Michael Arndt Quotes

It's fun to improvise, but I still think it's better to have a great script, you know, like a Charlie Kaufman script.

My preference is for good writing. It doesn't matter if it's for film or TV. Whatever. It starts with the writing. Even though I've had problems with writers, it doesn't matter how great of an actor you are. If the writing is bad, you're going to struggle.

If you have a great script and great dialogue, you don't need to improvise.

I get a script and it's really interesting with scripts, because you never really know. It's paper and it could be great or awful. Even scripts that are good could end up not working.

Good scripts are hard to find.

I wouldn't know a good script if it bit me in the face.

I'm teaching myself how to screenplay write.

'King of California' was just, I thought, a really great, fresh, original kind of script. I loved the tone, the mix of tragedy, comedy, and drama, and that it was a good part.

All the writing elements are the same. You need to tell a good story... You've got good characters... People think there's some dramatic difference between writing 'Little Bear' and the 'Hunger Games,' and as a writer, for me, there isn't.

I'm not very good at story. In fact, compared to character and language, I barely care about story at all.

I think the script is the key. Regardless of how great everybody else is working on a film, if you're working on a script that you don't think is great, you're not gonna be able to make a great film. Whereas if the script is great, then you can.

If you get a script and it's really well written, that's always exciting.

Once, I optioned a novel and tried to do a screenplay on it, which was great fun, but I was too respectful. I was only 100 pages into the novel and I had about 90 pages of movie script going. I realized I had a lot to learn.

I studied screenwriting at film school and was constantly learning how to construct three-act dramas.

There are a lot of good stories out there, but I haven't found too many great scripts.

I'm just a sucker for a good script.

When you say the name Gilligan, you know who that is. If a show is good, if it's written well, you should be able to erase the names of the characters saying the lines and still be able to know who said it. If you can't do that, the show will fail.

When I wrote 'Kidulthood,' I didn't even know there was going to be a 'Kidulthood.' I just wanted to test myself to see if I could write a script.

I know a lot of people in the business recommend the many Story Structure seminars being offered here, but I point to them as the single biggest contributor to lousy scripts.

The kind of scripts I have read for web shows have been outstanding.

I never set out to write a script that is 'topical.'

A good script can come from anywhere.

How can you turn down Marks and Gran? Their scripts are so rich in texture.

I have no problems or issues with screenwriting in general.

What I look for in a script is the plot point and whether they're strong, obviously, or not, whether the characters are rich or not, and if I can do justice to the character or not. Some movies you look at and the script is so bad that no one can do anything with the script.