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Dick Wolf Quotes

Powerful Dick Wolf for Daily Growth

About Dick Wolf

Dick Wolf, born on December 20, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois, is a renowned American screenwriter, producer, and entrepreneur, best known for creating some of the most successful television series in the history of law and police procedurals. Raised in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Wolf developed an early interest in storytelling. He attended Northwestern University's School of Speech, where he honed his writing skills. After graduation, he worked as a reporter for NBC News before transitioning to scriptwriting for daytime soap operas. Wolf's breakthrough came in 1984 with the creation of "Hill Street Blues," a groundbreaking police drama that revolutionized the genre. This series won multiple Emmy Awards and established Wolf as a formidable force in television. In 1990, he created another landmark show, "Law & Order." The series, which ran for 20 seasons, spawned several successful spin-offs, including "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," the longest-running live-action U.S. primetime series in television history. Wolf's works are heavily influenced by his love for crime stories and his desire to reflect the complexities of urban life. His shows often feature ensemble casts, intricate plots, and thought-provoking moral dilemmas. In addition to his television work, Wolf has written several bestselling books, including "The First Rule" and "Power, Money, Murder." He is also the founder of Universal Television Studios, a division of NBCUniversal Television Distribution. Throughout his career, Dick Wolf has been honored with numerous awards, including multiple Emmys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His impact on television storytelling and the legal drama genre continues to be felt today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"In this business, if you want to win, you have to make up your mind that you're going to make it. You have to be relentless, unstoppable, and completely focused."

The quote emphasizes the determination, resilience, and single-minded focus required to succeed in any competitive field, particularly the entertainment industry as Dick Wolf implies. It suggests that success is not accidental but a result of one's unyielding will and relentless pursuit of their goals. This quote highlights the importance of mental fortitude, persistence, and an undeterred spirit for anyone aiming to thrive in their chosen endeavor.

"The best way to solve a problem is to refuse to recognize it exists."

This quote by Dick Wolf suggests that ignoring or denying the existence of a problem does not make it disappear; instead, it prevents a solution from being found. Effective problem-solving often requires acknowledging and understanding issues before taking action to resolve them. Avoiding reality, as implied in this quote, may provide temporary relief but can ultimately lead to more significant problems down the line.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

This quote emphasizes that courage doesn't mean having no fear, but instead choosing to act despite one's fear when faced with challenging situations, because there's something even more significant at stake. It suggests that fear is a natural response to danger or uncertainty, but it should not hinder us from pursuing what we believe in or doing the right thing. Courage lies in pushing through this fear for a greater purpose or value.

"Great stories are about conflict, character, and consequence. If any one of those elements is weak, the story fails."

This quote by Dick Wolf emphasizes that a great story relies on three fundamental elements to create an engaging narrative: conflict, character development, and consequences. Conflict drives the action, character development gives the audience someone to root for or against, and consequences are the results of actions taken within the story. If any one of these components is weak, it can lead to a story that lacks depth, tension, or emotional resonance, ultimately resulting in failure to captivate its audience. A strong narrative successfully balances all three elements, providing a compelling, memorable experience for readers or viewers.

"The only way to make a name for yourself in this business is to write a great script or come up with a brilliant idea. The rest is just noise."

This quote by Dick Wolf emphasizes that success in the entertainment industry primarily depends on the quality of one's work, specifically the script or idea. He suggests that while other factors like networking, marketing, or appearance might make noise, they are secondary to the essence of creating great content. In other words, talent and creativity are key drivers of recognition and achievement in this field.

As soon as you become complacent your show gets canceled.

- Dick Wolf

Show, Your, Gets, Complacent

There are professional negotiators working for the writers and the actors, but basically you've got the writers and actors negotiating against businessmen. That's why you get rhetoric.

- Dick Wolf

Why, Against, Writers, Businessmen

The agendas on the management side of the table now are not in sync like they used to be because you have vastly different entities supplying programming to networks.

- Dick Wolf

Like, Side, Agendas, Vastly

I hardly see myself as a futurist.

- Dick Wolf

Myself, See, Hardly

If the scripts are not good, I'll tell somebody, 'This isn't good.'

- Dick Wolf

Good, Tell, Somebody, Scripts

Their argument is that most shows are losers, which is true, but it's also disingenuous to say, 'We are not going to take the risk unless it is totally covered by the few successful shows that are out there.'

- Dick Wolf

Argument, Going, Which, Disingenuous

And the consumer doesn't care. They don't watch networks, they watch TV shows.

- Dick Wolf

Shows, TV, TV Shows, Consumer

The heart and soul of network programming is series programming, the weekly repetition of characters you like having in your house.

- Dick Wolf

Soul, Like, Having, Programming

Drama or comedy programming is still the surest way for advertisers to reach a mass audience. Once that changes, all bets are off.

- Dick Wolf

Comedy, Audience, Still, Programming

The environment doesn't change that radically. You are still going to go home at night and NBC is going to be there, ABC and CBS will still be there.

- Dick Wolf

Go Home, Still, ABC, CBS

There was an interesting article in Los Angeles Magazine about women directors. A woman director makes one bad independent film and her career is over. Guys tend to get an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

- Dick Wolf

Woman, Career, Bad, Article

When it went on the air, the sales department hated it. It was the highest advertising pullout show in the history of NBC. At the early focus groups, people were saying, 'Who are these people? Why should we watch them?

- Dick Wolf

Focus, Show, The History Of, Department

The most positive step is to try to expand the employment base by making it, if not economically friendly, at least not economically disastrous, for studios to take on deficits.

- Dick Wolf

Making, Friendly, Studios, Base

People do have viewing patterns, and you disrupt those at your own peril. That's something that everybody learned after 1988. The numbers have gone down every year since that strike. Big time.

- Dick Wolf

Big, Year, Everybody, Disrupt

I get bored with establishing shots of people getting out of cars and walking into buildings, getting into elevators and then 45 seconds later they have a line.

- Dick Wolf

Line, Establishing, Then, Bored

It's show business. No show, no business.

- Dick Wolf

Business, Show, No Business

If you're going to vote on a television contract, there is a certain rationality to saying that the same structures that are applied to Health Plan participation should be placed on the right to vote on a strike.

- Dick Wolf

Participation, Going, Placed, Rationality

You have this disturbing reality that there are a lot of people who would rather say, 'I'm on strike' than 'I'm unemployed.' And those are the people who vote for strikes.

- Dick Wolf

Say, Rather, Strike, Vote

I was raised not to be rude, but I also try to get the best work out of people.

- Dick Wolf

Work, Raised, Also, Best Work

The ad revenues still go up because nothing dependably delivers the eyeballs that successful series do.

- Dick Wolf

Still, Ad, Series, Revenues

There are other options out there, after all, like read a book, go on the Internet, rent a movie.

- Dick Wolf

Movie, Other, Read, Options

TIVO executives stand up and say, 'Well, we're not getting rid of commercials, but we are letting them fast forward, because people like commercials, and if they see one that they like they stop and watch it.' I mean, please.

- Dick Wolf

See, Rid, Getting, Stand Up

Advertising is the art of the tiny. You have to tell a complete a story and deliver a complete message in a very encapsulated form. It disciplines you to cut away extraneous information.

- Dick Wolf

Art, Very, Cut, Disciplines

I think most people don't react well to being screamed at. It's counterproductive.

- Dick Wolf

Think, I Think, Most, Screamed

I would say that if you really wished to be a working member of the community, don't go out on strike because then there's no work and no potential of work.

- Dick Wolf

Work, Strike, No Work, Potential

Everybody knows things are not the same. The people running the TV end of a major vertically integrated company know how much money a successful show can make.

- Dick Wolf

Show, Everybody, TV, Vertically

People recognize certain things, like 'D' means 'this dialogue stinks.' We're dealing with shows that are written here, shot in New York and posted back here. Accurate communication is a necessity.

- Dick Wolf

Back, Here, Accurate, Stinks

The threat to free television. The reason television is free is because it is a life support system for commercials. That fundamental aspect is about to change.

- Dick Wolf

Change, Reason, Television, Threat

I don't think you can really make television based on what you think audiences want. You can only make stories that you like, because you have to watch it so many times.

- Dick Wolf

Think, Stories, Based, Audiences

I do love television. But the business is accelerating and people are not getting the chance to fail.

- Dick Wolf

Love, Fail, Getting, Accelerate

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