It is better of course to know useless things than to know nothing. Tom Stoppard More Quotes by Tom Stoppard More Quotes From Tom Stoppard If an idea's worth having once, it's worth having twice. Tom Stoppard beerbookideas A Chinaman of the T'ang Dynasty—and, by which definition, a philosopher—dreamed he was a butterfly, and from that moment he was never quite sure that he was not a butterfly dreaming it was a Chinese philosopher. Envy him; in his two-fold security. Tom Stoppard butterflydreamtwo I've got no interest in educating or instructing people. Tom Stoppard interestpeople Life is a gamble, at terrible odds - if it was a bet you wouldn't take it. Tom Stoppard gamblingoddslife When I think of how things could have turned out, I feel as if I've dodged, not just bullets, but 6mm shells. Tom Stoppard shellsbulletsthinking Good things, when short, are twice as good. Tom Stoppard good-thingseditingwriting I enjoy writing dialogue; it comes naturally to me. Tom Stoppard dialogueenjoywriting It's probably unprecedented for a filmmaker simply to take the writers' script and treat it as the instructions on the package. What really happens is you pretty much suppress your own instincts - and your own views on the matter - and write things the way filmmakers would like to have them, though the filmmakers often don't know what they want. They can only find out by reading what you do. Tom Stoppard readingviewswriting It's not so much that I enjoy screenwriting, though mostly I do, but the difference is, with adaptations, somebody else has done the hard part - made up a story, provided the characters. Tom Stoppard differencesstoriescharacter I really enjoy working on adaptations. Tom Stoppard adaptationenjoy My scripts are possibly too talkative. Tom Stoppard talkativescripts I really love being in postproduction. First of all, it's all quite self-interested: You can protect things. Tom Stoppard selflove-isfirsts I don't really have a system or set of principles. It's kind of common sense mixed up with instinct. Tom Stoppard common-sensekindprinciples My mind gets into a verbal mode. Tom Stoppard mind I have to go with what I do, and what I do has more to do with what people say to each other than telling a story through images. Of course, you're trying to do both. And there are some people who are brilliant at it, but I don't consider myself to be particularly good at it. My mind gets into a verbal mode. Tom Stoppard mindtryingpeople A writer doesn't really have much of a function on a movie set. Tom Stoppard movie-setsfunction Most British playwrights of my generation, as well as younger folks, apparently feel somewhat obliged to Russian literature - and not only those writing for theatres. Russian literature is part of the basic background knowledge for any writer. So there is nothing exceptional in the interest I had towards Russian literature and theatre. Frankly, I couldn't image what a culture would be like without sympathy towards Russian literature and Russia, whether we'd be talking about drama or Djagilev. Tom Stoppard russiawritingdrama Normally, even if you're on the set for 12 hours, there may be only a moment or two when you are actually useful. Tom Stoppard momentsmaytwo Once rehearsals are done the writer really doesn't have a function on the set. If the script is stabilized, then the writer becomes a celebrity tourist visiting the set, trying not to get in the way. It's very good for the ego, to go visit a film set if you are the writer, because they give you a special chair, and tell you where you can sit to watch the monitor. They make you feel special, but at the same time, they make it perfectly plain that you are irrelevant! Tom Stoppard egospecialgiving You always end up with too much, so it's good to be part of the conversation about not just what you can omit, but how you are going to do the grammar of the omission, how you make things continue to work when there's something missing. It's your last chance to rewrite. Tom Stoppard omissiontoo-muchmissing
