the watch of time

The Marketplace – the writer and self:

(a) “When you look at someone else’s films and say, ‘I can do that’, you’re in a lot of competition – because everyone else is looking at that hit of the year and they’re saying, ‘I can do that’ too.  You’re gonna be up against all of them…  But if you look into yourself and say, ‘What do I have that no one else has, but other people can understand and identify with,’ then you’re only in competition with yourself.”

(b) “When I choose a project, I choose it because it interests me. I know some are probably more commercial than others, but my feeling is that if it interests me, hopefully it’ll interest someone else.  It’s only fun to work on something you really like.  It’s gonna be hard enough to do it if you like it…  If you’re workin’ on somethin’ you’re not really into, you’re not gonna do it very well…  You’re not gonna be happy to get up every day and go to work on it – and its chances of being made are diminished because of that.”

(c) “Trying to game the system, trying to write a script that you think is gonna be the next big thing, trying to get a jump on some trend – it’s a big mistake…   I don’t think you should write what you know… I write what I like…  I think you need to write with enthusiasm, and short of enthusiasm, you need to write with anger.  But if you write with indifference, you’re gonna fail… at least throw your best pitch.

Excerpted quotes: (a) Paul Schrader & (b) David S. Ward & (c) Josh Friedman                                                                                       Tales from the Script (2010)