Everyone starts out desperately trying to make a hit, but some people are just more mistake-prone than others. I happened to be fairly mistake-prone. Of the 40 shows I made, I’d say ten were hits, which is a pretty good average. Stephen J. Cannell Read Quote
The first act is the easiest to plot. The second act is always the hardest to plot. Generally a good, you know, sometimes the third act can be difficult because you can get into a rut in the third act – everybody runs to their Corvette, has a chase, and you catch the bad guy. Stephen J. Cannell Read Quote
I believe in three-act structure. When I say that to novel people, or people in the world of books, they go, ‘Well, that’s a film thing.’ However, even a good joke has three acts. Stephen J. Cannell Read Quote
I finally get to the place where the book has matured in my mind and I can hardly wait to start writing it. Then I just sit down and I start. I hit the go button. I have an outline, which is 70 pages, but I don’t look at it. I never have to look at it. Stephen J. Cannell Read Quote
My dad was my best friend. I worshipped him. All of my success in life really comes from him. He believed that you get nothing from negativity. Stephen J. Cannell Read Quote
Once you put something like ‘The A-Team’ on the map, it does become part of the DNA of television. People grab little pieces of it. I certainly grabbed little pieces of other people’s shows when I was creating my shows. Stephen J. Cannell Read Quote
