Quotes by Director | Beyond Motive 2/67

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Quotes by Director

"Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a wall until he was a bloody pulp, after a while it would make you laugh because it becomes absurd."

"Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a wall until he was a bloody pulp, after a while it would make you laugh because it becomes absurd."

David Lynch, American Director

Humor, Life, Absurdity, Ignorance

67

"Normally as a director, you do look at other films and things that are relevant. But with this film, it became impossible because I became so aware of the camera placement."

"Normally as a director, you do look at other films and things that are relevant. But with this film, it became impossible because I became so aware of the camera placement."

Peter Weir, Australian Director

67

"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good."

"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good."

Woody Allen, American Director

Love, Experience, Sex, Pretty

67

"I mean, you have to be able - you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can't do it by yourself."

"I mean, you have to be able - you have to have made the commitment within yourself to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to try to inspire other people to do it, because obviously the first rule is you can't do it by yourself."

James Cameron, American Director

People, Commitment, First, Job

66

"Movies are usually difficult, often insane, constantly challenging and always strangely amusing to make."

"Movies are usually difficult, often insane, constantly challenging and always strangely amusing to make."

Yahoo Serious, Australian Director

65

"I do what I do because of Walt Disney - his films and his theme park and his characters and his joy in entertaining."

"I do what I do because of Walt Disney - his films and his theme park and his characters and his joy in entertaining."

John Lasseter, American Director

Inspirational, Disney, Joy

65

"Women today are dealing with both their independence and also the fact that their lives are built around finding and satisfying the romantic models we grew up with."

"Women today are dealing with both their independence and also the fact that their lives are built around finding and satisfying the romantic models we grew up with."

Jane Campion, New Zealander Director

Woman, Women, Fact, Independence, Romantic

65

"I was interested in both Western and Indian classical music."

"I was interested in both Western and Indian classical music."

Satyajit Ray, Indian Director

64

"I met a hustler at a dinner party. He had been invited because I was looking for an adviser to help me with the street scenes. So we put him on the film."

"I met a hustler at a dinner party. He had been invited because I was looking for an adviser to help me with the street scenes. So we put him on the film."

John Schlesinger, British Director

Film, Help, Party

64

"There were two sides to David Lean: on the one side, he was kind of a rather stiff, disciplined Englishman. And then he had this kind of romantic side to him. I think being true to both sides of your nature is important."

"There were two sides to David Lean: on the one side, he was kind of a rather stiff, disciplined Englishman. And then he had this kind of romantic side to him. I think being true to both sides of your nature is important."

John Boorman, British Director

Nature, Being, Romantic

63

"Cinemas gained new young audiences who wanted films made for them."

"Cinemas gained new young audiences who wanted films made for them."

Andrzej Wajda, Polish Director

Media, Audiences

61

"I was in jail four and a half years. When I came out, I continued the same struggle against injustice, but instead of using weapons, I began to use art and cinema."

"I was in jail four and a half years. When I came out, I continued the same struggle against injustice, but instead of using weapons, I began to use art and cinema."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

Art, Cinema, Injustice, Struggle

61

"Well I think effects are tools."

"Well I think effects are tools."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

60

"It's just, for me, the natural standard: a woman should be able to decide over her own body."

"It's just, for me, the natural standard: a woman should be able to decide over her own body."

Lasse Hallstrom, Swedish Director

60

"From my films, you can at least learn about Iran, you can get a sense of the history and the society. But no such films have been made about Afghanistan, so you really can't know much about it."

"From my films, you can at least learn about Iran, you can get a sense of the history and the society. But no such films have been made about Afghanistan, so you really can't know much about it."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

History, Society, Afghanistan, Sense

60

"This was in '79. I got pretty restless there, sitting around with a lot of people sitting around smoking cigarettes and talking about films, but nobody really doing anything."

"This was in '79. I got pretty restless there, sitting around with a lot of people sitting around smoking cigarettes and talking about films, but nobody really doing anything."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

People, Pretty, Smoking, Talking

59

"Usually people like to categorise artists. With my films, I categorise people: if I know which one of my movies you like, I can tell which kind of a person you are."

"Usually people like to categorise artists. With my films, I categorise people: if I know which one of my movies you like, I can tell which kind of a person you are."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

Movies, People, Artists

59

"When we began filming, these people had legs, but as we were filming, they had been injured and they were brought to the hospital to have their legs amputated, and that's where we found them and asked them to come and be part of the film."

"When we began filming, these people had legs, but as we were filming, they had been injured and they were brought to the hospital to have their legs amputated, and that's where we found them and asked them to come and be part of the film."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

59

"I think that The Eye is a particularly Americanized take on horror."

"I think that The Eye is a particularly Americanized take on horror."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

Film, Eye, Horror

58

"The style depends on the subject."

"The style depends on the subject."

Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian Director

58

"For me, the first fact of human existence is the human body. But if you embrace the reality of the human body, you embrace mortality, and that is a very difficult thing for anything to do because the self-conscious mind cannot imagine non-existence. It's impossible to do."

"For me, the first fact of human existence is the human body. But if you embrace the reality of the human body, you embrace mortality, and that is a very difficult thing for anything to do because the self-conscious mind cannot imagine non-existence. It's impossible to do."

David Cronenberg, Canadian Director

Body, Existence, Fact, First

58

"I'm thinking, this is Robert Redford. You know, he's won an Academy Award, he's talking to me about directing a movie he's in. So you just think that it's Hollywood stuff or whatever."

"I'm thinking, this is Robert Redford. You know, he's won an Academy Award, he's talking to me about directing a movie he's in. So you just think that it's Hollywood stuff or whatever."

Barry Levinson, American Director

Hollywood, Talking, Thinking

58

"I did some film reviews for small papers in Finland and things like that to be able to keep living here."

"I did some film reviews for small papers in Finland and things like that to be able to keep living here."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

57

"Minority views expressed in films simply don't sell tickets."

"Minority views expressed in films simply don't sell tickets."

Karel Reisz, Czechoslovakian Director

56

"Revenge is sweet and not fattening."

"Revenge is sweet and not fattening."

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

56

"I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

"I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

Woody Allen, American Director

56

"You just never give up, no matter how hard the challenges are, and observe this world with a healthy dose of criticism and don't just follow the herd like somebody else might do."

"You just never give up, no matter how hard the challenges are, and observe this world with a healthy dose of criticism and don't just follow the herd like somebody else might do."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Criticism, World

55

"I think there are movies that are so gigantic that you need a second unit."

"I think there are movies that are so gigantic that you need a second unit."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

55

"The French have got to understand that a film is so expensive that it can no longer afford to be regional or even national in scope."

"The French have got to understand that a film is so expensive that it can no longer afford to be regional or even national in scope."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

55

"I became a real Shell Motor Oil expert, and I did this 25-minute film. It turned out really well and, as a result, they offered me more work and lots of commercials to direct."

"I became a real Shell Motor Oil expert, and I did this 25-minute film. It turned out really well and, as a result, they offered me more work and lots of commercials to direct."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Work, Film, Oil, Result

54

"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee."

"Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee."

James Cameron, American Director

Friendship, Sister, Friends, Name, Now

54

"Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this."

"Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this."

Martin Scorsese, American Director

Cinema, Now, Talk, World

53

"Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth."

"Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth."

Alan Rudolph, American Director

Truth, Identity, Moments

53

"The more opinions you have, the less you see."

"The more opinions you have, the less you see."

Wim Wenders, German Director

Perspective, Opinions

52

"I always found the film world unpleasant. It's all about the schedule, and never really flew for me."

"I always found the film world unpleasant. It's all about the schedule, and never really flew for me."

Francis Ford Coppola, American Director

52

"To me the director's job is to leave it in better shape than you found it, literally."

"To me the director's job is to leave it in better shape than you found it, literally."

Steven Soderbergh, American Director

52

"For any director with a little lucidity, masterpieces are films that come to you by accident."

"For any director with a little lucidity, masterpieces are films that come to you by accident."

Sidney Lumet, American Director

51

"The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves."

"The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves."

Satyajit Ray, Indian Director

50

"Wuxia is a fantasy world exists in everyone's mind."

"Wuxia is a fantasy world exists in everyone's mind."

Zhang Yimou, Chinese Director

Media, Fantasy, Mind, World

49

"In the future, everybody is going to be a director. Somebody's got to live a real life so we have something to make a movie about."

"In the future, everybody is going to be a director. Somebody's got to live a real life so we have something to make a movie about."

Cameron Crowe, American Director

49

"My parents said, Oh, he's going to be a director someday. I wanted to be an actor."

"My parents said, Oh, he's going to be a director someday. I wanted to be an actor."

Quentin Tarantino, American Director

49

"The novel is a penetrating study of morals and ethics."

"The novel is a penetrating study of morals and ethics."

Bille August, Danish Director

Literature, Ethics, Morals, Study

48

"You can pretend to be serious; but you can't pretend to be witty."

"You can pretend to be serious; but you can't pretend to be witty."

Sacha Guitry, French Director

48

"In the beginning of the human race there was no genetic load which would cause undesirable traits such as appear in offspring of marriages between relatives today."

"In the beginning of the human race there was no genetic load which would cause undesirable traits such as appear in offspring of marriages between relatives today."

Walter Lang, American Director

Beginning, Cause, Race, Relatives

48

"A government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation funds filmmaking there, and I wrote several screenplays but never got any money. They were sent back to me, and they said that they were too commercial for them."

"A government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation funds filmmaking there, and I wrote several screenplays but never got any money. They were sent back to me, and they said that they were too commercial for them."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Government, Money, Film

48

"Cinema Paradiso, because it reminds me of why I make movies, the magic of movies, the romance of movies."

"Cinema Paradiso, because it reminds me of why I make movies, the magic of movies, the romance of movies."

Antoine Fuqua, American Director

Movies, Romance, Cinema, Magic

47

"All the jokes in my films, the comedy, they're not me, I just try to hold a big mirror up to us."

"All the jokes in my films, the comedy, they're not me, I just try to hold a big mirror up to us."

Yahoo Serious, Australian Director

47

"I have a short attention span."

"I have a short attention span."

Tony Scott, British Director

47

"You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates."

"You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates."

Werner Herzog, German Director

46

"It was actually Peter's idea that I should make the film. He called me in the very beginning, and I hadn't even read the book. So I read it and I liked it very much and I knew I'd certainly like to do it."

"It was actually Peter's idea that I should make the film. He called me in the very beginning, and I hadn't even read the book. So I read it and I liked it very much and I knew I'd certainly like to do it."

Bille August, Danish Director

Creativity, Idea, Beginning, Film

46

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