We all have these tendencies in us that could go this way or that. I think that’s the real key in writing. To look at a character without judgment.
Meaning of the quote
The quote suggests that all people have both good and bad qualities within them. The key to writing good stories is to look at the characters without deciding if they are right or wrong. Instead, writers should try to understand the characters' different tendencies and not judge them too quickly. This can help make the characters feel more realistic and human.
About Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis is a renowned Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director who has won numerous awards, including two Academy Awards and two Emmys. He is best known for writing and producing the Best Picture Oscar winners ‘Million Dollar Baby’ and ‘Crash’, the latter of which he also directed. Haggis has worked on various other acclaimed films and TV shows throughout his illustrious career.
More quotes from Paul Haggis
The wonderful thing about Clint is you can never second guess how he is going to react to anything.
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We give you characters we’d feel very comfortable judging, and then go: ‘Oh yeah? Watch this’.
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I like to write about things about which I have no answers, questions that trouble me. These things trouble me.
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We all have these tendencies in us that could go this way or that. I think that’s the real key in writing. To look at a character without judgment.
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Unless I’m really uneasy with what I’m writing, I lose interest very quickly.
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I was trying to talk about where we are right now as a society, and talk about the fear we all live in, and certainly since 9-11, how it’s affected us and the world.
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I don’t think it’s the job of filmmakers to give anybody answers. I do think, though, that a good film makes you ask questions of yourself as you leave the theatre.
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As a general rule, I don’t plan to travel with my Oscars, but we may have to make an exception.
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I just asked myself, what piece of that man’s soul did he just chew off and swallow to get next week’s assignment? You know, just to live, just to work as an artist, or to feed the family?
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We’re trying to reinvent Bond. He’s 28 – no Q, no gadgets.
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I miss my mother very, very much.
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