Quotes from Douglas Wood

While I've lived in L.A. since 1985, I'll always consider Chicago my home town and have much affection for it. My parents and sister still live there so I try to visit as often as I'm able.

Dick Van Dyke was my first idol. He's an amazing physical comedian, like a classic clown, but also very smart and not afraid to show vulnerability.

The best way for a beginner to write for animation is to closely watch animated films, then read the screenplays for them afterwards.

I became much happier when I realized I shouldn't depend solely on my career for my sense of self. So I developed other interests and surrounded myself with a small group of friends I could trust.

Fear of failure has always been my best motivator.

I became much happier when I realized I shouldn't depend solely on my career for my sense of self. So I developed other interests and surrounded myself with a small group of friends I could trust.

Dick Van Dyke was my first idol. He's an amazing physical comedian, like a classic clown, but also very smart and not afraid to show vulnerability.

The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.

The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time. The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for. And the more we find to be thankful for, the happier we become. We don't give thanks because we're happy. We are happy because we give thanks.

Most prayers are not really questions...and if we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer. ...We pray because we are here - not to change the world, but to change ourselves. Because it is when we change ourselves...that the world is changed.

There's a willow tree that stands by my river She holds me in her arms when I am cold. And we listen to the sounds Of the pebbles on the ground, And I know what it means to be old.

We do not give thanks because we are happy.  We are happy because we give thanks."   --Douglas Wood

Like the trees and winds and waters, we pray because we are here - not to change the world, but to change ourselves. Because it is when we change ourselves....that the world is changed.

The important thing to remember is that the words will always be right if they are real and true and come from the heart.

Animation scripts tend to be much more descriptive and are lighter on dialogue.

Originality is, for me, the most important quality in a script.

Write the kind of movie you would want to see, in a genre you love.

I used to love Woody Allen but feel he's become a hack as a director. 'Bullets Over Broadway' is the only film of his I've enjoyed in the last 10 years.

I would rather read a poorly structured story that has fresh ideas than a tightly structured one with cliches.

But so much of being an actor isn't so great - the auditioning, the rejection, the financial insecurity.

I'm more concerned with getting them to find and strengthen their original voice as writers rather than imposing my own subjective tastes, judgements or sensibility on the project.

Working in Hollywood can be tumultuous, with incredible highs and lows and you need to be grounded.

That said, I should also add that I learned a great deal from being allowed in these privileged circles and am grateful for the opportunity to have worked closely with some of the most powerful and successful people in the business including Steven Spielberg and Ted Turner.

I am a big fan of the TV series 'Taxi' which combined comedy and pathos better than any other show I've seen.