John Fusco Quotes

Powerful John Fusco for Daily Growth

About John Fusco

John Fusco, an acclaimed American writer and filmmaker, was born on May 16, 1958, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Growing up in a working-class Italian-American family, Fusco's experiences heavily influenced his future work, particularly his interest in portraying the stories of underrepresented communities. Fusco attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville before transferring to Columbia College Chicago, where he studied filmmaking and screenwriting. His career took off when his script for the 1990 film "Young Guns II" caught the attention of director Geoff Murphy. This success led him to write the Oscar-winning screenplay for "Hurt Locker: American Soldier," a documentary about the Iraq War. Fusco is perhaps best known for his work on the epic Western "The Legend of the Cowgirl" (2005), which tells the story of Bass Reeves, an African-American lawman in the late 19th century. His other notable works include the screenplay for "Thunderheart" (1992), a drama set on a Native American reservation, and the historical drama "Young Gods of Chicago" (1998). In recent years, Fusco has expanded his repertoire to include Broadway musicals. His work on "Spirit: The Seventh Fire" was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards in 2017. Fusco's commitment to storytelling about diverse cultures and historical figures continues to resonate, making him a significant figure in American literature and film.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The past is not dead, it's not even past."

This quote suggests that historical events, ideas, or societal structures continue to influence and affect the present in various ways, often indirectly but significantly. In other words, history remains relevant and has an impact on contemporary society, making it impossible to completely disassociate ourselves from our past. It is a reminder of the persistent echoes of history within the fabric of the present, inviting us to learn from the past as we navigate our future.

"To tell a story is to make sense of the world, to find meaning where there was chaos and confusion."

This quote highlights the profound role that storytelling plays in human experience. By crafting narratives, we give structure, purpose, and understanding to seemingly chaotic or confusing events, transforming them into coherent tales that help us navigate life's complexities. In essence, storytelling allows us to impose order on our world, find meaning within it, and share knowledge across generations.

"The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will'."

This quote emphasizes the transformative power of taking action over wishing for change. It encourages individuals to break free from passive thoughts and instead, commit themselves actively towards their goals, aspirations, or desired outcomes in life. In essence, it advocates for a proactive approach towards personal growth and achievement, fostering an empowered mindset that drives us to make things happen rather than just hoping they will.

"Life's too short for long regrets."

This quote by John Fusco encourages us to prioritize our time and emotions, as life is too precious to dwell excessively on regrets. It's a call to move forward, learn from past mistakes, and focus on the present and future, recognizing that dwelling on regret can hinder personal growth and happiness.

"Every man has a dream inside him, but it takes a real man to chase after that dream."

This quote suggests that everyone inherently possesses an aspiration or ambition within them (the 'dream'). However, transforming this potential into reality requires courage, determination, and action (being a 'real man'). The phrase 'real man' here is not gender-specific but symbolizes the quality of one who dares to pursue their dreams fearlessly, overcoming obstacles and persisting despite challenges. This quote encourages individuals to acknowledge their dreams and take steps towards realizing them, emphasizing that true strength lies in chasing after one's aspirations.

I wrote 'Young Guns' on spec because I really believed that the young age of these guys historically, the whole legend of Billy dying at 21, would attract a young staple of stars, and that would be the game-changer.

- John Fusco

Guns, Staple, Billy, Legend

Marco Polo has been kind of buried under this cloud of rather banal historical dust, when the true story is so much more exciting.

- John Fusco

Kind, Been, Rather, True Story

When people hear the name 'Marco Polo,' they tend to think of a map or explorer. Very few people know the true story of Marco Polo, and it's so much more compelling and exciting than the mythology.

- John Fusco

Very, Compelling, Tend, True Story

I have seen too many screenwriters of promise become formula addicts and slaves to stop watch structure. Spend that time watching movies, reading screenplays, reading plays, and most importantly - write from your gut.

- John Fusco

Promise, Gut, Importantly, Screenplays

As a writer of both novels and screenplays, I can say that screenwriting is a vastly rewarding creative life - if you fight hard enough to do it on your own terms. Whether I write books or not, my screenwriting life has been creatively rewarding and remains so.

- John Fusco

Been, Rewarding, I Write, Screenplays

My son, Gio, wanted to do a horseback trip in Mongolia, but he didn't want to do an Abercrombie & Fitch-type tour, where they show you around while you sleep in B&Bs.

- John Fusco

Want, Show, While, Horseback

In 2007, I did a horseback trip across part of central Mongolia with my 13-year-old son - we encountered Marco Polo at all these historical places where Mongolian nomads would reference his accounts and his relationship with Kublai Khan.

- John Fusco

Historical, Reference, Part, Horseback

'Horse thunder' is what I call the sound of galloping hooves.

- John Fusco

Horse, Sound, Call, Galloping

I feel that Marco Polo has really been misrepresented - has never really gotten his due.

- John Fusco

Never, Been, His, Misrepresented

We're not just making 'Marco Polo,' we're living it. Because we traveled to Venice... Kazakhstan... into the jungles of Malaysia.

- John Fusco

Living, Malaysia, Making, Traveled

We drove for 10 hours on rocky trails out into the central part of Mongolia in a Russian utility vehicle with no shock absorbers. Then we arrived at a remote area where we stayed in a yurt and waited to meet a horse wrangler who was scheduled to bring our rides.

- John Fusco

Bring, Utility, Part, Waited

I grew up in the unlikely place of Connecticut. The Eastern Woodlands. It was semi-rural where I grew up. I was fascinated by the Piqua and the Mohegan Indians of that area.

- John Fusco

Unlikely, Area, Eastern, Connecticut

He was an Italian kid traveling in China, and I'm of Italian decent with a fascination for China. So, I always felt this connection to him and lived vicariously through the travels of Marco Polo.

- John Fusco

Kid, Through, Always, Vicariously

It all goes back to 'Wow, I never knew this about Marco Polo.' This is an incredible story and an incredible character, and such a rich world of Mongolian and Chinese culture.

- John Fusco

Goes, Knew, About, Wow

With the Mongolian horse warfare, I did a lot of research into the Mongol art of war.

- John Fusco

Art, Horse, Lot, Art Of War

If you understand the importance of developing a relationship with the director and making that director see that you're the best technical adviser and resource in the world on your subject, you'll be invited on set as a respected and integral part of the process.

- John Fusco

Process, Making, Set, Respected

I was interviewing an elder, Chief Fool's Crow, who was the ceremonial chief. He was 103 years old. I was getting his information on the history of Lakota horses. He told me the story of Hidalgo and Frank Hopkins.

- John Fusco

Frank, Interviewing, Elder

At a young age, when I was fascinated with China, I read 'The Travels of Marco Polo' and learned about this exciting, dramatic world he captured and reported on. He's so little known, but yet this mythology has survived that's so misrepresentative of his story.

- John Fusco

Young, About, Fascinated, Reported

Being on the ground in Mongolia and traveling with the horse culture and sleeping in yurts, I was able to pick up a lot of detail. But I brought in advisors to work with our horse master to make sure the fighting strategies both on the Chinese and Mongolian sides were very accurate.

- John Fusco

Very, Brought, Accurate, Advisor

It always circled back around to Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. That always fascinated me because so few people make the connection between the two.

- John Fusco

Back, Always, Fascinated, Khan

We searched around the globe and looked at well over a hundred 'Marco Polos,' came down to the wire, and went back and looked at our Italy tapes, and we realized that we had overlooked someone. That was Lorenzo Richelmy.

- John Fusco

Over, Tapes, Hundred, Wire

The journey of Marco Polo is the hero's journey, one that all cultures across the globe can relate to.

- John Fusco

Relate, Across, Globe, Polo

I got the feeling: It's time to do a Marco Polo story. I felt like everything was lining up right because long-form television series were becoming to me like the new great American novel.

- John Fusco

American, Becoming, Got, Polo

I grew up with a fascination with Marco Polo. I had this unlikely interest in the East as a young man, and you can't really read about Chinese history and philosophy without encountering him at every turn.

- John Fusco

Young, About, Had, Polo

In many ways, it's easier to write a book. You have more latitude with structure, and you have the freedom to luxuriate within the internal lives and musings of your characters. But where a screenplay does not always demand great prose, a novel lives or dies by it.

- John Fusco

Book, Internal, Latitude, Structure

Twelve years ago, when I was on the Pine Ridge Reservation for 'Thunderheart,' I was dong research into Native American horses that had come into extinction. I was tracing certain Lakota bloodlines, and it became an obsession.

- John Fusco

American, Pine, Became, Reservation

Being a student of Wuxia literature, I was aware 'Crouching Tiger' was book four in the 'Crane Iron Pentalogy.'

- John Fusco

Book, Student, Being, Iron

I started looking into horse history books and came across the actual story of this half-breed endurance horseman and his painted mustang Hidalgo. I wasn't really sure if I was going to do the movie at that point.

- John Fusco

Movie, Painted, Horseman, Endurance

When I was growing up I spent a lot of time reading about ancient China and was really fascinated.

- John Fusco

Reading, About, Spent, Fascinated

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