War is tragedy. The great war stories are tragedies. It's the failure of diplomacy. 'War and Peace, ' 'A Farewell to Arms, ' 'For Whom the Bell Tolls.' Those are some of the greatest tragedies.

Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.

The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in bygone days, an election celebrated the same).

Every scene should be able to answer three questions: "Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don't get it? Why now?"

When the three branches of government have failed to represent the citizenry and the mass of the media has failed to represent the citizenry, then the citizenry better represent the citizenry.

Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition, all of that. Just make the audience want to know what happens next.

It is the writer’s job to make the play interesting. It is the actor’s job to make the performance truthful.

Opportunity may knock, but it seldom nags.

We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.

People may or may not say what they mean... but they always say something designed to get what they want.

Being a writer in Hollywood is like going to Hitler's Eagle Nest with a great idea for a bar mitzvah.

Producers problems is in need of vocalist and Vocalist problems is in need of a Studio.

The purpose of a writer is to keep civilisation from destroying it

Good taste, the last and vilest of human superstitions, has succeeded in silencing us where all the rest has failed.

Be realistic, demand the impossible!

I've realized that I can't multitask in the writing department; I can only kind of do one thing at a time.

You can never make someone punctual who is not, or quick who is slow, or lively who wants to plod on carefully. I have learnt that every fault is an exaggerated quality, nothing else.

When I was young I used to read about the decline of Western civilization, and I decided it was something I would like to make a contribution to.

Hatred grows into insolence when we desire to excel the rest of mankind and imagine we do not belong to the common lot; we even severely and haughtily despise others as our inferiors.

The novelty we want is always close to the familiar.