Quotes by Whit Stillman

My friends in Paris are writers, or something like that, whereas my friends in New York are doing cool stuff in finance and living very different lives. In writing, its pretty solitary, so it doesnt really matter whos around.

I remember trying to write at 1, 1:30 A.M., and just sort of falling asleep. And I think that was actually a good creative state for weird ideas. I shifted to a morning schedule once I had two kids, and I still found that if I slept badly, I actually had better ideas.

So much of selling a film in the industry is about creating a fulcrum where all the pressure comes to bear, and something seems suddenly valuable and approved by an audience. Its amazing how people could pick up tons of films on the cheap, but they dont because they wait until everything is laid out for them.

When Im writing fiction, I read nonfiction or biographies. Now Im watching very old movies or old foreign films. I dont immerse myself in whatevers going on in whatever area Im working in.

If youre sort of interested in politics but sort of upset about contemporary politics, its kind of wonderful to read about periods who were very eloquent and admirable - generally. People are articulating ideas you can sympathize with or understand both sides of. Or at least feel like one side is saying the right things.

A very sad moment for me was when my parents separated - a lot of crying, Its tragic, were now a broken family, blah blah blah blah blah - although my psychological problems stopped. I actually felt healthier.