John Ridley
John Ridley
John Ridley IV is an American screenwriter, film director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
CountryUnited States of America
hipster thinking looks
When I was young and I look at the things that I wrote - I don't think that was the word they used back then, but they had a hipster sensibility. They were a little irreverent.
creating entertainment emotion
When entertainment works the best, you're creating an apparatus to convey emotions.
drama thinking space
I don't think it's good when entertainment tries to proselytize and I don't think people ultimately want someone showing up in their living room and just hectoring at them all day long. But if you can create a space where people are caught up in something - whether it's a drama, a comedy, a romantic comedy, or science fiction - that's when people give over their minds and allow their emotions to flow.
thinking talking intellectual
We see films all the time, whether they have access to all kinds of intellectual property or artifacts, and the one thing that they don't get is story. So I think whether you're talking about a biopic or an action film or a science-fiction film that has all the CGI in the world, if you're not trying to connect with an audience, it doesn't really matter.
jobs police sometimes
We all hope that the police and prosecutors are objective. That's their job, but sometimes it's not true.
police sides needs
Depending on which side you're on, maybe the police are too objective and need to be a bit more subjective.
people treats
You can treat faith as part of people's it's lives.
real character doors
When people come in the door and they have something, discovering and exploring the character is a real joy.
men people hollywood
I understand politicos gotta make bank. But cloistering with the Hollywood elite is not how you prove you're a man of the people.
achievement individuality black
It is time to celebrate the New Black Americans - those who have sealed the Deal, who aren't beholden to liberal indulgence any more than they are to the disdain of the hard Right. It is time to praise blacks who are merely undeniable in their individuality and exemplary in their levels of achievement .
father gay rights
Gay marriage will be universally accepted in time. But if I may be so bold as to say to gays and lesbians, don't wait for that time to arrive. Just as my father and his generation did not 'wait' for their civil rights, nor should you. The toothpaste ain't going back in the tube. The tide has turned.
people giving way
Bigots are actually funny to me in the way that people who still wear parachute pants give me a chuckle.
mother teacher father
At an early age, I knew there were a lot of things I couldn't do. My father was a doctor, and my mother was a teacher. I knew I wasn't good in numbers, and I knew I wouldn't work well in overly structured environments.
college care vote
Much as banks don't care where your money's coming from, the Electoral College is all 'don't ask, don't care' when it comes to votes.