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
beautiful events happens
For every horrific event, something beautiful happens.
america firsts virtue
Quite simply, quite plainly, just by virtue of his being, Obama is America. The first true American to lead our nation.
crazy kids thinking
My kids will find me walking around the house talking to myself and think I'm going crazy. I like to read the scripts out loud and really get the rhythm for the dialogue.
country people earth
There is not a country on earth whose people don't deserve to be free and safe.
black littles tire
I can tell you from personal experience it gets a little tiring having to make the rounds on cable shows to explain 'what's up with black folks.'
believe hollywood morality
Even I haven't downed enough L.A. Kool-Aid to believe that somehow Hollywood movies are an overt instrument of morality.
writing decision trying
I don't know when I made that active decision to be a writer or to try to write, but I know I always liked storytelling.
people politician obvious
With fear of stating the obvious: Freedom belongs to 'We the People,' not 'They the Politicians.'
children names desire
I've no desire to start a movement, to be the first name on an open petition, or to be the poster child for disgruntled writers.
coping-mechanisms vegas hustle
As a coping mechanism, or as a way to make a little hard count by shilling demons in the shadows, I try not to belittle the thought process of the conspiracy theorists. As a cocktail waitress in Vegas once schooled me: never get down on anybody else's hustle.
emotion worried storyteller
As a writer, as a storyteller, you have to have your emotions close, and the older I've gotten, the less I've worried about not displaying emotions.
children real mean
For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-bo rder cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.
gratitude fighting should
When it comes to fighting for freedom, those who are willing to fight should not be limited by our bigotry. Only rewarded with our gratitude.
hate facts unsaid
Facts tend to take the punch out of a good hate rant and are therefore left best unsaid.