Abi Morgan Quotes
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What's great about the way 'Shame''s been received is that I kept on thinking there's no way this film will be received well since I've had such a good time.
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As a writer, you're not even at the party when you work in film. At best, you're the one laying out the canapes.
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All work is a process of failure. Every single thing I write, I look at it and go, 'Do better. That's not good enough. Do better.' And so, that keeps me up at night.
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I hope my pieces have an authenticity to them, but my job is to filter the world and tell a story, not to define and recreate exactly what's going on.
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Writing a film is like giving birth to a baby and then giving it up for adoption.
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There is an invisible aspect of being a writer; none of it is about you. It's about your work, and that's what it should be.
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I literally grew up in drama. I used to watch drama - the catharsis of the play - then see drama at home.
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I think casting is everything. You get a great cast and - certainly, as happens in 'The Hour' - so many of those performances on the page were transformed by those actors who took those parts and made it into something completely different.
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Yes, I've heard of the 'Mad Men' comparisons, but I like to think 'The Hour' has its own distinctive voice. Although it is set in 1956, I have tried to give it a contemporary edge, and its themes of love, passion, romance, fury, professional jealousy, and personal failure are universal, I think.
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Having a daughter has reawakened my sense of feminism. I want to protect her.
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Of all the mediums, theatre is the one where you really need to have something to say - because it's just you, the words, and the space.
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The notion of having your muse was not something that was built for women originally. That's not to say women don't have muses. I get muses in terms of actors or writers who inspire me, so I understand the concept.
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I'm so straight and boring, really. I have two kids and a very nice partner.
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Chaos is my natural habitat. I write about chaotic situations and about people finding their way through the chaos, the hope that you can find your way.
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I didn't take into account the critical tsunami that comes with having work going out. I've gone from being a complete narcissist, someone who googles my own name, to someone who has to work separately from that to avoid creative paralysis.
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I love the intimacy of TV. I love the fact that you don't necessarily have the pressure of an audience or anyone around watching it - just you and it.
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I think film and television - particularly film - you are very isolated as a writer. If you're lucky, you have a good relationship with the director. Then you do make that development and come on set and be part of something. But ultimately, your work is kind of done by the time you come on set.
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Now I would say I'm absolutely a feminist writer.
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I used to listen to 'Woman's Hour' every morning, but I've discovered that I can't have words on when I'm working.
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There are so many actresses I want to write for. I see them, and I think, 'Why is she not playing that lead? What's happened to that actress?' I think all I can do is to write parts for women, to say, 'Keep going, keep acting, because there are parts for you. There will be those plays.'
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I work from about 8:30 A.M. until 7 P.M., five days a week, when I'm not sneaking off to buy another bar of chocolate.
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I always deeply admire people who can stay still in a room and wait for people to come to them.
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I write an actual script rather quickly - a draft will take me two weeks - but I write a lot of drafts. My big thing is I don't re-read. When I write, I never re-read back. I'll send it, because if I re-read back, it will cripple me.
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I love the South Bank: every era of architecture is there, and you can stop, look, and listen.