Quotes by J. J. Abrams

"You never want to have that ticking clock and know that you had all this time and didn't use it."

"The ability of a television series to make adjustments is something you've got to take advantage of."

"Pitching is always a weird, difficult thing."

"I love working with the right actor, and if the right actor happens to be unknown, that should be allowed, too, I think."

"I'm not trying to be coy or manipulative or Machiavellian, I want to spark people's imaginations."

"As a kid, 'Star Wars' was much more my thing than 'Star Trek' was."

"I hate to look at the stuff I've written and consider what it means or why I do it."

"People never know what they want, though everyone says they do. If they did, nobody would ever be surprised."

"What's a bigger mystery box than a movie theater? You go to the theater, you're just so excited to see anything - the moment the lights go down is often the best part."

"I think that even if you're wondering if two characters are ever going to kiss, drawing out the inevitability is part of the fun. Whatever the genre happens to be."

"Whenever I've directed something, there's this feeling of demand and focus that I like."

"Robotics are beginning to cross that line from absolutely primitive motion to motion that resembles animal or human behavior."

"I am lucky, I'm the first to admit that."

"I don't think I have a signature."

"Whenever a toddler sees a pile of blocks, he wants to tear it down."

"To me the interesting main character is never the one without flaws."

"I work with really hard-working people who are really good at what they do."

"You can never guess or assume what anyone is going to think."

"When I was a kid, among the other embarrassing things I would do, and there's a list of stupid things, but I would make these dumb comedy tapes. I would often make prank phone calls, but I would also do it with friends."

"When I was a kid, it was a huge insult to be a geek. Now it's a point of pride in a weird way."