A great number of the disappointments and mishaps of the troubled world are the direct result of literature and the allied arts. It is our belief that no human being who devotes his life and energy to the manufacture of fantasies can be anything but fundamentally inadequate.
- Christopher Hampton
Fantasies, Direct, Our, Allied
I think there's something degrading about having a husband for a rival. It's humiliating if you fail and commonplace if you succeed.
- Christopher Hampton
Think, I Think, Having, Humiliating
To seduce a woman famous for strict morals, religious fervor and the happiness of her marriage: what could possibly be more prestigious?
- Christopher Hampton
Religious, Prestigious, Strict
I like L.A., but I think what's changed is that the kinds of films I do, the mid-range dramatic film, has become an endangered species.
- Christopher Hampton
Think, I Think, Films, Changed
If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into American women.
- Christopher Hampton
Process, Give, Had, Whereby
I have always thought of sophistication as rather a feeble substitute for decadence.
- Christopher Hampton
Thought, Always, Rather, Decadence
Since my adaptation of Ian McEwan's 'Atonement,' I get sent a lot of novels that people think will work as movies. So every now and then I make a point of sitting down and reading a couple of them.
- Christopher Hampton
Down, Adaptation, Couple, Atonement
I'm ashamed to say the first play I saw at the Royal Court was mine.
- Christopher Hampton
Play, Ashamed, Mine, Royal
Often I think the novels I read won't make very good movies - I better not say which I'm looking at for potential films! - but it's nice to have an excuse to just sit and read for a whole day.
- Christopher Hampton
I Think, Very, Whole, Good Movies
If you take a really good book, then the potential is for a really good film. But you've got to get it right.
- Christopher Hampton
Book, Good Book, Then, Good Film
There is a sort of theory that you should adapt bad books because they always make more successful films.
- Christopher Hampton
Bad, Always, Films, Adapt
I always divide people into two groups. Those who live by what they know to be a lie, and those who live by what they believe, falsely, to be the truth.
- Christopher Hampton
Lie, Always, Groups, Divide
Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs.
- Christopher Hampton
Asking, Critics, Feels, Dogs
You know very well that unless you're a scientist, it's much more important for a theory to be shapely, than for it to be true.
- Christopher Hampton
More, Very, Scientist, Theory
It's great to get out of the study and work with real living and breathing people.
- Christopher Hampton
Work, Living, Study, Breathing
I find I have to give myself a day when I just shut myself off and do nothing but read.
- Christopher Hampton
Give, Find, Read, Shut
Loading more quotes...
If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.