People write fiction in their minds all the time - every time we read a 'human interest' news story, or a true crime tale, we find ourselves fascinated because we're trying to understand why people behave the way they do, why they make the choices th...
Having done a lot of magazines, I'm very curious how big magazines handle big stories, and I was very curious to see how 'Time' and 'Newsweek' would handle 9/11. And I was basically pretty disappointed to see that they had chosen to show the photo we...
'A Fair Maiden' existed in notes and sketches for perhaps a year. When I traveled, I would take along with me my folder of notes - 'ideas for stories.' Eventually, I began to write it and wrote it fairly swiftly - in perhaps two months of fairly inte...
There was a time before I felt I was a real writer, when I was a yarn spinner and I just wanted to tell story until it was over. But then there came a time where I was like, 'No, I want to understand something through writing this that I might have n...
It's kind of a mysterious process, but something will catch my attention, and I'll make a note about it. I may even write a few pages about it, and then I'll put it aside, but I'll sort of keep it in mind. Then as time goes on, other things will gath...
We really spend a lot of time on building relationships. And so when everyone is like, 'How do you break so many stories?' it's because I build relationships. I do it the old-fashioned way, and I build sourcing relationships, and then I take advantag...
I was working for a Swedish TV show - I'm Swedish - who basically did kind of spectacular stories. It was almost like CBS '60 Minutes,' but a Swedish version where we actually did travel quite a lot. After a while, I realized that travel is the most ...
The Republicans are not anti-Latinos. You know, I tell the story all the time that the Tea Party is the one that has actually brought out the Latinos. Look at Idaho. I actually ran against a person in my primary who was born and raised in Idaho who h...
'Star Trek' is a 'Wagon Train' concept - built around characters who travel to worlds 'similar' to our own, and meet the action-adventure-drama which become our stories. Their transportation is the cruiser 'S.S. Yorktown,' performing a well-defined a...
'The 5th Wave' is sci-fi, but I tried very hard to ground the story in very human terms and in those universal themes that transcend genre. How do we define ourselves? What, exactly, does it mean to be human? What remains after everything we trust, e...
[from trailer] Kabir Khan: This is the story of a team and they're playing for their one and only dream. To win the world cup so you better back up. Cause they're coming on now and they're coming on how. Get out of the way cause they're screaming "Ch...
[Mr. Parker reads a side of the box with the prize that he won] Mr. Parker: Aaah! "Fra-GEE-leh!" It must be Italian! Mrs. Parker: Uh, I think that says FRAGILE, honey. Mr. Parker: Huh? Oh, yeah. [nods in agreement]
Randy: Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I hate meatloaf. The Old Man: All right, I'll get that kid to eat. Where's my screw driver and my plumber's helper? I'll open up his mouth and I'll shove it in.
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] The snap of a few sparks, a quick whiff of ozone, and the lamp blazed forth in unparalleled glory. Mr. Parker: Oh, look at that! Will you look at that? Isn't that glorious? It's... it's... it's indescribably beautiful! I...
Man in Line for Santa: Young man. Hey, kid! Just where do you think you're going? Ralphie: Going up to see Santa. Man in Line for Santa: The line ENDS here. It begins THERE. [Points to the very end of a very long line]
Natasha Romanoff: [on the Winter Soldier] Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried. Like you said, he's a ghost story. Steve Rogers: Well, let's find out what the ghost wants.
Zoo Keeper: Story goes, these great big rats come scuttling off the slave ships and raped all the little tree monkeys. The natives use them in black magic rituals. Don't ask me how, probably suck the blood of virgins, eh, eh?
Bill: Were you, uh, "working" for him at the time? The Blonde: That... is none of your business. [gets up to leave] The Blonde: I think you'd better find somebody else to start telling you little stories. Bill: Oh come on, I was just joking!
Seaman Jones: COB, we don't have time for sea stories. I was just teaching Seaman Beaumont, here, the intracacies of modern sonar, now... Watson: [chuckling] Yea, and I ain't Chief Of the Boat, I'm actually Sheena, queen of the jungle!
Spade: We didn't exactly believe your story, Miss O'Shaughnessy. We believed your 200 dollars. I mean, you paid us more than if you had been telling us the truth, and enough more to make it all right.
Mr. Koreander: The video arcade is down the street. Here we just sell small rectangular objects. They're called books. They require a little effort on your part, and make no bee-bee-bee-bee-beeps. On your way please.
