James L. Brooks quotes

James L. Brooks is an American director, producer, and screenwriter, acclaimed for his work in film and television. His storytelling has earned him multiple Academy Awards and Emmys, notably for works like "Terms of Endearment" and "The Simpsons." He continues to influence contemporary cinema and television with his innovative approach to narrative and character. Here are 18 of his quotes:

There was a great director who directed a picture that I wrote who barred me from the set- quite appropriately- and said, "I'm sorry, Jim. When you're directing, you don't need to know everything. You need the illusion that you do.” And, you know, and I WOULD be there- behind him trying to signal the actors in, you know, in a way I wasn't even aware of. (James L. Brooks)
I took some time out for life. View quote
James L. Brooks
I had a marketing idea that everybody hated, decency is sexy. View quote
James L. Brooks
I've done it with Broadcast News-where there was no finish line, there was no agenda that I had to move all the characters to this point, that I was sort of open to what happens. View quote
James L. Brooks
I had a screenplay once where I was 90 pages in and I knew it was all over. I knew it was a disaster. And it was driving me crazy because the studio had gone down a path with me, so there was no getting out and I didn't know how to go past these 90 pages. And then it all worked out-and the change which made it from absolute despair that there was no way to save it to it all working out was minute. But, but key. INTERVIEWER: Which screenplay was that? JAMES L. BROOKS: Uh, it was Terms of Endearment. View quote
James L. Brooks
I think you have a pact with an audience in every picture, and I think the pact is to try and be truthful and to be real. View quote
James L. Brooks
You become so obsessed, and that's not a bad thing for a movie. Serve it with that sense that it's the whole world. View quote
James L. Brooks
Things get very distorted when you do a movie, weirdly so. View quote
James L. Brooks
I value comedy. I value somebody who can be funny. View quote
James L. Brooks
Media reporting denied privacy to anybody doing what I do for a living. It was no longer possible to work on your picture in privacy. View quote
James L. Brooks
What does it mean for an actor to make a part his own? It means that he takes on what you had intended and starts to put in his own stuff so that it becomes something that could only happen if he played it. (James L. Brooks)
I have a lot of nightmares. View quote
James L. Brooks
Kids in general make things fresh and alive and they have this great appreciation for, Holy mackerel, we're making a movie! View quote
James L. Brooks
When you work alongside somebody day in and day out, the relationships tend to be wonderful: they're lifelong. View quote
James L. Brooks
I love romantic comedy, but I think you have to have another idea that you're chasing along with romantic comedy. View quote
James L. Brooks
Great things that can happen when you're doing a movie. View quote
James L. Brooks
A lot of things just aren't true any more. View quote
James L. Brooks
If you ever catch a great boss, it's just such a rare thing, and it's amazing. View quote
James L. Brooks