I just made pictures I would’ve liked to see.
BILLY WILDERIf you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.
More Billy Wilder Quotes
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Now, what is it which makes a scene interesting? If you see a man coming through a doorway, it means nothing. If you see him coming through a window – that is at once interesting.
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I just always think, ‘Do I like it?’ And if I like it, maybe other people will come and like it too.
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God save me from myself.
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[about the Hotel Marmont on Sunset Blvd., a piece of Hollywood history] I would rather sleep in a bathroom than in another hotel.
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I have ten commandments. The first nine are, thou shalt not bore. The tenth is, thou shalt have right of final cut.
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The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.
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She was an absolute genius as a comedic actress, with an extraordinary sense for comedic dialogue. It was a God-given gift.
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You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.
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If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you.
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We’re making a picture for middle-class people, the people that you see on the subway, or the people that you see in a restaurant. Just normal people.
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[on pop idol Donny Osmond] He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.
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Develop a clean line of action for your leading character
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After so many drive-in waitresses becoming movie stars, there has been this real drought, when along come class; somebody who actually went to school, can spell, maybe even plays the piano.
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She may be a wispy, thin little thing, but when you see that girl, you know you’re really in the presence of something. In that league there’s only ever been Garbo, and the other Hepburn, and maybe Bergman. It’s a rare quality, but boy, do you know when you’ve found it.
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I, you know, am all over the place – every category of pictures I have made, good, bad or indifferent.
BILLY WILDER