Neil Simon Play Quotations

Danny made me laugh. ... He made everyone laugh. He was a character (in more ways than one) in at least nine or 10 of my plays, and I'm sure will probably be there again in many plays to come.

I much prefer writing an original movie with the screen in mind to transferring a play to the screen.

I don't like losing the words, as you have to, when I'm asked to turn a play into a movie. It's not a matter of ego . . . I'm just better able to create the character for an audience through words rather than through actions.

I never write a play with an eye to film.

[When you write a play] you walk into a forest without a knife, without a compass. But . . . if you have a sense of geography, you find that you're clearing a path and getting to the right place.

A lot of your personality is formed before you're 12, obviously, but only a few of my plays use characters from my childhood. The more mature plays are affected only by my adult experiences.