of, 'If I put the narrative blocks in the right order, this will solve all of my storytelling problems.' No, it won't, and you end up with little more than books on film.

'Baby Boy' is one of my favourite films, and Tyrese keeps telling everybody we're going to make a sequel. I mean, we have a story right now but we don't know where we're going to take it.

I think sometimes with new characters, you can kind of hit a creative valley, and it's important to recognize when you're in that valley so you can get back out and get back to that peak.

I'm not a purist - I like films that are narrated and films that aren't, films that are beautiful and films that are clumsy but heartfelt. Mostly, I just like a good story and good characters.

When I read both pilots for 'Breaking Bad' and the 'Michael J. Fox Show,' I turned to my husband in real life, and I'm like, 'That is an amazing script.'

No I don't really write thinking about specific actors because it can get in the way a little bit.

For each movie that I do, I like to find a specific language to tell the specific story.

My low-budget films, more than anything, taught me that you've got to create cool, likable characters and great stories because, if you don't, it doesn't matter how cool it might look - no one is going to care about it.

Everything starts with what's on the page, what a writer has come up with. And whether it is a big studio film or independent film, is the story being well told? Is it interesting? Is the character interesting? And is there something about the character that may stretch me?

There will be a 'Guardians 3,' that's for sure. We're trying to figure it out. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. Really, that's all it is.

Whenever you write script without a director, you put in things that point toward a style in which the story will be told, a subjective style.

Lots of times when I'm offered things, I can't see how a story gets filmed. Either it's too internal or it doesn't have a strong spine.

A funny thing about film is that it's the only medium where people say there are really rules that you have to stick to. Nobody says to the writer - in a film you've got to have three acts - there's a character arc you have to do - there's no reason that's true.

I think every character is important in every film - be it small, primary, or lead - because they are adding something to the story, taking it forward.

Normally my films have a single thread of an emotion, an insight or one single belief, and then I turn the entire story and build it around that.

Anyone who's been reading my stuff can see that there's a lot of tracks being laid for future stories.

I'm open to do a Filipino drama if I like the role or if the plot is attractive to me.

'Main Hoon Na' will always be special since it was my first film but in my subsequent films, I was trying to show off with gimmicks that didn't aid the narrative in any way.

When you're writing for a show, you're writing part of the script. You have to tell the story.

To be honest, I have never thought about the intricacies of a script.

It doesn't matter how big the film is - if the story is not good, it will not be accepted. Stardom can maybe pull audiences to theatres but beyond that it is all about content.

Even though the 'Shooter' character on TV is so close to the real-life me, I'm still playing with ways to creatively portray that character.

You have to look for story. That's obvious. If that's not on the page, you can forget it. But I also read whatever character I'm being offered. And if you can cut them out without it affecting the story, then I say no straight away.