We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of the identity of the claimants and applied equally to all. Then it is a possession not only of the claimants but of the society, which may now base its actions upon a reasonable assumption of the law’s treatment.
DAVID MAMET, The Secret Knowledge
A novel it’s different. It’s kind of exhilarating not to have to cut to the bone constantly. Oh, well I can go over here for a moment. I can say what I think the guy was thinking or what the day looked like or what the bird was doing. If you do that as a playwright, you’re dead.
DAVID MAMET, The Paris Review, spring 1997
As you all know first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Anyone wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.
DAVID MAMET, Glengarry Glen Ross
Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting f***ed.
DAVID MAMET, Speed-The-Plow
Every reiteration of the idea that nothing matters debases the human spirit.
DAVID MAMET, Writing in Restaurants: Essays and Prose
How can I be secure? Through amassing wealth beyond all measure? No. And what’s beyond measure? That’s a sickness. That’s a trap. There is no measure. Only greed.
DAVID MAMET, Glengarry Glen Ross
People only speak to get something. If I say, Let me tell you a few things about myself, already your defenses go up; you go, Look, I wonder what he wants from me, because no one ever speaks except to obtain an objective. That’s the only reason anyone ever opens their mouth, onstage or offstage. They may use a language that seems revealing, but if so, it’s just coincidence, because what they’re trying to do is accomplish an objective.
DAVID MAMET, The Paris Review, spring 1997
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