Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Samuel GoldwynRead
Here I am paying big money to you writers and what for? All you do is change the words.
Interpretation
This quote humorously critiques the work of writers, suggesting they simply rearrange existing ideas.
Samuel Goldwyn’s remark reflects a humorous yet pointed criticism of the writing profession, implying that writers often get paid exorbitantly for what seems like a simple task of altering words. The statement underscores the frustration some may feel towards the perceived lack of originality or substantial effort in creative writing, while also portraying the absurdity of the situation in a light-hearted way.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a writers’ workshop to lighten the mood.
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
That's the kind of ad I like, facts, facts, facts.
Gentlemen, listen to me slowly.
I want everyone to tell me the truth, even if it costs him his job.
I'll take fifty percent efficiency to get one hundred percent loyalty.
Color television! Bah, I won't believe it until I see it in black and white.
Why don't I like you?" "Because you think I'm an asshole, and I'm not really, I'm just British and, well, you're not.
One great thing about getting old is that you can get out of all sorts of social obligations just by saying you're too tired.
My second husband and I were going through a bitter divorce, and I didn't have the money for a fancy-pants attorney. I didn't know how to fight, so I'd lie awake at night and think of ways to kill him. But I knew I'd get caught, so I decided to put it in a book and get paid for it! I always think it's odd that a whole career came out of that homicidal impulse.
I think I could be a perfectly decent cat. I've been around cats long enough to know what the rules of being a cat are. When all else fails, wash. And I think I could master the thing that cats do, where they stalk away pretending they meant to do whatever it was in the first place; showing their wounded dignity.
If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you open to my ideas
When I was a comic in the 1980s, I was on the road somewhere every day, and I'd get back to the hotel, and it was Carson and Letterman, and I looked forward to that all day.
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