Quotes by Director | Beyond Motive 58/67

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Quotes by Director

"Sometimes when we weep in the movies we weep for ourselves or for a life unlived. Or we even go to the movies because we want to resist the emotion that's there in front of us. I think there is always a catharsis that I look for and that makes the movie experience worthwhile."

"Sometimes when we weep in the movies we weep for ourselves or for a life unlived. Or we even go to the movies because we want to resist the emotion that's there in front of us. I think there is always a catharsis that I look for and that makes the movie experience worthwhile."

Edward Zwick, American Director

Life, Experience, Movies, Emotion

28

"I thought I had the rights to The Lord of the Rings. I don't know how Jackson ended up with the rights."

"I thought I had the rights to The Lord of the Rings. I don't know how Jackson ended up with the rights."

Ralph Bakshi, American Director

Thought, Rights

28

"I will say that the idea of a woman being deceptive came from that original discussion with critics and reporters about if woman could do that kind of thing. Evelyn, herself, grew out of the discussions about how capable women are of deceit and lying and manipulation."

"I will say that the idea of a woman being deceptive came from that original discussion with critics and reporters about if woman could do that kind of thing. Evelyn, herself, grew out of the discussions about how capable women are of deceit and lying and manipulation."

Neil LaBute, American Director

Woman, Women, Idea, Being, Deceit

28

"The whole film is about people being convinced that they can reduce themselves to their archetypes."

"The whole film is about people being convinced that they can reduce themselves to their archetypes."

Atom Egoyan, Canadian Director

People, Being, Film

28

"There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence."

"There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence."

Julie Taymor, American Director

Power, Influence

28

"Ibrahim tells his story without a grain of complaint, and this was true for all of the band members. This is very much part of the Cuban spirit and soul."

"Ibrahim tells his story without a grain of complaint, and this was true for all of the band members. This is very much part of the Cuban spirit and soul."

Wim Wenders, German Director

Soul, Complaint, Spirit

28

"Everybody has the ability to be manipulative, to be hateful and deceitful."

"Everybody has the ability to be manipulative, to be hateful and deceitful."

Neil LaBute, American Director

28

"I don't pay attention to target audiences and therefore I often hear that I am a ratings killer, somebody who fundamentally doesn't care whether one person is watching or an entire soccer stadium."

"I don't pay attention to target audiences and therefore I often hear that I am a ratings killer, somebody who fundamentally doesn't care whether one person is watching or an entire soccer stadium."

Alexander Kluge, German Director

Attention, Audiences, Care, Soccer

28

"For a number of years, I'd been around the kind of people who financed movies and the kind of people who are there to make the deals for movies. But I'd always had this naive idea that everybody wants to make movies as good as they can be, which is stupid."

"For a number of years, I'd been around the kind of people who financed movies and the kind of people who are there to make the deals for movies. But I'd always had this naive idea that everybody wants to make movies as good as they can be, which is stupid."

David Fincher, American Director

Movies, People, Idea, Deals

28

"They're getting more and more experience on what to expect, and the Hellboy audience is such a faithful and fanatic audience as I am, and you have to really be very open about what you do."

"They're getting more and more experience on what to expect, and the Hellboy audience is such a faithful and fanatic audience as I am, and you have to really be very open about what you do."

Guillermo del Toro, Mexican Director

Experience, Open

28

"At the moment, my mother is the only one left in Glasgow, although it's certainly my home."

"At the moment, my mother is the only one left in Glasgow, although it's certainly my home."

Bill Forsyth, Scottish Director

28

"I think that, I'm sure there are gonna be some teachers who are very entrenched in the system, who are going to buy in to what they're being told, as to what the kids are being fed."

"I think that, I'm sure there are gonna be some teachers who are very entrenched in the system, who are going to buy in to what they're being told, as to what the kids are being fed."

Morgan Spurlock, American Director

Being, Kids, Teachers

28

"I got too fed up with films that didn't make you think. I liked the idea of one that you'd have to be dancing around with. I like my mind to be engaged when I watch a film."

"I got too fed up with films that didn't make you think. I liked the idea of one that you'd have to be dancing around with. I like my mind to be engaged when I watch a film."

Guy Ritchie, British Director

Creativity, Idea, Dancing, Film, Mind

28

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

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

Allan Carr, British Director

28

"Their films would probably be better if they'd seen a few more films, which runs counter to this idiotic theory that you run the risk of being influenced if you see too much."

"Their films would probably be better if they'd seen a few more films, which runs counter to this idiotic theory that you run the risk of being influenced if you see too much."

Jacques Rivette, French Director

Being, Risk, Theory

28

"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

28

"I think it's too easy often to find a villain out of the headlines and to then repeat that villainy again and again and again. You know, traditionally, America has always looked to scapegoat someone as the boogie man."

"I think it's too easy often to find a villain out of the headlines and to then repeat that villainy again and again and again. You know, traditionally, America has always looked to scapegoat someone as the boogie man."

Edward Zwick, American Director

Philosophy, America, Man, Villainy

28

"Nobody taught Picasso how to paint - he learned for himself. And nobody can teach you to be a producer. You can learn the mechanics, but you can't learn what's right about a script or a director or an actor. That comes from instinct and intuition. It comes from inside you."

"Nobody taught Picasso how to paint - he learned for himself. And nobody can teach you to be a producer. You can learn the mechanics, but you can't learn what's right about a script or a director or an actor. That comes from instinct and intuition. It comes from inside you."

Dino De Laurentiis, Italian Director

Actor, Instinct, Intuition, Right

28

"For the most part, studio movies have huge budgets. They don't do anything under 30 to 40 million. When you have that much money at stake, you have so many people breathing down your neck."

"For the most part, studio movies have huge budgets. They don't do anything under 30 to 40 million. When you have that much money at stake, you have so many people breathing down your neck."

Penelope Spheeris, American Director

Money, Movies, People, Budgets

28

"I think one of the successes of Gladiator is how we manage to turn on a dime the character from one thing to another where you believe he is one thing and he is something very different."

"I think one of the successes of Gladiator is how we manage to turn on a dime the character from one thing to another where you believe he is one thing and he is something very different."

Ridley Scott, British Director

28

"If you lived in a provincial town like Torre Annunziata, where there was nothing to do in the evening but go to the movies with your friends, the cinema was a world of fantasy. I had always been in love with it."

"If you lived in a provincial town like Torre Annunziata, where there was nothing to do in the evening but go to the movies with your friends, the cinema was a world of fantasy. I had always been in love with it."

Dino De Laurentiis, Italian Director

Friendship, Love, Movies, Cinema, Evening

28

"I've discovered I've got this preoccupation with ordinary people pursued by large forces."

"I've discovered I've got this preoccupation with ordinary people pursued by large forces."

Steven Spielberg, American Director

28

"I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn't take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans."

"I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn't take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

Actor, Actors, American

28

"My use of language is part and parcel of my message."

"My use of language is part and parcel of my message."

Theo Van Gogh, Dutch Director

28

"HATE, even if it's making money. is an underground movie, that's how it was made. It's a film about police brutality in the largest sense, it's about the whole of society and not just about the hood."

"HATE, even if it's making money. is an underground movie, that's how it was made. It's a film about police brutality in the largest sense, it's about the whole of society and not just about the hood."

Mathieu Kassovitz, French Director

Society, Money, Film, Hate

28

"We don't live in the world of reality, we live in the world of how we perceive reality."

"We don't live in the world of reality, we live in the world of how we perceive reality."

Bryan Singer, American Director

28

"Naturally, it is a terrible, despicable crime when, as in Munich, people are taken hostage, people are killed. But probing the motives of those responsible and showing that they are also individuals with families and have their own story does not excuse what they did."

"Naturally, it is a terrible, despicable crime when, as in Munich, people are taken hostage, people are killed. But probing the motives of those responsible and showing that they are also individuals with families and have their own story does not excuse what they did."

Steven Spielberg, American Director

People, Crime, Motives

28

"And Twin Peaks, the Film is the craziest film in the history of cinema. I have no idea what happened, I have no idea what I saw, all I know is that I left the theater floating six feet above the ground."

"And Twin Peaks, the Film is the craziest film in the history of cinema. I have no idea what happened, I have no idea what I saw, all I know is that I left the theater floating six feet above the ground."

Jacques Rivette, French Director

History, Idea, Cinema, Feet

28

"It's so easy to manipulate an audience, but it's nearly always clear that you are being manipulated. I think even people that are not critically attuned are aware of cynical manipulation in film."

"It's so easy to manipulate an audience, but it's nearly always clear that you are being manipulated. I think even people that are not critically attuned are aware of cynical manipulation in film."

John Boorman, British Director

People, Being, Film, Manipulation

28

"I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment and in the past is richer and more interesting than the drama of Hollywood movies. So I began looking at documentary films."

"I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment and in the past is richer and more interesting than the drama of Hollywood movies. So I began looking at documentary films."

Ken Burns, American Director

Movies, Truth, Drama, Hollywood

28

"I know how sobering and exhausting parenthood is. But the reality is that our children's future depends on us as parents. Because we know that the first years truly last forever."

"I know how sobering and exhausting parenthood is. But the reality is that our children's future depends on us as parents. Because we know that the first years truly last forever."

Rob Reiner, American Director

Family, Children, First, Future, Parenthood

28

"Not a single person I named hadn't already been named at least a half-dozen times and wasn't already on he blacklist."

"Not a single person I named hadn't already been named at least a half-dozen times and wasn't already on he blacklist."

Edward Dmytryk, American Director

28

"War scenes are less difficult than love scenes."

"War scenes are less difficult than love scenes."

Jean-Jacques Annaud, French Director

28

"Many of the comedies I had made in Sweden were slightly based on semi-autobiographical experiences, so adapting novels was a very different experience."

"Many of the comedies I had made in Sweden were slightly based on semi-autobiographical experiences, so adapting novels was a very different experience."

Lasse Hallstrom, Swedish Director

28

"My favorite laser disk ever was the laser disk for The Graduate, which had a commentary track that wasn't even the filmmakers, it was a professor, some film criticism guy who just happen to be this amazing commentator who went off into the whole theory of comedy."

"My favorite laser disk ever was the laser disk for The Graduate, which had a commentary track that wasn't even the filmmakers, it was a professor, some film criticism guy who just happen to be this amazing commentator who went off into the whole theory of comedy."

Jay Roach, American Director

Comedy, Criticism, Favorite, Film

28

"Every single person in jail for a violent crime had a nightmare childhood."

"Every single person in jail for a violent crime had a nightmare childhood."

Rob Reiner, American Director

Family, Childhood, Crime

28

"I've just taken the decision that I'm going to now go full time back into the theater."

"I've just taken the decision that I'm going to now go full time back into the theater."

Trevor Nunn, English Director

Time, Decision, Now, Theater

27

"Hollywood is like being nowhere and talking to nobody about nothing."

"Hollywood is like being nowhere and talking to nobody about nothing."

Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian Director

Being, Hollywood, Nothing, Talking

27

"One of the things I love about cinema is the range."

"One of the things I love about cinema is the range."

Mike Figgis, English Director

27

"Now having said that, I realize that releasing a film in the real world is like trying to get General Motors to release a handmade car."

"Now having said that, I realize that releasing a film in the real world is like trying to get General Motors to release a handmade car."

Godfrey Reggio, American Director

Car, Film, Now, Trying

27

"In the world of poetry there are would-be poets, workshop poets, promising poets, lovesick poets, university poets, and a few real poets."

"In the world of poetry there are would-be poets, workshop poets, promising poets, lovesick poets, university poets, and a few real poets."

James Broughton, American Director

Poetry, Poets, University, World

27

"I certainly grew up seeing more movies and television than I read books, but when it came time to do the thing itself you don't have to hire a lot of people to sit down and write a book, so that was the story-telling medium that was available to me."

"I certainly grew up seeing more movies and television than I read books, but when it came time to do the thing itself you don't have to hire a lot of people to sit down and write a book, so that was the story-telling medium that was available to me."

John Sayles, American Director

Movies, Time, People, Books

27

"You're talking to somebody who two years ago couldn't figure out how to use e-mail and who now has carpal tunnel. It has totally changed in that these films would not be getting out to people the way they're getting out without the Internet."

"You're talking to somebody who two years ago couldn't figure out how to use e-mail and who now has carpal tunnel. It has totally changed in that these films would not be getting out to people the way they're getting out without the Internet."

Robert Greenwald, American Director

People, Internet, Now, Talking

27

"I'm having the same problems today that I had when I first started, saying that outrageous adult animation works."

"I'm having the same problems today that I had when I first started, saying that outrageous adult animation works."

Ralph Bakshi, American Director

Movies, Animation, First, Problems, Saying

27

"And later I thought, I can't think how anyone can become a director without learning the craft of cinematography."

"And later I thought, I can't think how anyone can become a director without learning the craft of cinematography."

Nicolas Roeg, English Director

Thought, Learning

27

"The basic premise of this is that, yes, people have learned to clone each other, but that cloning is illegal. Not that it's bad, just that the law as it is now, is that if you die, you're dead."

"The basic premise of this is that, yes, people have learned to clone each other, but that cloning is illegal. Not that it's bad, just that the law as it is now, is that if you die, you're dead."

Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian Director

People, Law, Now

27

"When I was young, my idea was to become a filmmaker."

"When I was young, my idea was to become a filmmaker."

Patrice Leconte, French Director

Creativity, Idea

27

"What I don't have in theater is editing."

"What I don't have in theater is editing."

Julie Taymor, American Director

Writing, Theater

27

"I think I got spoiled and that writing a short story and getting it published, or writing a novel and getting it published, you pretty much get to do the first, second and third draft yourself without a whole lot of interference."

"I think I got spoiled and that writing a short story and getting it published, or writing a novel and getting it published, you pretty much get to do the first, second and third draft yourself without a whole lot of interference."

John Sayles, American Director

Media, Draft, First, Pretty, Writing

27

"If people take the film and screen it whenever possible for their social and professional networks, we can continue to make a difference. It is one more element we have to use in the ongoing effort to take back our country."

"If people take the film and screen it whenever possible for their social and professional networks, we can continue to make a difference. It is one more element we have to use in the ongoing effort to take back our country."

Robert Greenwald, American Director

People, Country, Difference, Effort

27

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