Quotes by Director | Beyond Motive 37/67

top of page

Quotes by Director

"Shame is an unhappy emotion invented by pietists in order to exploit the human race."

"Shame is an unhappy emotion invented by pietists in order to exploit the human race."

Blake Edwards, American Director

Emotional, Emotion, Order, Race, Shame

12

"My best male friend is my best friend until he crosses me. We're all protective of the self."

"My best male friend is my best friend until he crosses me. We're all protective of the self."

Neil LaBute, American Director

Friendship, Friend, Self

12

"You have to understand the tone of the movie, because if it's supposed to be funny, it can be funny violent like the Home Alone stuff, but you have to really understand the tone of what you're doing and make the action work for that and for the character."

"You have to understand the tone of the movie, because if it's supposed to be funny, it can be funny violent like the Home Alone stuff, but you have to really understand the tone of what you're doing and make the action work for that and for the character."

David R. Ellis, American Director

Fun, Funny, Home, Work, Action

12

"The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed."

"The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed."

Ken Burns, American Director

12

"Richard Donner is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can make whatever movie he wants exactly the way he wants it. No one will stop him."

"Richard Donner is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can make whatever movie he wants exactly the way he wants it. No one will stop him."

Larry Wachowski, American Director

Hollywood, Will

12

"I am not trying to be a historian and a dramatist; I'm a dramatist, a dramatic historian, or one who does a dramatic interpretation of history."

"I am not trying to be a historian and a dramatist; I'm a dramatist, a dramatic historian, or one who does a dramatic interpretation of history."

Oliver Stone, American Director

History, Trying

12

"Directors who turn into big babies and shut out criticism stop learning."

"Directors who turn into big babies and shut out criticism stop learning."

Richard King, American Director

Society, Babies, Criticism, Learning

12

"We shot ten minutes of the movie, and now we're looking for completion funds."

"We shot ten minutes of the movie, and now we're looking for completion funds."

Ed Wood, American Director

Film, Completion, Now

12

"There's good and bad in everybody. I wasn't looking for the good, or looking for the bad. This is a man who signed his pact with the devil 20 years ago, and he's learned to live with it. He's tried to protect his family from it."

"There's good and bad in everybody. I wasn't looking for the good, or looking for the bad. This is a man who signed his pact with the devil 20 years ago, and he's learned to live with it. He's tried to protect his family from it."

Sam Mendes, British Director

Family, Devil, Man, Years

12

"How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter?"

"How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter?"

Woody Allen, American Director

Spiritual, Faith, Doubt, Humor, Life

12

"First of all, to defend my work, I had to believe that I am doing a totally silly, stupid, innocent comedy."

"First of all, to defend my work, I had to believe that I am doing a totally silly, stupid, innocent comedy."

Milos Forman, Czechoslovakian Director

Work, Comedy, First, Silly

12

"Wizards was my homage to Tolkien in the American idiom. I had read Tolkien, understood Tolkien, and wanted to do a sort of fantasy for American kids, and that was Wizards."

"Wizards was my homage to Tolkien in the American idiom. I had read Tolkien, understood Tolkien, and wanted to do a sort of fantasy for American kids, and that was Wizards."

Ralph Bakshi, American Director

Movies, Fantasy, Kids

12

"If you're a director, your entire livelihood and your entire creativity is based on your self-confidence. Sometimes that's dangerously close to arrogance."

"If you're a director, your entire livelihood and your entire creativity is based on your self-confidence. Sometimes that's dangerously close to arrogance."

Trevor Nunn, English Director

Creativity, Arrogance, Self

12

"So I've had really great assistant directors for my last seven movies."

"So I've had really great assistant directors for my last seven movies."

John Frankenheimer, American Director

12

"What you do, is you gradually become more and more experienced, and more and more realistic about dramatic tolerance, i.e. about how long the play should be."

"What you do, is you gradually become more and more experienced, and more and more realistic about dramatic tolerance, i.e. about how long the play should be."

Ridley Scott, British Director

Creativity, Play, Tolerance

12

"I've met Nicole Kidman, Elton John, loads of people."

"I've met Nicole Kidman, Elton John, loads of people."

Allan Carr, British Director

12

"There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more."

"There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more."

Woody Allen, American Director

Philosophy, Morality, Truth, Observation, Happiness

12

"The film camera's ability to physically move through space, not zoom through space - every time we have a video camera the movement is through zoom; every time we have a film camera it is a physical movement."

"The film camera's ability to physically move through space, not zoom through space - every time we have a video camera the movement is through zoom; every time we have a film camera it is a physical movement."

Atom Egoyan, Canadian Director

Time, Ability, Film, Space

12

"Re-writing is different from writing. Original writing is very difficult."

"Re-writing is different from writing. Original writing is very difficult."

David Cronenberg, Canadian Director

12

"I've experienced a private doubt, something that I've kept deeply inside, and then eventually delivered a piece of work that people responded to with huge enthusiasm."

"I've experienced a private doubt, something that I've kept deeply inside, and then eventually delivered a piece of work that people responded to with huge enthusiasm."

Trevor Nunn, English Director

Work, People, Enthusiasm, Doubt

12

"A writer should have this little voice inside of you saying, Tell the truth. Reveal a few secrets here."

"A writer should have this little voice inside of you saying, Tell the truth. Reveal a few secrets here."

Quentin Tarantino, American Director

Truth, Saying, Secrets, Voice

12

"Hollywood didn't kill Marilyn Monroe, it's the Marilyn Monroes who are killing Hollywood."

"Hollywood didn't kill Marilyn Monroe, it's the Marilyn Monroes who are killing Hollywood."

Billy Wilder, American Director

Hollywood, Killing

12

"Now I'm kind of established as a director, I much prefer directing to writing."

"Now I'm kind of established as a director, I much prefer directing to writing."

Ang Lee, Chinese Director

12

"Directing her was like directing Lassie. You need 14 takes to get each one of them right."

"Directing her was like directing Lassie. You need 14 takes to get each one of them right."

Otto Preminger, Austrian Director

Entertainment, Right

12

"I even agree with the new digital ways of filmmaking, where you don't even have physical film in the camera, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to use it."

"I even agree with the new digital ways of filmmaking, where you don't even have physical film in the camera, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to use it."

J. Lee Thompson, British Director

12

"All tools have intrinsic politics and technology is the tool of now."

"All tools have intrinsic politics and technology is the tool of now."

Godfrey Reggio, American Director

Politics, Technology, Now, Tools

12

"I think that's the key to being a director: to be able to get the shot and move on quickly."

"I think that's the key to being a director: to be able to get the shot and move on quickly."

Bobby Farrelly, American Director

12

"The most astonishing joy is to receive from the muses the gift of a whole lyric."

"The most astonishing joy is to receive from the muses the gift of a whole lyric."

James Broughton, American Director

12

"And I just think that to introduce an unknown Shakespeare is thrilling, too - not to do Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, to do the richer Shakespeare. People will come to this and not know the story."

"And I just think that to introduce an unknown Shakespeare is thrilling, too - not to do Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, to do the richer Shakespeare. People will come to this and not know the story."

Julie Taymor, American Director

People, Shakespeare, Will

12

"When quick results are imperative, the manipulation of the masses through symbols may be the only quick way of having a critical thing done."

"When quick results are imperative, the manipulation of the masses through symbols may be the only quick way of having a critical thing done."

John Grierson, British Director

Politics, Manipulation, May, Quick, Results

12

"I guess it beats throwing trash for a living."

"I guess it beats throwing trash for a living."

Joel Coen, American Director

12

"If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered."

"If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered."

Stanley Kubrick, American Director

12

"Subject matter that is not bound to reality offers more opportunity to write a unique story and cinematically present it in very unique ways."

"Subject matter that is not bound to reality offers more opportunity to write a unique story and cinematically present it in very unique ways."

Richard King, American Director

Opportunity, Present, Reality

12

"The difficulty with the present state of affairs is that there is no legislation on the sources of funding for the Polish film industry. There is no legislation concerning filmmaking. And, there is no legislation on television that would be beneficial to filmmaking."

"The difficulty with the present state of affairs is that there is no legislation on the sources of funding for the Polish film industry. There is no legislation concerning filmmaking. And, there is no legislation on television that would be beneficial to filmmaking."

Andrzej Wajda, Polish Director

Politics, Difficulty, Film, Legislation, Present

12

"So if you want to have a great video game-based movie you have to keep the mood of the game, use the normal character setup - but you have to flesh out the story and provide more background for the characters."

"So if you want to have a great video game-based movie you have to keep the mood of the game, use the normal character setup - but you have to flesh out the story and provide more background for the characters."

Uwe Boll, German Director

Character, Want

12

"First of all, just knowing people who grew up in the movie business at that time, no one had Mexican maids."

"First of all, just knowing people who grew up in the movie business at that time, no one had Mexican maids."

Bill Condon, American Director

Business, Time, People, First

12

"I grew up within Italian-American neighborhoods, everybody was coming into the house all the time, kids running around, that sort of stuff, so when I finally got into my own area, so to speak, to make films, I still carried on."

"I grew up within Italian-American neighborhoods, everybody was coming into the house all the time, kids running around, that sort of stuff, so when I finally got into my own area, so to speak, to make films, I still carried on."

Martin Scorsese, American Director

Time, Kids, Running

12

"That's a very odd notion because it involves seeing money up there on the screen - if something cost $5 million to make, they want to see that $5 million up there."

"That's a very odd notion because it involves seeing money up there on the screen - if something cost $5 million to make, they want to see that $5 million up there."

Atom Egoyan, Canadian Director

12

"HERO is a combination of my personal feeling and the commercialism."

"HERO is a combination of my personal feeling and the commercialism."

Zhang Yimou, Chinese Director

Movies, Commercialism, Feeling

12

"I do an awful lot of scuba diving. I love to be on the ocean, under the ocean. I live next to the ocean."

"I do an awful lot of scuba diving. I love to be on the ocean, under the ocean. I live next to the ocean."

James Cameron, American Director

12

"Being identified as a poet in France or Denmark or India one is greeted with gracious respect."

"Being identified as a poet in France or Denmark or India one is greeted with gracious respect."

James Broughton, American Director

Being, Denmark, France, Respect

12

"I would gladly admit women are superior to men if only they would stop trying to be the same as us."

"I would gladly admit women are superior to men if only they would stop trying to be the same as us."

Sacha Guitry, French Director

Man, Men, Women, Trying

12

"I am not stopped by low funds, physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion, or temptations to stop and work on some other production that would be more financially rewarding."

"I am not stopped by low funds, physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion, or temptations to stop and work on some other production that would be more financially rewarding."

Richard King, American Director

Work, Exhaustion, Production, Temptations

12

"Because I actually find the next take after they've controlled it a little bit and repressed the laughter is actually a really interesting take, because that's still going on underneath the surface. That struggle to maintain composure becomes part of the joy of the scene."

"Because I actually find the next take after they've controlled it a little bit and repressed the laughter is actually a really interesting take, because that's still going on underneath the surface. That struggle to maintain composure becomes part of the joy of the scene."

Jay Roach, American Director

Joy, Laughter, Struggle

12

"Nevertheless, in the theatre, and in the cinema, the contemporary reality of Poland has been represented only to a minuscule degree in the last 12 years."

"Nevertheless, in the theatre, and in the cinema, the contemporary reality of Poland has been represented only to a minuscule degree in the last 12 years."

Andrzej Wajda, Polish Director

Cinema, Reality, Theatre, Years

12

"I received from my experience in Japan an incredible sense of respect for the art of creating, not just the creative product. We're all about the product. To me, the process was also an incredibly important aspect of the total form."

"I received from my experience in Japan an incredible sense of respect for the art of creating, not just the creative product. We're all about the product. To me, the process was also an incredibly important aspect of the total form."

Julie Taymor, American Director

Art, Experience, Respect, Sense

12

"I'm a junkie. I like drugs, I like the whole lifestyle, but it just didn't pay off."

"I'm a junkie. I like drugs, I like the whole lifestyle, but it just didn't pay off."

Gus Van Sant, American Director

Diplomacy, Drugs

12

"I had a number of teachers who hated me. I didn't do well in school."

"I had a number of teachers who hated me. I didn't do well in school."

Francis Ford Coppola, American Director

School, Teachers

12

"MPC, Moving Picture Company, they're really excellent, they did the majority of the effects."

"MPC, Moving Picture Company, they're really excellent, they did the majority of the effects."

Ridley Scott, British Director

Movies, Company, Majority

12

"Now, what is it which makes a scene interesting? If you see a man coming through a doorway, it means nothing. If you see him coming through a window - that is at once interesting."

"Now, what is it which makes a scene interesting? If you see a man coming through a doorway, it means nothing. If you see him coming through a window - that is at once interesting."

Billy Wilder, American Director

Man, Nothing, Now

12

bottom of page