Fran Lebowitz Quotes - Page 12

When people say, 'Doesn't Gloria [Vanderbilt] look great? She's 85.' I say, 'Yes, she was a raving beauty when she was 20,' that's the key. Very helpful.

Screenwriting is not an artform, it is a punishment from God.

You should make it hard on yourself to write so you’re easier to read.

I am not... totally unreceptive to colour providing it makes its appearance quietly, deferentially, and without undue fanfare.

Knowingness is sexy. The opposite of sexy is naivete.

The first step in having any successful war is getting people to fight it.

A hobby is, of course, an abomination, as are all consuming interests and passions that do not lead directly to large, personal gain.

Writers have problems writing sex scenes, because writing one really well is pornography.

If you want to get ahead in this world get a lawyer -- not a book.

I don't like the kind of country living where you have to help. I like country living where there is help.

You sit or stand in the subway, and you look around - I do, because I don't have a phone so I'm not playing a game - and you see people.

I am a New Yorker. I like New York. And I like cities. And it's not my desire to make New York more suburban. I would personally just like to vet each person.

There's too much democracy in the culture, not enough in the society.

When I started publishing, I got offers to write for big magazines. But I would always say, "Well, it's not that I don't want to write for these big magazines, but you can't edit it."

Now people need special costumes to ride bicycles. I mean, a helmet, what, are you an astronaut??

I always make a big effort to make a distinction between what is actually worse or what is just worse about not being 21. Of course, it's much worse not to be 21. This is a given. But there are things that are worse.

Perhaps one of the more noteworthy trends of our time is the occupation of buildings accompanied by the taking of hostages. The perpetrators of these deeds are generally motivated by political grievance, social injustice, and the deeply felt desire to see how they look on TV.

Contrary to what many of you may imagine, a career in letters is not without its drawbacks - chief among them the unpleasant fact that one is frequently called upon to sit down and write.

I have friends, some of whom are spectacularly good writers, who really want someone to edit them. I don't register that impulse. It's like the impulse for wanting a dog.

Citizen's Band radio renders one accessible to a wide variety of people from all walks of life. It should not be forgotten that all walks of life include conceptual artists, dry cleaners, and living poets.

I hate academic mysteries. As soon as I come across the word 'don' and it's not someone's first name, I close the book.

It is not true that there is dignity in all work. Some jobs are definitely better than others.... People who have good jobs are happy, rich, and well dressed. People who have bad jobs are unhappy, poor and use meat extenders. Those who seek dignity in the type of work that compels them to help hamburgers are certain to be disappointed.

I'm like the laziest person who ever lived. It's amazing to me I even sit up.

The first time I ever saw platform shoes in the '70s, I knew they'd been revived from the '40s, and I felt sickened. And for whatever reason, they keep getting revived. They've come back four times. I wish we could let them die. They want to die. They were horrible then, they're horrible now.

Money...buys privacy, silence. The less money you have, the noisier it is; the thinner your walls, the closer your neighbors.... The first thing you notice when you step into the house or apartment of a rich person is how quiet it is.