It starts with the writer-it's a familiar dictum, but somehow it keeps getting forgotten along the way. No film-maker, irrespective of his electronic bag of tricks, can ever afford to forget his commitment to the written word.
When I don't have a story to tell, I'm a terror to live with.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses how vital storytelling is to Spielberg's identity and mood. Without a narrative to engage with, he feels difficult to be around.
Steven Spielberg highlights the deep connection between storytelling and personal well-being in this quote. He suggests that storytelling is not just a professional endeavor but a fundamental part of who he is; it gives him purpose and joy. Without a narrative to explore, he admits that he can become irritable and challenging to be around, underscoring the importance of creative expression in maintaining one's happiness and stability.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of creativity in personal wellbeing.
More from Steven Spielberg
All quotes βWhen I was a kid, there was no collaboration; it's you with a camera bossing your friends around. But as an adult, filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself.
I just had a crazy, wild imagination all my life, and science fiction is the greatest outlet for me.
From a very young age, my parents taught me the most important lesson of my whole life: They taught me how to listen. They taught me how to listen to everybody before I made up my own mind. When you listen, you learn. You absorb like a sponge - and your life becomes so much better than when you are just trying to be listened to all the time.
I wanted to do another movie that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world. I wanted to do something else that could make us smile. This is a time when we need to smile more and Hollywood movies are supposed to do that for people in difficult times.
There are so many rumours about so many of us in the public eye. Sometimes it's too hard to deny what is not true.
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My dad would go to work every day and write in a room full of funny people. He enjoyed it. I know great writers who find the process agonising but to me, writing has always been sheer joy.
Well, in the '80s and '70s, with the exception of Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters, maybe Ivan Dixon, if you were as big and black as I am, you were a bad guy. Simple. Because in real life, I scare people.
I often make films about subjects I don't really know much about. Maybe it's laziness, but I don't go in there having done a tonne of research; the research happens while I'm making the film.
In my limited experience, shows are like children. You can teach them manners and dress them in little sailor suits, but in the end, they're going to be who they're going to be.