William Goldman

William Goldman

Screenwriter, Novelist

William Goldman was a celebrated American author and screenwriter known for his sharp wit and impactful works like 'The Princess Bride' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'.

Thinking Men Book Princess Love You Mean
Born
August 12, 1931
Quotes
151
Rank
#1529

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William Goldman quotes (page 5 of 8)

151 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

William Goldman Screenwriter, Novelist
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"I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids."

Strong Morning Prayer
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William Goldman Screenwriter, Novelist
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"At 8:23 there seemed every chance of a lasting alliance starting between Florin and Guilder. At 8:24 the two nations were very close to war."

War Two Nations Alliances
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William Goldman Screenwriter, Novelist
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"Never argue with your wife about hostility when she's a certified Freudian."

Wife Arguing Hostility
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"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."

Jobs Creative Firsts
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William Goldman Screenwriter, Novelist
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"[Prince Humperdinck] was seventy-five minutes away from his first female murder, and he wondered if he could get his fingers to her throat before even the start of a scream. He had been practicing on giant sausages all the afternoon and had the movements down pretty pat, but then, giant sausages weren’t necks and all the wishing in the world wouldn’t make them so."

Wish Female Giants
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"I don't guess. I think. I ponder. I deduce. Then I decide. But I never guess."

Thinking Pondering
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"It's one of my biggest memories of my father reading. I had pneumonia, remember, but I was a little better now, and madly caught up in the book, and one thing you know when you're ten is that, no matter what, there's gonna be a happy ending. They can sweat all they want to scare you, the authors, but back of it all you know, you just have no doubt, that in the long run justice is going to win out."

Running Memories Father
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"As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, stars are essentially worthless - and absolutely essential."

Movie Stars Actors
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"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches! If your love were-" "I don't understand that first one yet," Buttercup interrupted. She was starting to get very excited now. "Let me get this straight. Are you saying my love is a grain of sand and yours is this other thing? Images confuse me so - is this universal business of yours bigger than my sand? Help me, Westley. I have the feeling we're on the verge of something just terribly important."

Beach Love You Love Is
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"i have come to terms with my life, and that is my affair - i am not cold, i swear, but i have decided certain things, it is best for me to ignore emotion; i have not been happy dealing with it."

Emotion Cold Affair
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"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something. If this is true, or if you are one of the people who believe this is true, then the one universal way to enjoy life is still the same, which is to learn to be grateful that it is not worse!!"

Gratitude Pain Believe
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"One of the things that happens to careers out here is that people destroy themselves because they begin to think they're wonderful. They begin to think they know what they're doing, and the minute that happens, it's over."

Thinking Careers People
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"No more rhymes now I mean it!” “Anybody want a peanut?” “AAHH!"

Mean Want Peanuts
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William Goldman Screenwriter, Novelist
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"It was only when the giant got halfway down the incline that he suddenly, happily, burst into flame and continued his trip saying, "NO SURVIVORS, NO SURVIVORS!" in a manner that could only indicate deadly sincerity. It was seeing him happily burning and advancing that startled the Brute Squad to screaming. And once that happened, why, everybody panicked and ran."

Flames Squad Giants
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"The Duchess set about studying Annette and shortly found her adversary's tragic flaw. Chocolate."

Chocolate Study Flaws
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"The Princess Bride S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure You had to admire a guy who called his own new book a classic before it was published and anyone had a chance to read it."

Book Princess Adventure
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"I seemed busy, busy, busy, but I suppose, if pressed, I might have admitted that, for all my frenzy, I was very much alone."

Might Busy Frenzy
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"Westly, Westly, Westly, Westly, Westly,--darling Westly, adored Westly, sweet perfect Westly, whisper that I have a chance to win your love." And with that, she dared the bravest thing she'd ever done: she looked right into his eyes. He closed the door in her face."

Sweet Eye Winning
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"Look. (Grown-ups skip this paragraph) I'm not about to tell you this book has a tragic ending. I already said in the very first line how it was my favorite in all the world. But there's a lot of bad stuff coming."

Book Looks World
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"The Queen's Pride was his ship, and he loved her. (That was the way his sentences always went: It is raining today and I love you. My cold is better and I love you. Say hello to Horse and I love you. Like that.)"

Horse Queens Rain
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