David Mamet

Get into the scene late; get out of the scene early.

In a restaurant one is both observed and unobserved. Joy and sorrow can be displayed and observed "unwittingly," the writer scowling naively and the diners wondering, What the hell is he doing?

Don't write stage directions. If it is not apparent what the character is trying to accomplish by saying the line, tell us how the character said it or whether or not she moved to the couch isn't going to aid the case.

A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators may divert or anger, but it cannot enlighten.

IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.

There's no such thing as talent; you just have to work hard enough.

I always thought the real violence in Hollywood isn't what's on the screen. It's what you have to do to raise the money.

Luck, if there is such a thing, is either going to favor everyone equally or going to exhibit a preference for the prepared.

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

The audience will teach you how to act and the audience will teach you how to write and to direct. The classroom will teach you how to obey, and obedience in the theatre will get you nowhere. It’s a soothing falsity.

The study of acting consists in the main of getting out of one’s own way, and in learning to deal with uncertainty and being comfortable being uncomfortable.

Listen, here's the thing about an English degree - if you sat somebody down and asked them to make a list of the writers they admire over the last hundred years, see how many of them got a degree in English.

I love all insider memoirs. It doesn't matter whether it's truck-drivers or doctors. I think everybody likes to go backstage, find out what people think and what they talk about and what specialised job they have.

It is not the constitutional prerogative of the Government to determine needs.

I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is to be an employer.

Always tell the truth - it's the easiest thing to remember.

A good film script should be able to do completely without dialogue.

Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.

Fun is what you do for yourself. If somebody else does it, it's entertainment.

As you all know first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Anyone wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.

It’s not a lie. It’s a gift for fiction.