There's lots of different ways of writing stuff and lots of different mindsets to have, but I think when it's your own creation, it's more pleasurable because you have total control. Steven Knight More Quotes by Steven Knight More Quotes From Steven Knight Snoop [Dog] said [Peaky Blinders] reminded him of how he got involved with gang culture. It's always fantastically flattering when I see people dress like that and take on the look. Steven Knight dog dresses people I think it creates so many more opportunities and pitfalls in that you are treading on fresh snow, so you're in a new place. Steven Knight opportunity snow thinking I think certain periods of history don't get dealt with because I think historians, and it's their job, but they look back and look for patterns. They look for sequences and they look for reasons, and certain periods of history don't fit with the general pattern of 1500 to the 20th century, during which there's the creation of the United States. At this time of 1814, two nations who would eventually become close allies were at war with each other, so it doesn't quite fit. Steven Knight jobs war thinking I must have been about 11 when I read the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which I read, over and over again. Steven Knight knees heart book There was an unbelievable amount of animosity in that war [for America Independence] which people have forgotten, which was still around 50 years later. Steven Knight war america years I think once those friendships, if you use that as an analogy, the friendships between the audience and the character is established, then you can start to take liberties. I believe that as this unfolds people will find the time invested worthwhile. Steven Knight character believe thinking I find the best way to make things real is to just put two characters into a space and let them talk to each other in the way that they would talk to each other, and then see what they would say. I know it sounds weird, but that leads the plot and takes you in another direction. Steven Knight real character two In other words, when you have someone [like Ridley Scott] with that authority, then you tend to be left alone. But they were good and they're really good people, and I'm a big champion of the BBC and I think that like minds find each other and I think that FX and BBC is a perfect match. Steven Knight perfect people thinking With FX in particular, they've been fantastic and were really hands off. I mean, it helps that you've got Ridley Scott on your side. Steven Knight your-side mean hands [Taboo] has been exactly the same as working with the BBC in that creatively they do that precious thing which is to only make a comment when a comment needs to be made. Steven Knight precious-things made needs I am someone who thinks that if you've got an actor like that who wants to perform your work, then you should do it, and hopefully Tom [Hardey] likes to do the work that I do, so long may it continue. Steven Knight actors long thinking I think that helps because there has been no formality of friendship, the politeness of friendship, so we can just work directly on the work that's ahead of us [with Tom Hardey]. Steven Knight politeness helping thinking I wouldn't put myself in that bracket, but it's one of those things. I think what helps is that we [with Tom Hardey] don't socialize, we don't really know each other, we purely work together. Steven Knight working-together helping thinking I relish the eight-hour format of a single season because it gives you time to do that. Steven Knight hours eight giving I think that it's not a bad thing to not be too versed in the vocabulary of cinema, because you start to think that certain things are allowed and not allowed. Steven Knight vocabulary cinema thinking What happened was I was invited to meet Tom [Hardy] to discuss a project that he had in his mind about an adventurer who returns to England from Africa with secrets and with a history, and the original idea was set some 80 years later than it is now. But in the conversation I really took to the idea and I'd wanted for a while to set something in 1830 and 1840 in London, so it struck a chord. Steven Knight secret years ideas I'm very, very excited because I'm just completing Episode 6 of Series 4 [of Peaky Blinders], which again I think is the best yet. And I'm loving it and it's not like work, it's not like a labor, I love doing it, and the boys are coming back and they're loving the scripts. Steven Knight scripts boys thinking I wanted to take a damaged individual in a damaged society with damaged relationships between nations and take a look at how this individual survives amongst them, and that for me as a writer is the connection that you needed to get inside the skin of the main character and wonder how he's going to cope with all this. Steven Knight connections skins character I don't think that jealousy and love and hate and anger and all those things have changed in the past 200 years - people just express themselves differently. Steven Knight hate past thinking With any period piece I think the thing to do is forget that it's not contemporary when you're writing and to have the characters feel as much as possible like characters that you would know. Steven Knight writing character thinking
