Nahnatchka Khan Quotes

When it comes to storytelling, not taking risks is riskier than swinging for the fences. I have very simple ambitions when it comes to taking risks in storytelling and programming. I try very hard to avoid the expected.

We all feel that if we have a crazy idea that might get laughed at, there's nothing wrong with seeing if there's a crazy writer out there who agrees with us and can take it to a crazy network and somehow bring something that's a little bit daft and edgy to life.

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.

I praise CBS for taking a risk, which is always the price you pay for opportunity. This is not standard movie of the week storytelling. I think movies of the week have fallen into a niche and that isn't my niche.

If we have a great idea, we'll go, 'Oh, this could be a cool movie.' Or really for us, it's more like, 'Oh, this is a really bad idea. Let's do this. This seems really stupid.'

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

You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.

When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts.

I think that if you've got 5 million people that enjoy drama and invest in characters, you must take the time to not worry about your job and getting sacked and just go for it and hit it again.

I have a real interest in pushing some of the limits of things that studios don't want to make.

I feel every day that everything I create - everything I do - I want it to be a risk.

When I took on 'Fargo,' I thought, 'Well, this is just a terrible idea. Four people will watch it, and they'll hate-watch.' But that allowed me to just go for it and take the risks.

I think it's very dangerous as an artist to be comfortable.

I don't think I take risks. People think I do, but I don't. In fact, I think conventional-formula filmmakers take more risks than me.

I believe in taking big risks. If you encourage new people, they want to prove themselves. They give their best. This is not possible with established stars, who treat their job casually most of the time.

I've never been averse to a little risk - after all, writing without risk is not really writing at all. Sometimes one has to just let fly with a high concept piece and see where the pieces fall. As it generally turns out, the central story is familiar, but just with different rules of engagement.

I don't want to just make the safe, easy commercial films.

You have to be slightly uncomfortable with what you're doing, and you have to be able to try to find moments of newness.

People are fed up of formula films, and we are getting new space to experiment.

Being associated with songs that push boundaries is amazing. If the rest of my career consists of a majority of songs that are experimental, I'll be a happy man.

I remember on my very first film, which Steven Soderberg executive-produced, he said, 'Try not to repeat yourself. Do things that scare you.' Even if it's a challenge, I want people to say that this guy tried this thing. Hopefully he learned from it.

Playing it safe isn't fun; you have to take a chance.

It never occurred to me that artists, of all people, have to be reminded that instinct is more important than tradition, but in our industry, people seem to forget that sometimes.

You may confuse a lot of people when going against the grain of conventional thinking, and that's perfectly okay. As an entrepreneur, standing up for your vision to your family and friends might possibly be the best practice you will get for the life that awaits you.

I don't want to play safe, because there are a lot of people who are playing it safe, and I don't want to be one of them.