Scott Rudin Quotes

Powerful Scott Rudin for Daily Growth

About Scott Rudin

Scott Rudin is an acclaimed American film producer, theatre director, and former studio executive, renowned for his significant contributions to contemporary cinema and theatre. Born on July 17, 1958, in Roslyn Heights, New York, he grew up in a Jewish family with a strong interest in the arts, influenced by his parents' involvement in local theatre productions. After graduating from Harvard University in 1980, Rudin began his career as an assistant to legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis. He then joined producer Michael Douglas at Columbia Pictures, where he worked on films like 'Romancing the Stone' and 'The Ghost and the Darkness'. In 1987, Rudin made his Broadway producing debut with 'Biloxi Blues', which earned him a Tony Award for Best Play. Throughout the 1990s, Rudin established himself as one of Hollywood's most influential producers, with movies such as 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', 'The Addams Family', 'Toys', 'Air Force One', and 'The Truman Show'. His work during this period earned him several Academy Award nominations for Best Picture. Returning to theatre in the early 2000s, Rudin produced revivals of plays like 'Awake and Sing!', 'Anna Christie', and 'Long Day's Journey into Night', all of which received Tony Awards for Best Revival. In cinema, he worked on successful films like 'No Country for Old Men', 'There Will Be Blood', 'The Social Network', 'Moonrise Kingdom', and 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'. Rudin's unique approach to producing, characterized by his emphasis on artistic integrity and willingness to take risks, has earned him widespread acclaim. Despite occasional controversies, his body of work underscores his enduring influence on both Broadway and Hollywood.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I believe in theatrical failure as an opportunity for further success."

Scott Rudin's quote suggests that he views failures in the theater, or in creative pursuits more broadly, not as dead ends but as stepping stones towards future success. The idea is that each failed attempt provides valuable lessons and insights that can be applied to improve the next endeavor, making it more likely to succeed. This perspective encourages resilience, learning from mistakes, and the continuous pursuit of excellence in creative work.


"It is impossible to overestimate the value of a good idea. It is much more difficult to recognize a good idea than to produce one."

This quote emphasizes that the true value of an idea lies not just in its creation, but also in its identification. The process of recognizing a good idea can be challenging as it requires discernment, understanding, and often, perspective. It implies that generating ideas is relatively easier compared to identifying and appreciating their worth, as the latter requires more than just creativity - it demands wisdom and foresight.


"A producer must be able to think like an artist, but behave like a businessman."

This quote by Scott Rudin encapsulates the delicate balance required for a successful producer in the creative industry. On one hand, a producer should possess an artistic mindset that allows them to understand, appreciate, and nurture the creative vision of artists and projects. On the other hand, they must maintain a business-oriented perspective that ensures fiscal responsibility, efficient operations, and commercial success. In essence, being a productive and effective producer means being both artistically inclined and financially savvy.


"Theatre is the most exciting and dangerous medium in the world."

The quote by Scott Rudin, "Theater is the most exciting and dangerous medium in the world," suggests that theater is a captivating and unpredictable form of artistic expression. It implies that the stage, with its live performances and immediate interaction with an audience, carries a unique intensity and risk that sets it apart from other art forms. The excitement stems from the real-time connection between performers and spectators, while the danger may refer to the vulnerability of both parties as they share raw emotions in this intimate setting. In essence, theater offers a thrilling and unparalleled experience due to its dynamic and perilous nature.


"I'm always looking for something that scares me."

Scott Rudin, an influential film producer, suggests in this quote that he continually seeks out opportunities or experiences that challenge him, instilling fear to drive his personal and professional growth. This fear-induced curiosity encourages him to tackle new projects and take on challenges that stretch his abilities, ultimately leading to self-improvement and innovation.


You read a script, you try and think through what is the best, most wide-ranging way of telling the story: who stylistically, character-logically, psychologically fits inside the world of what you're trying to do. A lot of it, when you're casting, is trying to get yourself in the head of a director.

- Scott Rudin

Best, Through, Telling, Stylistically

Classics stay alive because a great actor or a great director wants to do them.

- Scott Rudin

Alive, Actor, Classics, Great Director

I loved doing casting because I love actors, and I am very conscious of what actors do. But I always wanted to be a producer.

- Scott Rudin

Love, Always, Very, Casting

I got fired from a movie that ended up being called 'Windows,' which Gordon Willis, the cinematographer, directed. I got fired because he refused to cast Meryl Streep, who at the time was at Yale. I told him I thought he was an idiot, and he fired me.

- Scott Rudin

Thought, Movie, Meryl, Gordon

I always loved doing a movie with Daldry. That's always a huge factor for me.

- Scott Rudin

Loved, Doing, Always, Factor

Bruce Norris came in twice to audition for 'The Corrections' and subsequently spent many months negotiating every point in a four-year agreement to appear in the show.

- Scott Rudin

Audition, Agreement, Months, Subsequently

I love work. I love putting together a group of people who are all doing the same thing. The commonality of purpose.

- Scott Rudin

Love, Doing, Putting, Commonality

Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended.

- Scott Rudin

Thought, Private, Meant, Sensitivity

I know that movies are basically meant to be entertainment, but I'm not that interested in entertainment.

- Scott Rudin

Movies, Entertainment, Meant, Meant To Be

I was 10 years old, taking the train by myself to see Saturday matinees, something you'd never let a kid do now. I got very hooked on it.

- Scott Rudin

Old, Saturday, Very, Train

'The Social Network' was probably one of the two or three things I've done in my life that I'm most proud of. I'm not going to engage in what about it was disappointing. There's nothing about it I was disappointed in.

- Scott Rudin

Proud, My Life, Social, Disappointing

I love stories about women, and I think stories about women are generally pretty underrepresented.

- Scott Rudin

Love, Think, Pretty, Love Stories

I want to be able to go wherever I want to go, do whatever I want to do. I guard the material and the filmmaker.

- Scott Rudin

Want, Able, Material, Wherever

They say there's no second act in American lives. There's something there worth exploring. Giving up an idea of yourself, examining your failure, and seeing if that failure was the system's or yours. What does it mean to not turn out to be the person you want to be?

- Scott Rudin

American, Giving Up, Idea, Yours

If you have the ability and the wherewithal to create work that's basically in a discussion with the culture we're in, how could you not want to do that?

- Scott Rudin

Work, Want, Could, Wherewithal

I have a big affinity for the Coen Brothers.

- Scott Rudin

Big, Brothers, Coen, Affinity

Anybody who understands how a movie gets made understands that a deep-pockets player is not going to make a movie that has anything defamatory in it without protections.

- Scott Rudin

Movie, Going, Anybody, Understands

You want reviews to come the week the movie's opening and not a month before when they do you absolutely no good.

- Scott Rudin

Week, Movie, Reviews, Opening

I've done a lot of movies based on real people, real situations, non-fiction books, magazine articles, life rights.

- Scott Rudin

Real, Real People, Based, Situations

Those critics awards come and go every year, but the finished movie is your work.

- Scott Rudin

Year, Movie, Critics, Awards

Success is extremely ephemeral and very hard to hold onto.

- Scott Rudin

Success Is, Very, Extremely, Ephemeral

You always feel the ground rumbling beneath your feet, and if you don't, you're an idiot. Mostly because it is rumbling beneath your feet, and there is always someone who is coming up behind you who is as good, younger, and, at least as you perceive it, has more energy and more nimbleness than you.

- Scott Rudin

Feet, Behind, Mostly, Perceive

I keep my overhead as low as I can.

- Scott Rudin

I Can, Low, Keep, Overhead

I want to make serious work that engages with serious subjects. I'm very lucky: I get to more or less make what I want.

- Scott Rudin

Work, Lucky, Very, More Or Less

I do what I feel I know how to do and don't do things that I don't. I'm a product of my sensibility.

- Scott Rudin

Product, How, Things, Sensibility

If you're going to spend two or three years of your life working on something, you've got to be making the kind of movie that discusses and influences the culture and is engaged in the world you're living in.

- Scott Rudin

Living, Making, Engaged, Influences

I think you have a responsibility to the people you're making movies with, and I take that very seriously. I don't want to let up and I don't want to let down.

- Scott Rudin

Think, Making, Very, Making Movies

I don't particularly have a wide social circle.

- Scott Rudin

Social, Particularly, Wide, Circle

That's my goal, to feel like I've done the best I could. When I've done that, anything else that happens is a bonus.

- Scott Rudin

Goal, Like, Could, Bonus

Years ago when I was at Fox, I was the executive on 'Raising Arizona.'

- Scott Rudin

Arizona, Executive, Raising, Fox

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