J. Michael Straczynski Quotes & Sayings

I grew up on comics and cartoons. So, as an adult, I like comics and cartoons. — J. Michael Straczynski

Stun settings are for people who can't commit. — J. Michael Straczynski

I've written for every medium except poetry, at which I suck. — J. Michael Straczynski

I was born in Patterson, New Jersey, and raised pretty much all around the country. My family tended to move from place to place following economic prospects and jobs and looking for new opportunities, so we changed schools, colleges, grade schools, high schools every 6 months to a year - depending on the breaks. — J. Michael Straczynski

They told us not to wish in the first place, not to aspire, not to try; to be quiet, to play nice, to shoot low and aspire not at all. They are always wrong. Follow your dreams. Make your wishes. Create the future. And above all, believe in yourself. — J. Michael Straczynski

I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks the use of an angelic (or seemingly angelic character), whose likes have been written about for, oh, about 4,000 years, is ripping off Star Trek, has his head so thoroughly up his ass as to have blipped into an entirely new intestinally-based reality and desperately needs to get a wider frame of reference. — J. Michael Straczynski

It was the dawn of the third age of mankind ... — J. Michael Straczynski

There's a rule of writing: if everything is funny, nothing is funny; if everything is sad, nothing is sad. You want that contrast. — J. Michael Straczynski

I am a control freak. I will admit that freely. — J. Michael Straczynski

If there's any other message in this to readers, it's in these two characters as icons of hope, that it doesn't make any difference where you come from, or where you went to school, or who you are, there's hope. That a kid from Jersey with Superman as the icon that kept him alive for years would one day end up writing the character is as absoutely unlikely as it is utterly inevitable. And if that's true for me, it's true for you, if you follow your dreams and your passions in full flight.
Don't give up.
No Limits.
It's never too late to learn to fly. — J. Michael Straczynski

I've always been kind of a mutt creatively. I started off in journalism, and I've actually done more police and procedural shows than I've ever done science fiction shows. I was on 'Murder She Wrote,' I was on 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' I was on 'Jake and the Fat Man.' — J. Michael Straczynski

I am a huge zombie fan. I have probably seen the George Romero movies 100 times each, without exaggeration. — J. Michael Straczynski

Whenever you write for someone else, you're always aware - sometimes overtly, other times at an almost cellular, subliminal level - of the rules about what you can and can't do. — J. Michael Straczynski

You can't always relate to the big action things, but you can relate to small moments. — J. Michael Straczynski

I can easily come up with ten really iconic stories/trade paperbacks for Superman, Batman, others ... name me ten equally big, iconic Wonder Woman stories. Much harder. That ain't the character's fault, that isn't sexism, that's just not servicing the character. — J. Michael Straczynski

Writing is the process of asking the next logical question. — J. Michael Straczynski

Science fiction shows are traditionally about the gimmick or the gadget and tend to be emotionally cool to the touch. — J. Michael Straczynski

I think that we are already making steps toward mapping out the brain so we can identify the chemical patterns that create and store memory. — J. Michael Straczynski

To me, science fiction is about the sense of mystery, the sense of awe. Not 'shock and awe', just 'awe.' — J. Michael Straczynski

You can't just pick up a gun and become a gunfighter, or go off and explore for a new world, or pull a sword out of a stone, or rescue a damsel in distress, or
so we play games and we read books because the world isn't the world we thought we were supposed to get, the world we thought we'd been promised by somebody. Because things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to. So we go someplace else. — J. Michael Straczynski

SPIDER-MAN (thinking): I can bench press a car. I can climb up the
side of a wall. Fight twenty guys to a standstill. Swing across chasms thirty stories deep. Feel a bullet coming my way and move fast enough to get clear. But something in her makes me gentle. Makes me shy. Makes me strong. Makes me happy to be alive. And maybe that's it. Maybe that's what it really comes down to. She makes me. Makes me whole ... She completes me ...
So here's the thing, God ... I know I complain a lot, and I know that you and me, we've got issues, but right now, just for tonight ... Thank you for her. Thank you. Amazing Spider-Man #53 (Volume 2) — J. Michael Straczynski

The thing about denying someone their voice in this life is that it tends to come out in death. — J. Michael Straczynski

We are not powerless. We have tremendous potential for good or ill. How we choose to use that power is up to us; but first we must choose to use it. We're told every day, You can't change the world. But the world is changing every day. Only question is who's doing it? You or somebody else? — J. Michael Straczynski

Life isn't about the final moments, it's about the journey, it's about process. What makes 'Rocky' work as a movie is seeing him working his way up from the streets to the arena and the fight of his life. You could just show that fight, and it would be great, but seeing that journey illuminates that fight and adds profound meaning to it. — J. Michael Straczynski

The whole point of Superman, as originally created, was to be the ally of those who had no other allies. It put that magnitude of power, the most powerful guy in the world, in the service of those who had no hope, no chance. — J. Michael Straczynski

If sacred places are spared the ravages of war ... then make all places sacred. And if the holy people are to be kept harmless from war ... then make all people holy. — J. Michael Straczynski

Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.
This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world
No, YOU move. — J. Michael Straczynski

Angels can't enter hell unless a demon holds open the door, and demons can't enter heaven without an angel's say-so. — J. Michael Straczynski

Greatness is never appreciated in youth, called pride in midlife, dismissed in old age, and reconsidered in death. Because we cannot tolerate greatness in our midst, we do all we can do destroy it. — J. Michael Straczynski

The point of mythology or myth is to point to the horizon and to point back to ourselves: This is who we are; this is where we came from; and this is where we're going. And a lot of Western society over the last hundred years - the last 50 years really - has lost that. We have become rather aimless and wandering. — J. Michael Straczynski

There can always be new beginnings ... even for people like us. — J. Michael Straczynski

We are in a tech-heavy society, plunging headlong into an unknown future. Science fiction is what allows you to stand back and analyze the impact of that and put it in context of how it affects people. — J. Michael Straczynski

At its heartmeat core, writing is about exploring the questions of your heart on the assumption that what intrigues you, what inflames or amuses or ennobles you, will have the same effect on someone else. It's about taking chances, and taking risks, and pushing yourself to be honest in the issues that present themselves. — J. Michael Straczynski

My philosophy: find what it is you want to say, walk in the room, say it, and get the hell out. — J. Michael Straczynski

It's been amazing to watch, because for 'Thor', which was always a mid-selling book, to be in the top ten for every single issue since the reboot is just a great compliment. — J. Michael Straczynski

A movie is a movie and a book is a book, and they have different rules. — J. Michael Straczynski

Everyone in the entertainment business gets crappy contracts when we start out, and into the middle of our careers. It's the nature of the business. — J. Michael Straczynski

Here's the miracle: I grew up thinking, 'Wouldn't it be great to write 'Superman' someday? Wouldn't it be great to create my own show, or work on 'Lensman,' or 'Forbidden Planet?' Those were very literally the goals I set for myself, the dreams that I thought I didn't have a chance in hell of ever actually achieving. But it's happened. — J. Michael Straczynski

Like everyone else, I am going to die. But the words - the words live on for as long as there are readers to see them, audiences to hear them. It is immortality by proxy. It is not really a bad deal, all things considered. — J. Michael Straczynski

I always knew that I was going to be a writer. There was no question in my mind about that. — J. Michael Straczynski

On most TV shows, you work on a set and do some location. — J. Michael Straczynski

Delenn: The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station, and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are starstuff. — J. Michael Straczynski

We walk in dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge and no one may pass. We live for the One. We die for the One.
the Ranger oath — J. Michael Straczynski

I've made a decision and now I must face the consequences. — J. Michael Straczynski

The sky was full of stars, and every star an exploding ship. — J. Michael Straczynski

A lot of the futuristic space stuff seemed to me to be a very cool form of science-fiction, so that was my first real baptism in the genre. — J. Michael Straczynski

I've worked on high visibility shows that weren't always the best, and low visibility shows that I love but that didn't have the PR behind them. — J. Michael Straczynski

Find what scares you and do it. — J. Michael Straczynski

I am big believer in the notion that as a species we are better together than we are apart, that the common core of our shared humanity is stronger than that which seeks to marginalize us and factualize us and turn us against each other. — J. Michael Straczynski

People in a cluster are bound to each other automatically, and can see each other automatically. — J. Michael Straczynski

Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't accept your compliment. You see, I'm an atheist, so if I'm also God, that would mean that I don't believe in myself, and at this point in my life, I don't need the added insecurity. — J. Michael Straczynski

On a purely personal level, it's very strange, because as a kid, Superman informed my personality. Now I've been given the job of forming Superman's personality and, in some ways, drawing on my own background. — J. Michael Straczynski

Captain John Sheridan: I wish I had your faith in the universe. I just don't see it.
Delenn: Then I will tell you a great secret, Captain. Perhaps the greatest of them all. The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station , and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are starstuff. We are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. And as we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective. — J. Michael Straczynski

Never enough time. It's never enough time. Was there enough time? — J. Michael Straczynski

I like writing. It's partly control freak, and partly I really like what I do for a living. I have the luckiest job in the world. I can get up every day and do what I love for a living. — J. Michael Straczynski

What are the purposes and priorities of teaching? ... First, to inspire. Second, to challenge. Third, and only third, to impart information. — J. Michael Straczynski

I'm a big believer in the idea that while we are the sum of our tears, we are also the product of our choices in how we deal with those tears. — J. Michael Straczynski

Wouldn't it be much worse if life really were fair and all the terrible things that happen to us happen because we really deserve them? — J. Michael Straczynski

If your going to have delusions, you might as well go for the really satisfying ones. — J. Michael Straczynski

Whenever you can bring your chops in as a reporter to unearth a cool story, that's always a good thing. — J. Michael Straczynski

I want to have time. When you're doing a monthly book, you're like a man racing after a bus. You're breathless and red-faced. I want to build in quality control. — J. Michael Straczynski

The whole point of having great characters is the opportunity to explore them more deeply with time, re-interpreting them for each new age. — J. Michael Straczynski

You don't buy into huge car chases or sensates or interstellar warfare, but you can buy into a loving relationship or a father-son relationship, and you can buy into the small humor. If you want to make your fiction universal, go small. That's the best way to do it. — J. Michael Straczynski

The more important the emotion is, the fewer words required to express it:
Will you go out with me?
I think I like you.
I care for you.
I love you.
Marry me.
Goodbye. — J. Michael Straczynski

We know that if memory is destroyed in one part of the brain, it can be sometimes re-created on a different part of the brain. And once we can unravel that amino chain of chemicals that is responsible for memory, I see no reason why we can't unlock it and, essentially, wipe out what's there. — J. Michael Straczynski

Did Alan Moore get screwed on his contract? Of course. Lots of people get screwed, but we still have Spider-Man and lots of other heroes. — J. Michael Straczynski

It is not for the gods to decide whether or not Man exists - it is for Man to decide whether or not the gods exist. — J. Michael Straczynski

Stage-persona notwithstanding, I'm extremely shy and quiet. Almost painfully shy. People misinterpret that as being above it all or not interested. — J. Michael Straczynski

Writers write for one reason: to create an emotion in the reader, to reach across and make them feel something. You want a reaction. Yeah, it's nicer when the reaction is to throw flowers than it is to throw brickbats, but you have to accept both equally. — J. Michael Straczynski

Sometimes you can't see what the problem is until you go close, until you look deep inside. It's when you look beyond the edge of what you think you know that you can finally arrive at the truth. — J. Michael Straczynski

Again, one of the problems I have with television, as I mentioned before, is it's trivial in many ways, and I think that a lot of folks out there are looking for new metaphors and new ways of thinking about things. — J. Michael Straczynski

Faith and reason are the shoes on your feet. You can travel further with both than you can with just one. — J. Michael Straczynski

G'Kar: We are all the sum of our tears. Too little and the ground is not fertile, and nothing can grow there. Too much, the best of us is washed away. — J. Michael Straczynski

For me, growing up in a ridiculously poor family living in dead-end neighborhoods, Superman was a deeply personal icon, one that said you can do anything if you put your mind to it. What he stood for formed the core of who I wanted to be as I grew up, and informed how I view the world and my responsibilities to other people. — J. Michael Straczynski

A good story should provoke discussion, debate, argument ... and the occasional bar fight. — J. Michael Straczynski

On the Internet, inside information is currency, and there will always be counterfeiters among us. — J. Michael Straczynski

If we cannot win, we can at least deprive them of the victory. — J. Michael Straczynski

Sometimes the pain they wish to spare is their own because if you can be convinced to set aside your own dreams, they can remain comfortable with their decision to do the same. — J. Michael Straczynski

I don't need to write comics for a living. I have movies and TV for that. I write comics for one reason and one reason only: I love comics. I love the form, the structure, the storytelling process, I love everything about it. — J. Michael Straczynski

No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. — J. Michael Straczynski

Life was meant to be lived full measure, flat out, pedal to the metal. Don't live the rest of your life like a Porsche that never leaves the garage because somebody's afraid to scratch it. — J. Michael Straczynski

Anyone who sets foot into the 'Watchmen' universe and isn't just a little nervous should be given a few days of electroshock therapy. I've always considered 'Watchmen' to be one of the best graphic novels ever written, and when it came out back in 1986 I was as blown away as everyone else. Just masterful. — J. Michael Straczynski

If every violent program in the nation were blipped off the air for 48 hours, and replaced by reruns of the 'Donna Reed Show', there would not be one less death in South Central LA. At most you'd have several more incidents of people shooting out their TVs. — J. Michael Straczynski

You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe. — J. Michael Straczynski

Accidents happen. That's what everyone says. But in a quantum universe there are no such things as accidents, only possibilities and probabilities folded into existence by perception. — J. Michael Straczynski

There are those who seem to feel they have no choice about being jerks in the present because they had a crappy childhood. Well, that's the definition of childhood; nobody gets out alive. You either get stronger from what you experience, or you turn it into a crutch, an excuse, a dodge. — J. Michael Straczynski

When a book of mine comes out, I instantly go hunting the net, not for praise, but for criticism, because that's how you learn, from people who don't have to be polite to you. — J. Michael Straczynski

I sometimes find reality far more fantastical and unlikely than what I could just make up. — J. Michael Straczynski

The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of the future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain. — J. Michael Straczynski

NEVER SURRENDER DREAMS
If we are to be who we are; if we are to accomplish great things; then we must learn the heart's most essential rule: NEVER SURRENDER DREAMS — J. Michael Straczynski

You can only have one voice on set, and that has to be the director. — J. Michael Straczynski

I have to move fast, if I hesitate even a second longer, I'll lose focus and be trapped forever in this ... this ... toilet! — J. Michael Straczynski

As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious, because it's only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark, and then it's gone forever. — J. Michael Straczynski

When the 'Seinfeld' show said it was going to be a show about nothing, everybody said it couldn't - wouldn't work. It did. 'Thor' is about something, about that character finding his destiny, but it's not doing what was expected ... and yet it's doing very well. — J. Michael Straczynski

When I saw Wonder Woman being constantly put in positions where she'd get tied up with her own rope, or held hostage, even as a kid, my reaction was 'C'mon, she's too smart for that.' — J. Michael Straczynski

Growing up as a kid, we moved all over the country on a fairly frequent basis, from New Jersey to Texas, California, Illinois ... we moved 21 times in my first 17 years. — J. Michael Straczynski

Budget grows out of the story. If you're writing a story with people caught in an elevator for most of the film, you're pretty sure it won't be a $200 million movie. — J. Michael Straczynski

The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast terrible in-between. But there is still time to seize that one last fragile moment. — J. Michael Straczynski

I'm all for crossovers if they benefit the individual books. — J. Michael Straczynski

To have someone like Clint Eastwood come along and shoot your first draft as written is just any screenwriter's dream. And Clint is very straightforward. If it's good enough to get his attention, it's good enough to produce. — J. Michael Straczynski