Grant Heslov

“I think it's more interesting to throw people into a story and let them catch up instead of explaining and feeling like you have to slow down for them. I think audiences, for the most part, they don't want to be ahead of you.”

“Writing a screenplay is like writing a big puzzle, and so the hardest part, I think, is getting the story.”

“You work with great directors and terrible directors, and so you learn; you take what you think will work for you.”

“I find writing really difficult - definitely the most difficult of all the things I do.”

“'The Ides of March' was a fairly cynical film.”

“'Monuments Men' is not a docudrama. It's not a documentary.”

“A film like 'Good Night And Good Luck,' you make that for $7 million because you know it's a black-and-white film, and it's not an easy sell. If you make it for $7 million, then everybody can have a chance to make a little bit of money, and you get to make the film you want to make.”

“When you look at a film like 'The Ides of March' or 'Good Night, and Good Luck' even, those are really contained pictures.”

“I acted for so many years and sat on a million sets and worked with a million different directors so that is to me some of the best training you can get.”

“'Monuments Men' is a movie... I don't want to say for grown-ups, because some young folks could appreciate it, too. But if you're expecting 'Transformers,' you're going to be disappointed.”

“There are films that cost a lot of money that might be decent films. But if they don't perform in that first weekend or two, they're gone.”

“There are times when you work with directors on set, and things are a bit rudderless, and those can be good directors.”

“It takes a long time to get a film made.”

“I don't make my living writing; I make my living as a producer and as a director.”

“Generally, screenplays suck.”

“Creatively, it's great, because when you write your own movies, you get to create whatever you want.”

“What you learn when you direct a film, even more so than as a producer, it's a marriage. It's like a relationship with that film so you've got to make sure that it's really something that you want to live with for three years or however long it is. So I haven't found the right thing to marry yet.”

“I didn't want to be 50 or 60 and auditioning for a three-line role.”

“Look, a lot of directors were actors, even if they were unsuccessful actors which I think is helpful. I think it's a really helpful thing for a director to have experienced that. It helps you know how to talk to actors and how to get what you need from them.”

“When I write, I make decent money doing it, but I don't wake up dreaming about writing.”