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" You can't write a character more brilliant than yourself. It's just not physically possible. "
Anthony McCarten
Character
Yourself
You
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" 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
Television
House
Bible
" If we did not have the impulse and ability to believe in the impossible, we would not have religion, democracy, or marriage. "
Anthony McCarten
Believe
Religion
Marriage
" The more I read about the rules the great orators used, the more I realised, of course, this is how you stir people's hearts, and you persuade and cajole and move people out of fixed positions. The techniques are quite menacingly easy. "
Anthony McCarten
Great
People
Rules
" 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
Live
Own
Inside
" One of the real ways out of conflict is humour. It builds bridges; it's a weapon against rigid ideology, narrow thinking, intolerance. "
Anthony McCarten
Out
Bridges
Conflict
" Reading is essential to human life. When the last reader dies, humanity will be at an end. "
Anthony McCarten
End
Reading
Life
" As you get older, you become more vain. But as your looks slowly deteriorate, your eyesight worsens, so it all balances out. "
Anthony McCarten
You
Become
Looks
" Truth is seldom appreciated and never understood, whereas a flattering lie is always appreciated and instantly understood. "
Anthony McCarten
Truth Is
Truth
Always
" 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
Decisions
Life
Humor
" 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
Chef
Opportunities
Happy
" Life is not a waste of time. "
Anthony McCarten
Waste Of Time
Waste
Life
" Commercial success and quality are not necessarily allied. "
Anthony McCarten
Commercial
Success
Quality
" 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
I Can
Me
Write
" I have three favorite cities: London, Wellington, and Los Angeles. What makes them so good? The friends who live there. "
Anthony McCarten
Good
Friends
Three
" Since my student days, I'd been a fan of those books with titles like 'Great Speeches that Changed the World,' as I loved the idea that the right person with the right words at the right time could really make a difference. "
Anthony McCarten
Words
Great
Make A Difference
" 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
Yourself
I Am
Think
" At 17, I wanted to be a rock star. "
Anthony McCarten
Star
Rock Star
Rock
" 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
Alone
Book
Reading
" If you look at the copies of Churchill's speeches that have survived, they are heavily marked up. He was scrupulous about the impact of each word. He preferred short words and the repetition of short words. He knew everything about the techniques of rhetoric. "
Anthony McCarten
Up
Short
Look
" 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
Time
Chance
Myself
" Be more ambitious. Do your homework. There's no easy way around this. "
Anthony McCarten
Easy Way
Easy
Homework
" 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 World
Change
Words
" 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
Tell
Arts
Impossible
" I'm still always surprised that anyone might be interested in my work or me. "
Anthony McCarten
Always
Work
Me