William Goldman - biography

“Only agents last forever.”

“One way an author dies a little each day is when his books go out of print.”

“Being a screenwriter is not enough for a full creative life.”

“There is one crucial rule that must be followed in all creative meetings.  Never speak first.  At least at the start, your job is to shut up.”

“Life isn’t fair.  It’s just fairer than death, that’s all.”

“But this is life on earth, you can’t have everything.”

“Life is pain, highness.  Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.”

“Whoever invented the meeting must have had Hollywood in mind.  I think they should consider giving Oscars for meetings: Best Meeting of the Year, Best Supporting Meeting, Best Meeting Based On Material From Another Meeting.”

“We are men of action, lies do not become us.”

“As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, stars are essentially worthless - and absolutely essential.”

“You can never trust what you read.”

“The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.”

“Yes, I am a failed playwright.  I had three shows on Broadway by the time I was 30.  They all flopped, and I fled.”

“Never argue with your wife about hostility when she’s a certified Freudian.”

“Nobody knows anything.”

William Goldman contributed to the screenplay for the following films:
Soldier in the Rain (1963)
Masquerade (1965)
Harper (1966)
No Way to Treat a Lady (1968)
The Hot Rock (1972)
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
The Stepford Wives (1975)
All the President’s Men (1976)
Marathon Man (1976)
Magic (1978)
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)
Heat (1986)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Misery (1990)
Chaplin (1992)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
The Chamber (1996)
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
Absolute Power (1997)
Fierce Creatures (1997)
The General’s Daughter (1999)
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
Dreamcatcher (2003)