The so-called assault weapons ban is a hoax. It is a political appeal to the ignorant. The guns it supposedly banned have been illegal for 78 years. Did the ban make them 'more' illegal? The ban addresses only the appearance of weapons, not their operation.
David MametI look back on my liberal political beliefs with a sort of wonder - as another exercise in self-involvement - rewarding myself for some superiority I could not logically describe.
David MametPeople may or may not say what they mean... but they always say something designed to get what they want.
David MametThe subject of drama is The Lie. At the end of the drama THE TRUTH -- which has been overlooked, disregarded, scorned, and denied -- prevails. And that is how we know the Drama is done.
David MametHitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.
David MametWhat we're trying to do is find two or more shots the juxtaposition of which will give us the idea.
David MametIt's hard to write a good play because it's hard to structure a plot. If you can think of it off the top of your head, so can the audience.
David MametWe're all put to the test... but it never comes in the form or at the point we would prefer, does it?
David MametMovies were never an art form, they were entertainment. It just evolved into an art form from there, and it's still evolving in different ways.
David MametFilms have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.
David MametMy idea of perfect happiness is a healthy family, peace between nations, and all the critics die.
David MametThe pain of losing is diverting. So is the thrill of winning. Winning, however, is lonelier, as those you've won money from are not likely to commiserate with you. Winning takes getting used to.
David MametYou know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?'
David MametIf, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm all criminals, and let them accidentally shoot themselves? Is this absurd? Yes, and yet the government, of course, is arming criminals.
David MametI used to think I'd like to be a fireman - in fact, I still would - and the only drawback I could see was coming back to the firehouse, after a day of fighting fires, and still having to put in an eight-hour day writing.
David MametWe Americans have always considered Hollywood, at best, a sinkhole of depraved venality. And, of course, it is. It is not a protective monastery of aesthetic truth. It is a place where everything is incredibly expensive.
David MametThe pursuit of Fashion is the attempt of the middle class to co-opt tragedy. In adopting the clothing, speech, and personal habits of those in straitened, dangerous, or pitiful circumstances, the middle class seeks to have what it feels to be the exigent and nonequivocal experiences had by those it emulates.
David MametArt is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with the audience, but an act of selfless spirit.
David MametThe Israelis would like to live in peace within their borders; the Arabs would like to kill them all.
David MametI've been training in Jiu-jitsu for about six years and I'm very fortunate to live in that world. All the fighters hang out and have lunch together just about every day and trade stories. And I've always been fascinated how in the world of Jiu-jitsu in L.A. everybody in the fight world - cops, special forces, bouncers, stuntmen - connected across different lines.
David MametThey have a desire to put on plays and to fulfill that traditional role of a theater in a community: to be the place where people go to hear the truth.
David MametOne person may need (or want) more leisure, another more work; one more adventure, another more security, and so on. It is this diversity that makes a country, indeed a state, a city, a church, or a family, healthy. 'One-size-fits-all,' and that size determined by the State has a name, and that name is 'slavery.'
David MametWhen the three branches of government have failed to represent the citizenry and the mass of the media has failed to represent the citizenry, then the citizenry better represent the citizenry.
David MametWhere in the wide history of the world do we find art created by the excessively wealthy, powerful, or educated?
David MametMy definition of a 'friend' is, coming from Chicago, someone who says, 'Yeah, sure. You know what? Let's talk about what we can talk about. Let's help each other out. Your politics are none of my business.'
David MametYou got an all-out prize fight, you wait 'til the fight's over, one guy's left standing and that's how you know who's won.
David MametLiberalism is a religion. Its tenets cannot be proved, its capacity for waste and destruction demonstrated. But it affords a feeling of spiritual rectitude at little or no cost.
David MametA play is basically a long, formalistic polemic. You can write it without the poetry, and if you do, you may have a pretty good play. We know this because we see plays in translation. Not many people speak Norwegian or Danish or whatever guys like Ibsen spoke, or Russian - yet we understand Chekhov and the others.
David MametObama is a tyrant the same way FDR was a tyrant. He has a view of presidential power that states: the government is in control of the country, and the president is in charge of the government. He's taken an imperial view of the presidency.
David MametIF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
David MametA good writer gets better only by learning to cut, to remove the ornamental, the descriptive, the narrative, and especially the deeply felt and meaningful. What remains? The story remains.
David MametThe great movie can be as free of being a record of the progress of the protagonist as is a dream.
David Mamet