You have to have hope. Its irresponsible to give false hope, which I think a lot of playwrights are guilty of. But I also think its irresponsible to simply be a nihilist, which quite a lot of playwrights, especially playwrights younger than me, have become guilty of. – Tony Kushner
As much as I hate his movies, Oliver Stone has an aspiration I admire, and that is that he wants his art to be part of what makes and changes public policy and cultural practice. – Tony Kushner
A handful of works in history have had a direct impact on social policy: one or two works of Dickens, some of Zola, Uncle Toms Cabin and, in modern drama, Larry Kramers The Normal Heart. – Tony Kushner
Im happy that I feel a little less out of place in filmmaking than I once was – but its almost impossible for a playwright in the U.S. to make a living. You can have a play, like I did with Angels, and it still generates income for me, but its not enough for me to live on and have health insurance. – Tony Kushner