Michael Tolkin Quotes

United States, Film Maker
October 17, 1950

Michael L. Tolkin is an American filmmaker and novelist. He has written numerous screenplays, including The Player (1992), which he adapted from his novel of the same name (1988), and for which he received the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay (1993) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Return of the Player, followed (2006).

Also known as Novelist

I went to Spago once, eight years ago. I had just closed a deal. I thought it would be fun to go to Spago and it wasn't. I got a bad table and nobody paid any attention to me.

Michael Tolkin
- Attention
- Would
- Tables
Come to think of it, Pasadena's as good a place to die as any.

Michael Tolkin
- Thinking
- Pasadena

On one level, nothing's really changed in my life. I still drive my daughter in the car pool on Monday. But it's impossible not to be aware of this rush of attention; it's impossible not to be seduced by it once you've entered into it, seduced by being unhappy when the attention wanes.

Michael Tolkin
One of the things I learned from my father, and it did not serve me well at all, was that he was a successful writer, he earned a living. And it was a shock for me to find out that it was actually hard to make a living as a writer.

Michael Tolkin
- Father
- Successful
- Hard
It's impossible not to be taken in by the spectacle of oneself, which is the biggest sin of the culture right now.

Michael Tolkin
- Culture
- Right
- Impossible
I've yet to meet a writer who could change water into wine, and we have a tendency to treat them like that.

Michael Tolkin
- Change
- Treats
- Tendencies
I was thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we can just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we got something here.

Michael Tolkin