“I was working out the schedule for Into the Woods, and I sat Meryl [Streep] down. I said, ‘Meryl, I’m thinking that I’ll bring in the cast, we’ll work for about three weeks, and then we’ll have you come in, and then we’ll...
“You could write the most academic piece of lyric. And if the music is absolutely emotional, it will tell us that something else is going on, and it gives something for the actor to act. Why is that so beautiful? How do you fall in love at first sight? How does...
“With your drafts, be ruthless. What do you need? What can you toss away? And then read everything out loud. Because the way you read it versus the way it sounds… it’s a different experience and you catch things that you wouldn’t catch when you...
“Find something that you find interesting that will challenge you to keep going. Never get discouraged. I had 20 rejections. And if your dream is to be a writer, chase that dream. Don’t stop. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s over…Like a...
“This moment is all we have. Get outside of your comfort zone. Just get out there and do it. And it’s like the expression, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s not going to all happen overnight. It’s lucky when it does. But when...
