David L. Wolper Quotes
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I make the money, and I don't have to take the abuse some of the stars do, opening up their personal life. I can go into a restaurant, sit down, and have a nice meal without being harassed. Arnold Schwarzenegger can't do that.
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I couldn't get my first film on the air. The first film I did was called 'The Race For Space,' about the U.S.-Soviet space race. The networks had a policy that I found out about the hard way. I even had a sponsor for my program, but the networks wouldn't put it on because it was independently produced.
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Motion pictures are a director's medium. Broadway is a writer's medium. Television is a producer's medium. I picked a medium I could control.
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Television is like a library. There are a lot of library books in it, and you have to pick and choose what you take out of it.
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My roots are documentaries.
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I did not intend for there to be an incisive historical lesson in 'North and South.' Basically, it's just a good, juicy story.
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We couldn't predict what would happen with 'Roots.' You knew there were powerful moments that were going to affect people. We were making the film while the book was being completed. We were fortunate because the hardcover book was out and on the best-seller list. The heat was still on.
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I had been an independent entrepreneur from the beginning, and I felt I could do it myself. I didn't want to get a job.
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For a two-hour movie on a 20-day shooting schedule, it's O.K. to have an actor who's a pain in the neck.
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You have to say, 'We think it's going to work. Let's go with it.' Either you're going to kill the world, or you're going to fall on your rear end.
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The minute I went into business, I was a success, and I've done well ever since.
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I don't fall in love with inanimate objects. I don't bond with them. I only fall in love with people.
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What prevailed was that it was a family story, so it didn't matter what the color. It was also the perfect subject matter for a miniseries: A best-selling book, a generational story, a social problem - they all made 'Roots' what a miniseries should be.
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I believe that religion and politics should not mix. Both should be a part of somebody's life - but not together.
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If people perceive 'Roots' to be a black history show, nobody is going to watch it.
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I liked the clear morality of 1941, when you had no doubt about good and evil. There was a lot of idealism, people fighting for a cause. People are searching for morality today.
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People don't buy and sell art based on the personality of the artist. Or there wouldn't be much art bought and sold.
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Some psychiatrist told me I was interested in sculpture because I dealt in flat surfaces and needed something with dimension.
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I'm not a kid trying to make an impression in the business. I do have 600 films out there that are playing constantly.
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You need an actor who can maintain a character over a long period of time. If you have a weak actor, it won't be obvious in two hours, but you'll begin to see his weaknesses over four or five days.
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I believe a mini-series has two audiences. The first is the media. Then I go for the television audience.
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I don't want to make an 'Animal House.' I'm not interested in making 'Ghost Busters.'
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Somebody said something funny to me the other day. They said, 'Wolper, until two weeks ago, your tombstone was going to say, 'David Wolper, the man who produced 'Roots.' I think the tombstone now has a new inscription. It's going to be 'David Wolper, the man who produced the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympics.'
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I have to do popcorn for movies. I can do more important things for television. You're going down when you're making a movie, not going up.