There is the cult of the actor and of the director, and there's even been the cult of the celebrity chef and gardener, but there has never been a cult of the screenwriter. But I'm happy about that because what I crave - in a completely venal way - is creative opportunities, not recognition.

Anthony McCarten

More Quotes by Anthony McCarten
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More Quotes From Anthony McCarten

I've always loved Broadway, the inspiration for many of my early songs came from shows like' West Side Story,'' My Fair Lady' and' Fiddler on the Roof', so it seems only fitting to bring my songs to The Great White Way. I'm honored and excited to be working with this great team.

Anthony McCarten
entertainment
Be more ambitious. Do your homework. There's no easy way around t... by Anthony McCarten

Be more ambitious. Do your homework. There's no easy way around this.

Anthony McCarten
yourhomeworkeasyway

As you get older, you become more vain. But as your looks slowly deteriorate, your eyesight worsens, so it all balances out.

Anthony McCarten
yourmoreyoulooks
Commercial success and quality are not necessarily allied. by Anthony McCarten

Commercial success and quality are not necessarily allied.

Anthony McCarten
alliedcommercialqualitysuccess
You can't write a character more brilliant than yourself. It's ju... by Anthony McCarten

You can't write a character more brilliant than yourself. It's just not physically possible.

Anthony McCarten
possibleyourselfyoucharacter

I was born to a very large family, one of 7 kids. I grew up with carnivals and chaos all around me, so I can write anywhere.

Anthony McCarten
mechaosbornfamily

It's impossible to make a living in the arts unless you make a fortune. There's almost no in-between. Writers are either broke or rolling in it. Oddly, you can't tell them apart.

Anthony McCarten
tellyoulivingimpossible

Most writers live in self-imposed exile, even when they don't leave their country. They prefer the undiscovered country inside their own heads.

Anthony McCarten
insideliveowncountry

I have three favorite cities: London, Wellington, and Los Angeles. What makes them so good? The friends who live there.

Anthony McCarten
livegoodfriendsthree

Truth is seldom appreciated and never understood, whereas a flattering lie is always appreciated and instantly understood.

Anthony McCarten
lienevertruth-istruth

My routine is to create activities for myself unrelated to writing that allow little time for writing. This means that when I do get the chance to write, it is like a stolen luxury, something clandestine and almost forbidden.

Anthony McCarten
myselfchancewritingtime
Reading is essential to human life. When the last reader dies, hu... by Anthony McCarten

Reading is essential to human life. When the last reader dies, humanity will be at an end.

Anthony McCarten
endreadinghumanitylife

No murder or sin or act of barbarism or cruelty has ever been committed by a person fully absorbed in the reading of a book. By this fact alone, we can conclude that readers are nicer people, at least until they put the book down. When we are reading, we are better.

Anthony McCarten
alonereadingbookpeople
At 17, I wanted to be a rock star. by Anthony McCarten

At 17, I wanted to be a rock star.

Anthony McCarten
rockstarrock-starwanted

The New Zealand sense of humor is tough and realistic. Jokes are not surreal; they are about life and death and tough decisions.

Anthony McCarten
toughhumorlifedeath

If we did not have the impulse and ability to believe in the impossible, we would not have religion, democracy, or marriage.

Anthony McCarten
marriagedemocracybelievereligion

I am so superstitious that I think even discussing this subject is dangerous and will probably bring me terrible luck. Having been raised a Catholic, superstition becomes almost part of your DNA. The challenge is to slowly rid yourself of these little delusions.

Anthony McCarten
challengei-amyourselfme
Life is not a waste of time. by Anthony McCarten

Life is not a waste of time.

Anthony McCarten
waste-of-timewastetimelife

When I grew up, my house contained only two books: the Bible and the 'Edmonds' cookbook. We were a working-class household. Books were a poor second to the television, which was always on, usually with me in front of it.

Anthony McCarten
mehousebibletelevision

Before Churchill had done anything else, he was a writer. He believed to the core that words matter. They count. They can change the world.

Anthony McCarten
change-the-worldwordschangeworld