Quotes by Director | Beyond Motive 61/67

top of page

Quotes by Director

"There was a village watercolour society and they'd come and paint in my field. I watched them from the window, the way they would struggle this way and that to find the perfect moment. God has made every angle on that beautiful, and I felt that tremendously."

"There was a village watercolour society and they'd come and paint in my field. I watched them from the window, the way they would struggle this way and that to find the perfect moment. God has made every angle on that beautiful, and I felt that tremendously."

Nicolas Roeg, English Director

Society, God, Struggle

32

"But you know, there's always a danger nowadays that films are gonna be brought up to Canada for budget reasons. And that's something that really concerns me."

"But you know, there's always a danger nowadays that films are gonna be brought up to Canada for budget reasons. And that's something that really concerns me."

Philip Kaufman, American Director

Movies, Canada, Danger

32

"After Bound, we were offered a lot of lesbian thrillers."

"After Bound, we were offered a lot of lesbian thrillers."

Andy Wachowski, American Director

Entertainment, Lesbian

32

"I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first film because my oldest daughter wasn't born when I was making the film about the Brooklyn Bridge."

"I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first film because my oldest daughter wasn't born when I was making the film about the Brooklyn Bridge."

Ken Burns, American Director

Family, Daughter, Children, Film, First

32

"I think that George Lucas' 'Star Wars' films are fantastic. What he's done, which I admire, is he has taken all the money and profit from those films and poured it into developing digital sound and surround sound, which we are using today."

"I think that George Lucas' 'Star Wars' films are fantastic. What he's done, which I admire, is he has taken all the money and profit from those films and poured it into developing digital sound and surround sound, which we are using today."

Peter Jackson, New Zealander Director

Money, Profit, Sound, Today

32

"I only work with actors who take full responsibility for their characters."

"I only work with actors who take full responsibility for their characters."

Jonathan Demme, American Director

Work, Actors, Responsibility

32

"There are so many factors when you think of your own films. You think of the people you worked on it with, and somehow forget the movie. You can't forgive the movie for a long time. It takes a few years to look at it with any objectivity and forgive its flaws."

"There are so many factors when you think of your own films. You think of the people you worked on it with, and somehow forget the movie. You can't forgive the movie for a long time. It takes a few years to look at it with any objectivity and forgive its flaws."

George A. Romero, American Director

Time, People, Flaws, Forget

32

"Working with a bunch of actors is like trying to tune each violin."

"Working with a bunch of actors is like trying to tune each violin."

Patrice Leconte, French Director

Actor, Actors, Trying

32

"I love filmmaking, and I love the process. And I would rather do nothing else. It's a privilege to be able to paint such big pictures, so to speak."

"I love filmmaking, and I love the process. And I would rather do nothing else. It's a privilege to be able to paint such big pictures, so to speak."

Bryan Singer, American Director

Love, Nothing, Privilege

32

"When he brought it to me four years ago, Rodney King had just arrived, I was involved in the clean-up of L.A. and I guess it was part of my experience."

"When he brought it to me four years ago, Rodney King had just arrived, I was involved in the clean-up of L.A. and I guess it was part of my experience."

Kathryn Bigelow, American Director

Experience, Years

32

"I don't know. I have incredible amounts of hope that things can change. It takes people who believe."

"I don't know. I have incredible amounts of hope that things can change. It takes people who believe."

Morgan Spurlock, American Director

Change, People, Hope

32

"It just seemed to me to be a great story, set back in its time but something that seemed to have relevance for our time. Now that the film is coming out, it looks like we're back in another time where repression of expression is all the rage."

"It just seemed to me to be a great story, set back in its time but something that seemed to have relevance for our time. Now that the film is coming out, it looks like we're back in another time where repression of expression is all the rage."

Philip Kaufman, American Director

Time, Expression, Film, Now

32

"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

32

"Man is a genius when he is dreaming."

"Man is a genius when he is dreaming."

Akira Kurosawa, Japanese Director

32

"I tend to arrive in the rehearsal process with very strongly developed ideas about what I want to do. But I don't like those ideas to be things that are not subject to change, or subject to development, or subject to challenge."

"I tend to arrive in the rehearsal process with very strongly developed ideas about what I want to do. But I don't like those ideas to be things that are not subject to change, or subject to development, or subject to challenge."

Trevor Nunn, English Director

Change, Development, Ideas, Challenge

32

"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

32

"We tend to do period stuff because it helps make it one step removed from boring everyday reality."

"We tend to do period stuff because it helps make it one step removed from boring everyday reality."

Ethan Coen, American Director

32

"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

32

"I made it about a three-day weekend so people wouldn't have to change their clothes a lot. We didn't have an art department; we didn't have a make-up department."

"I made it about a three-day weekend so people wouldn't have to change their clothes a lot. We didn't have an art department; we didn't have a make-up department."

John Sayles, American Director

Art, Change, People, Clothes

32

"I would be more frightened as a writer if people thought my movies were like science fiction."

"I would be more frightened as a writer if people thought my movies were like science fiction."

Neil LaBute, American Director

Movies, Science, Thought, People

32

"But as far as the concept of HAL, who HAL was, his character - I had no role in creating him."

"But as far as the concept of HAL, who HAL was, his character - I had no role in creating him."

Douglas Trumbull, American Director

32

"Every time, I try to make something different."

"Every time, I try to make something different."

Barbet Schroeder, French Director

32

"Too many girls follow the line of least resistance but a good line is hard to resist."

"Too many girls follow the line of least resistance but a good line is hard to resist."

Raoul Walsh, American Director

32

"It means that if they misunderstood Comfort and Joy, they misunderstood my other films."

"It means that if they misunderstood Comfort and Joy, they misunderstood my other films."

Bill Forsyth, Scottish Director

32

"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

31

"I think the more the actor lets you know what he thinks of the character, the less the audience cares - like a comedian who laughs at his own jokes."

"I think the more the actor lets you know what he thinks of the character, the less the audience cares - like a comedian who laughs at his own jokes."

Neil LaBute, American Director

Character, Actor, Jokes

31

"Without In The Company of Men, I could still be teaching, so who knows if this would've existed."

"Without In The Company of Men, I could still be teaching, so who knows if this would've existed."

Neil LaBute, American Director

Man, Men, Company, Teaching

31

"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

31

"One of the things that wrong with pictures today, I think, is that so many of the people making them started out wanting to."

"One of the things that wrong with pictures today, I think, is that so many of the people making them started out wanting to."

Peter Bogdanovich, American Director

People, Today, Wrong

31

"Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls."

"Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls."

Ingmar Bergman, Swedish Director

Art, Music, Feelings, Dream

31

"But I still always felt the absence of a mother."

"But I still always felt the absence of a mother."

Marcel Carne, French Director

Family, Mother, Absence

31

"I have directed good actors and have gone through the process which is more detailed in theater in a way. You have to get people to stay for two or three hours in a performance. They need more talk and rehearsal than in films."

"I have directed good actors and have gone through the process which is more detailed in theater in a way. You have to get people to stay for two or three hours in a performance. They need more talk and rehearsal than in films."

Julie Taymor, American Director

People, Performance, Actors, Talk

31

"Many times I felt like I'd do better than what the director did, but some of them got a little discouraged because they didn't have full charge of making the film, and sometimes there'd be battles of egos."

"Many times I felt like I'd do better than what the director did, but some of them got a little discouraged because they didn't have full charge of making the film, and sometimes there'd be battles of egos."

Ray Harryhausen, American Director

31

"Ah, I hope to live to 87 and drink from the the goblet of life to the dregs."

"Ah, I hope to live to 87 and drink from the the goblet of life to the dregs."

Theo Van Gogh, Dutch Director

31

"We're having a hard time understanding where jazz is going. What happened to jazz?"

"We're having a hard time understanding where jazz is going. What happened to jazz?"

Ken Burns, American Director

Time, Jazz, Understanding

31

"I have nothing against diamonds, or rubies or emeralds or sapphires. I do object when their acquisition is complicit in the debasement of children or the destruction of a country."

"I have nothing against diamonds, or rubies or emeralds or sapphires. I do object when their acquisition is complicit in the debasement of children or the destruction of a country."

Edward Zwick, American Director

Family, Children, Country, Destruction, Nothing

31

"If you work with Jim Carrey, you're working with the best."

"If you work with Jim Carrey, you're working with the best."

Peter Farrelly, American Director

31

"As soon as you judge communication a little more rigorously, there is a possibility that the message will not be democratized. I have to say what I believe to be right. I have to spread out the statement among all the means of expression available to us at present."

"As soon as you judge communication a little more rigorously, there is a possibility that the message will not be democratized. I have to say what I believe to be right. I have to spread out the statement among all the means of expression available to us at present."

Alexander Kluge, German Director

Possibility, Communication, Expression, Present

31

"Could I have worked under a system where there were Draconian controls on my creativity, meaning budget, time, script choices, etc.? Definitely not. I would have fared poorly under the old studio system that guys like Howard Hawks did so well in. I cannot."

"Could I have worked under a system where there were Draconian controls on my creativity, meaning budget, time, script choices, etc.? Definitely not. I would have fared poorly under the old studio system that guys like Howard Hawks did so well in. I cannot."

Michael Mann, American Director

Time, Creativity, Choices, Hawks

31

"Clinton used to like to get out of the White House a lot. He would take night trips to McDonald's, and stuff like that. I think he wanted to get out of the house."

"Clinton used to like to get out of the White House a lot. He would take night trips to McDonald's, and stuff like that. I think he wanted to get out of the house."

Paul Thomas Anderson, American Director

31

"There would be a paragraph about some veteran digging tunnels for the Germans in a slave labor camp, or something like that. Finally I decided to look it up and go further into it."

"There would be a paragraph about some veteran digging tunnels for the Germans in a slave labor camp, or something like that. Finally I decided to look it up and go further into it."

Charles Guggenheim, American Director

31

"Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself. And that's a lot. Because if you can fix yourself, it has a ripple effect."

"Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself. And that's a lot. Because if you can fix yourself, it has a ripple effect."

Rob Reiner, American Director

Change, Effect, Help

31

"As the poet said, 'Only God can make a tree,' probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on."

"As the poet said, 'Only God can make a tree,' probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on."

Woody Allen, American Director

31

"Our feeling is that the most important thing on a set is that actors have enough confidence to try different things. If there's stress or tension, they won't go out on a limb because they won't want to embarrass themselves if they don't feel completely comfortable."

"Our feeling is that the most important thing on a set is that actors have enough confidence to try different things. If there's stress or tension, they won't go out on a limb because they won't want to embarrass themselves if they don't feel completely comfortable."

Peter Farrelly, American Director

Actor, Actors, Confidence, Feeling, Stress

31

"As great as Ed is, the wisdom out here is that he can't carry a movie. They'll pay him $3 million to be the second banana in Julia Roberts things. But they won't put up $3 million for an Ed Harris movie."

"As great as Ed is, the wisdom out here is that he can't carry a movie. They'll pay him $3 million to be the second banana in Julia Roberts things. But they won't put up $3 million for an Ed Harris movie."

George A. Romero, American Director

31

"Everyone has a little bit of Howard and Chad in them. I think there's Christine in all men as well."

"Everyone has a little bit of Howard and Chad in them. I think there's Christine in all men as well."

Neil LaBute, American Director

31

"There are a lot of things I can take, and a few that I can't. What I can't take is when my older brother, who's everything that I want to be, starts losing faith in things. I saw that look in your eyes last night. I don't ever want to see that look in your eyes again."

"There are a lot of things I can take, and a few that I can't. What I can't take is when my older brother, who's everything that I want to be, starts losing faith in things. I saw that look in your eyes last night. I don't ever want to see that look in your eyes again."

M. Night Shyamalan, American Director

Faith, Brother, Eyes, Losing

31

"I've just begun to dare to think I perhaps am a bit of an artist."

"I've just begun to dare to think I perhaps am a bit of an artist."

David Lean, British Director

31

"I've always been fascinated by the way that children and animals suffer stoically in a way that I don't think adults do."

"I've always been fascinated by the way that children and animals suffer stoically in a way that I don't think adults do."

Rebecca Miller, American Director

Animals, Children

31

"I like cinema. I am very fond of it. But from time to time I feel like having some time on my own."

"I like cinema. I am very fond of it. But from time to time I feel like having some time on my own."

Patrice Leconte, French Director

31

bottom of page