Story Foundation Quotes

If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.

You can dress it up, but it comes down to the fact that a movie is only as good as its script.

I love the stories that have come before, that we know of. I think for me it's always more interesting to start from square one and you take the fundamental pillars of the character and, around that, try to create something new and different.

In all my books, I try to have a strong element of realism underlying the fantastic.

Events at home, at work, in the street - these are the bases for a story.

Find the key emotion; this may be all you need know to find your short story.

I'm a big believer that the script is your bible.

'The Clone Wars' was rooted in George Lucas and his characters.

Normally my films have a single thread of an emotion, an insight or one single belief, and then I turn the entire story and build it around that.

When you create those characters that people love and care about and put them in a dark hallway, already the audience is on edge, and they feel empathy for that character. Then it's up to me to decide what jumps out in that hallway. So I think laying that foundation of strong characters and strong story is the most important thing in a horror film.

I believe that the best cameraman is one who recognizes the source, the story, as the basis of his work.

Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to spread it on a solid piece of bread. If not, it remains a shapeless thing . . . out of which you can’t make anything.

When I was writing for children, I was writing genre fiction. It was like making a good chair. However beautiful it looked, it needed four legs of the same length, it had to be the right height and it had to be comfortable.

Setting is the bedrock of your story. If you choose a real-world backdrop, be certain you get your facts straight.

I've always believed that the script is the boss.

As a writer, I'm driven by settings. Others are driven by characters or predicaments, but with me, settings come first.

We felt we had to know something of his back story. I don't think people in the cinema would just accept that he's there. I think we had to learn how he (got there).

It begins with the kind of story the writers want to tell. We never sit around in those retreats and say, 'We really need to make a change. Let's change this character.' Or throw a dart at the wall and see what hits. It all begins with story.

I think the theme that I was attracted to in 'Beautiful Creatures' was you claim yourself. In my opinion, I think that's a really valid idea and I'm glad that that's our foundation.

All fantasy should have a solid base in reality.

'Lord of the Rings' was a set of books in which the world had been conceived before the characters were placed within that context.

The casting of any film is around 60% of the film, but it's also about the right casting insight. It's a bit like a house of cards, everyone has to match up in a certain way so the whole structure is grounded. So that's essential, and yes, it's about finding the right people and the right constellation around the lead character.

The story is everything, so it always begins with a story. Research is a kind of scaffolding built underneath the story as I go along. My enjoyment level varies, but in general, I'm writing about topics I find interesting, so I can't gripe too much.

Stories worked much the same way . . . A false note at the beginning was much more costly than one nearer the end because early errors were part of the foundation.

The fundamentals for me are character and conflict. I put character first because readers will be indifferent to conflict if they are indifferent to the character who is experiencing it.