Films Quotes

My goal is to make as many films as possible about different aspects of American life.

My first few films were institutional comedies, and you're on pretty safe ground when you're dealing with an institution that vast numbers of people have experienced: college, summer camp, the military, the country club.

Because Chicago was to radio what Hollywood was to films and Broadway was to the theatre: it was the hub of radio.

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.

Compared to dancing, films seemed to me to be the work of lay bums. There was no physical pain; it was enough to say and imagine what was in the script. It was very easy for me.

What I like are films that take me seriously, that don't treat me as more stupid than I am.

Obviously, I try to make the films work for an audience. That's the main point of making a film, and in retrospect, one can see that certain films, let's say Leaving Las Vegas, demonstrated its own success.

I preferred delivering my performance in person. I liked to be in control. You couldn't be in films.

Consistency is very important when you're making films.

Heath Ledger's performance in 'The Dark Knight' quite simply changed the game. He raised the bar not just for actors in superhero films, but young actors everywhere; for me. His performance was dark, anarchic, dizzying, free, and totally, thrillingly, dangerous.

A lot of the films I've made probably could have worked just as well 50 years ago, and that's just because I have a lot of old-fashion values.

I'm confident in my ability to maintain a career. I don't know if it will be doing either independent films or plays in New England.

I haven't got anything against films that are about the minutia of relationships or customs, but I love extremes.

I'll go do films for three or four months and then I can't wait to go home to LA. And I complain about LA left and right, but then I always end up wanting to go home, you know?

I think over the course of 14 films, I'm returning to a place that I know to tell a story... the same way Spielberg returned to fantasy, Lucas returned to the 'Star Wars' saga, or John Ford returned to the western.

How about that? You can hear NFL Films music on everything from 'SpongeBob SquarePants' to 'Deep Throat.'

The nerds are the ones that make the films and do loads of other really cool stuff in their life.

I'm not prejudiced about what type of movies I'm in, what form they take or whether they're studio or independent. I just want to make films that are going to be good. The main reason is not to make money, although at some points it's really difficult when you're broke.

My family and our neighbors and friends thought of Africa and its Africans as extensions of the stereotyped characters that we saw in movies and on television in films such as 'Tarzan' and in programs such as 'Ramar of the Jungle' and 'Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.'

In a lot of films, they're showing more complete, developed characters of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The larger concern is to be able to tastefully explore the stereotypes, and still move past them to see the core of people.

A few months after graduation I was working in films. It took off pretty quick.

Some of my films are known for the depiction of violence. I don't have anything to prove with that any more.

Other writers, producers, and directors of low-budget films would often put down the film they were making, saying it was just something to make money with. I never felt that. If I took the assignment, I'd give it my best shot.

I met my wife and, for the next ten years, we did no films at all. She did the first movie and then I did several after. My first movie was written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Kazan and was called Baby Doll.

Secondarily, I think films that are driven by music also terrify studios.

The Greeks already understood that there was more interest in portraying an unusual character than a usual character - that is the purpose of films and theatre.

I like the opportunity to make films.

I'm interested in making films of all sizes. During this time I've made a film called 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas', which is a modest-sized film. I was involved in 'I Am Legend' and 'Yes, Man', but 'Potter' is unique. There'll never be anything like 'Potter' again.

As long as you keep your budgets small, there's a way of making films.

At HBO, they seem to be well-informed. They make what I think are really quite mature films.