But I'd be lying if I didn't say that every time you go to make a film, you're desperate to either do it better than you did it last time or to not repeat yourself.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
There’s a lot for screenwriters to steal from songwriters, in terms of getting to the point.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Screenwriters can learn brevity and directness from songwriters.
This quote emphasizes that screenwriters can take valuable lessons from songwriters, particularly the ability to convey emotions and ideas succinctly and effectively. Just as songs often capture deep feelings and narratives in a brief format, screenwriters should strive to communicate their stories with clarity and precision.
Themes
ScreenwritingSongwritingBrevityStorytellingArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop discussing techniques to improve screenwriting.
More from Paul Thomas Anderson
All quotes →No matter how many times you do it, you don't get used to the sadness - for me at least - of coming to the end of a film.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film's abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y'know, that's great. But I hope it involves an audience.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
My filmmaking education consisted of finding out what filmmakers I liked were watching, then seeing those films. I learned the technical stuff from books and magazines, and with the new technology you can watch entire movies accompanied by audio commentary from the director. You can learn more from John Sturges' audio track on the 'Bad Day at Black Rock' laserdisc than you can in 20 years of film school. Film school is a complete con, because the information is there if you want it.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
I always had a dream about trying to make a movie that had no dialogue in it, that was just music and pictures. I still haven't done it yet, but I tried to get close in the beginning.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
It's a gamble you take, the risk of alienating an audience. But there's a theory - sometimes it's better to confuse them for five minutes than let them get ahead of you for 10 seconds.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
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