Quotes by Director | Beyond Motive 3/67

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Quotes by Director

"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

"Never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy. Never underestimate that."

"Never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy. Never underestimate that."

Oliver Stone, American Director

Power, Envy, Jealousy

47

"We'd be working in our motel room through the night, and I'd come up with an idea at two in the morning, and he'd start jumping up and down, pacing across the room, or whatever."

"We'd be working in our motel room through the night, and I'd come up with an idea at two in the morning, and he'd start jumping up and down, pacing across the room, or whatever."

Arthur Hiller, Canadian Director

Creativity, Idea, Night

47

"What happens to me is that I am first and foremost a film geek."

"What happens to me is that I am first and foremost a film geek."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

46

"My film is not a movie; it's not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam."

"My film is not a movie; it's not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam."

Francis Ford Coppola, American Director

46

"For all the boredom the straight life brings, it's not too bad."

"For all the boredom the straight life brings, it's not too bad."

Gus Van Sant, American Director

46

"When a man is shooting a handgun, it's just like he is shooting because that's his job, and he has no other choice. It's no good. When a girl is shooting a handgun, it's really something."

"When a man is shooting a handgun, it's just like he is shooting because that's his job, and he has no other choice. It's no good. When a girl is shooting a handgun, it's really something."

Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese Director

Choice, Job, Man

46

"The world distribution of French movies is a laughing matter. That is a fact."

"The world distribution of French movies is a laughing matter. That is a fact."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

Movies, Fact, World

45

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel pressed and tense almost every day of my life about something or other. And I think it's the one thing, as I look into people's eyes, that I think I share with almost everybody."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel pressed and tense almost every day of my life about something or other. And I think it's the one thing, as I look into people's eyes, that I think I share with almost everybody."

William Friedkin, American Director

Life, People, Day, Eyes

45

"People must not think that all bad in man which is unleashed, the moment you impose censorship disappears from man."

"People must not think that all bad in man which is unleashed, the moment you impose censorship disappears from man."

Milos Forman, Czechoslovakian Director

People, Censorship, Man

45

"I've been to Paris France and I've been to Paris Paramount. Paris Paramount is better."

"I've been to Paris France and I've been to Paris Paramount. Paris Paramount is better."

Ernst Lubitsch, German Director

Entertainment, France, Paris

45

"The intention was to shoot short films that can exist as shorts independently, but when I put them all together, there are things that echo through them like the dialogue repeats; the situation is always the same, the way they're shot is very simple and the same."

"The intention was to shoot short films that can exist as shorts independently, but when I put them all together, there are things that echo through them like the dialogue repeats; the situation is always the same, the way they're shot is very simple and the same."

Jim Jarmusch, American Director

Film, Echo, Intention

45

"Actually, it was first a movie called Gale Force, which was a hurricane movie. That script never came together, and then the same deal was replaced with Cliffhanger."

"Actually, it was first a movie called Gale Force, which was a hurricane movie. That script never came together, and then the same deal was replaced with Cliffhanger."

Renny Harlin, Finnish Director

Film, First, Force

45

"Hellboy is the first movie where both ends of the spectrum are combined."

"Hellboy is the first movie where both ends of the spectrum are combined."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

44

"Sex is a doorway to something so powerful and mystical, but movies usually depict it in a completely flat way."

"Sex is a doorway to something so powerful and mystical, but movies usually depict it in a completely flat way."

David Lynch, American Director

44

"The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself."

"The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself."

Wes Craven, American Director

44

"I come from a country and also a continent whose identity is in the making. We're a very young culture, and I think that things are not yet crystallised."

"I come from a country and also a continent whose identity is in the making. We're a very young culture, and I think that things are not yet crystallised."

Walter Salles, Brazilian Director

Nation, Country, Culture, Identity

43

"It always amazed me that he was able to do it, and that Orson Welles was able to do it. I never understood it because the talents are absolutely opposite - polar opposites."

"It always amazed me that he was able to do it, and that Orson Welles was able to do it. I never understood it because the talents are absolutely opposite - polar opposites."

Mark Rydell, American Director

Comparison, Opposites

43

"Somebody once said, you have to wait 20 years before you can tell if a movie's any good or not so that's probably true."

"Somebody once said, you have to wait 20 years before you can tell if a movie's any good or not so that's probably true."

Walter Hill, American Director

43

"People have become shallower. They view spending, entertaining, seeking leisure and enjoying as the main objectives of their life."

"People have become shallower. They view spending, entertaining, seeking leisure and enjoying as the main objectives of their life."

Zhang Yimou, Chinese Director

Life, People, Leisure, Objectives

42

"Technology is us. There is no separation. It's a pure expression of human creative will. It doesn't exist anywhere else in the universe. I'm rather sure of that."

"Technology is us. There is no separation. It's a pure expression of human creative will. It doesn't exist anywhere else in the universe. I'm rather sure of that."

David Cronenberg, Canadian Director

Technology, Expression, Separation, Universe

42

"The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep."

"The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep."

Woody Allen, American Director

42

"Every fighter has one fight that makes or breaks him."

"Every fighter has one fight that makes or breaks him."

Elia Kazan, American Director

42

"I had developed this habit of writing scenarios as a hobby. I would find out which stories had been sold to be made into films and I would write my own treatment and then compare it."

"I had developed this habit of writing scenarios as a hobby. I would find out which stories had been sold to be made into films and I would write my own treatment and then compare it."

Satyajit Ray, Indian Director

Habit, Treatment, Writing

42

"A collection of huts surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and in the huts lived 500 of the original inhabitants of our area. And so it went with many country towns around Australia."

"A collection of huts surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and in the huts lived 500 of the original inhabitants of our area. And so it went with many country towns around Australia."

Phillip Noyce, Australian Director

Nation, Country

41

"I learned at a very early age, the easiest thing in the world is to tell the truth, and then you don't have to remember what you said. It has nothing to do with morality, just remembering what you said."

"I learned at a very early age, the easiest thing in the world is to tell the truth, and then you don't have to remember what you said. It has nothing to do with morality, just remembering what you said."

Robert Evans, American Director

Age, Morality, Truth, Nothing

41

"Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world."

"Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world."

Jean-Luc Godard, French Director

Cinema, Fraud, World

41

"I had read tons of science fiction. I was fascinated by other worlds, other environments. For me, it was fantasy, but it was not fantasy in the sense of pure escapism."

"I had read tons of science fiction. I was fascinated by other worlds, other environments. For me, it was fantasy, but it was not fantasy in the sense of pure escapism."

James Cameron, American Director

Science, Escapism, Fantasy, Fiction

41

"The concept of absurdity is something I'm attracted to."

"The concept of absurdity is something I'm attracted to."

David Lynch, American Director

41

"The preserve of ambition and folly in pursuit of illusion, or delusion."

"The preserve of ambition and folly in pursuit of illusion, or delusion."

Derek Jarman, British Director

Ambition, Delusion, Folly, Illusion

41

"In the name of Hippocrates, doctors have invented the most exquisite form of torture ever known to man: survival."

"In the name of Hippocrates, doctors have invented the most exquisite form of torture ever known to man: survival."

Luis Bunuel, Mexican Director

Survival, Doctors, Name

40

"A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something."

"A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something."

Frank Capra, American Director

Creativity, Trying

40

"I think that finding a way into somebody's life that's sort of off from a side angle can tell you more about that person than a greatest hits approach."

"I think that finding a way into somebody's life that's sort of off from a side angle can tell you more about that person than a greatest hits approach."

Bill Condon, American Director

40

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out."

"What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out."

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

40

"I took the name Green Destiny from - well there is such a sword called Green Destiny. It is green because you keep twisting it, it's an ancient skill, you keep twisting it and knocking it and twisting it until it is very elastic and light."

"I took the name Green Destiny from - well there is such a sword called Green Destiny. It is green because you keep twisting it, it's an ancient skill, you keep twisting it and knocking it and twisting it until it is very elastic and light."

Ang Lee, Chinese Director

Destiny, Light, Name, Skill

40

"The silent film has a lot of meanings. The first part of the film is comic. It represents the burlesque feel of those silent films. But I think that the second part of the film is full of tenderness and emotion."

"The silent film has a lot of meanings. The first part of the film is comic. It represents the burlesque feel of those silent films. But I think that the second part of the film is full of tenderness and emotion."

Pedro Almodovar, Spanish Director

Emotional, Emotion, Film, First, Tenderness

40

"I always have coffee without sugar, you know. Just cream."

"I always have coffee without sugar, you know. Just cream."

Vincente Minnelli, American Director

Personal, Coffee

40

"I wanted to do another movie that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world. I wanted to do something else that could make us smile. This is a time when we need to smile more and Hollywood movies are supposed to do that for people in difficult times."

"I wanted to do another movie that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world. I wanted to do something else that could make us smile. This is a time when we need to smile more and Hollywood movies are supposed to do that for people in difficult times."

Steven Spielberg, American Director

Movies, Time, People, Hollywood

39

"The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture."

"The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture."

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

Success, Successful

39

"Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most."

"Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most."

Francis Ford Coppola, American Director

39

"I allow an area for improvisation because the chemical things actors bring to stories make it not work."

"I allow an area for improvisation because the chemical things actors bring to stories make it not work."

Vincente Minnelli, American Director

39

"We talked a lot about The Best Intentions and how we could shoot certain scenes in different ways with slightly different bits of dialogue and information, so that later on, we could cut the piece more easily and it would still feel complete, even though it was shorter."

"We talked a lot about The Best Intentions and how we could shoot certain scenes in different ways with slightly different bits of dialogue and information, so that later on, we could cut the piece more easily and it would still feel complete, even though it was shorter."

Bille August, Danish Director

Information, Intentions

38

"I don't agree with everything he did in his life, but we're dealing with this Howard Hughes, at this point. And also ultimately the flaw in Howard Hughes, the curse so to speak."

"I don't agree with everything he did in his life, but we're dealing with this Howard Hughes, at this point. And also ultimately the flaw in Howard Hughes, the curse so to speak."

Martin Scorsese, American Director

38

"Is it possible to succeed without any act of betrayal?"

"Is it possible to succeed without any act of betrayal?"

Jean Renoir, French Director

Act, Betrayal, Succeed

38

"When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man."

"When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man."

Stanley Kubrick, American Director

38

"For example, in painting the form arises from abstract elements of line and color, while in cinema the material concreteness of the image within the frame presents - as an element - the greatest difficulty in manipulation."

"For example, in painting the form arises from abstract elements of line and color, while in cinema the material concreteness of the image within the frame presents - as an element - the greatest difficulty in manipulation."

Sergei Eisenstein, Latvian Director

Cinema, Difficulty, Example, Manipulation

38

"Howard Hughes was this visionary who was obsessed with speed and flying like a god... I loved his idea of what filmmaking was."

"Howard Hughes was this visionary who was obsessed with speed and flying like a god... I loved his idea of what filmmaking was."

Martin Scorsese, American Director

God, Idea, Flying

38

"I used this line to demonstrate how important colors are in movies: It's not a caprice."

"I used this line to demonstrate how important colors are in movies: It's not a caprice."

Pedro Almodovar, Spanish Director

38

"The more she rejected us the more convinced I was that she was another version of the real Molly, her disdain for authority, her scepticism that she had to do what the white man told her because it was good for her... She is Molly."

"The more she rejected us the more convinced I was that she was another version of the real Molly, her disdain for authority, her scepticism that she had to do what the white man told her because it was good for her... She is Molly."

Phillip Noyce, Australian Director

38

"Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms."

"Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms."

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

People, Eyes, Sound

38

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