The least consideration of any film I've ever worked on is who is right for it.
When we talk about how movies used to be made, it was over 100 years of film, literal, physical film, with emulsion, that we would expose to light and we would get pictures.
Because of the wealth of fine music spread through the film, working on it held all the fun and excitement of attending a great concert
I got the boot once from Stanley Donen. The film was called The Little Prince.
I have no control over a film. I don't know what will be left on the cutting floor.
Every screenwriter worthy of the name has already directed his film when he has written his script.
I don't think of Storefront Hitchcock or Stop Making Sense as documentaries, I think of them more as performance films.
I built my [early] career on negative reviews. There was a cultural war going on, the '60s was going on. All the film critics were square. They hated my movies. You could never have that happen today. Critics are way too hip.
I mean, the old film critics just excoriated me.
I'm more likely to lose my temper on a film set than almost anywhere. Often the level of idiocy is so exalted that it's impossible to comprehend.
I love independent films, it's the only place as an actor you're totally allowed to breathe.
There have been 14 versions that I can find of Burke & Hare movies. They have all been horror films and all the movies have taken place in Victorian times, which doesn't make any sense.
Movies are brand new. Film is less than 150 years old. It's brand new, compared to any other art form, all of which are thousands of years old.
People say you never retire in this [film] business and I say, well, not until they retire you.
I have tremendous respect for film composers.
Who's ever going to write a film in which I get the girl? Me!
I am the luckiest filmmaker I know.
A film is not done by one person. It's done by a lot of people. I love this whole collaborative aspect. When it works well, you end up with something better than any of us started out to do.
People always seem to see echoes of their own lives in my films.
We know as filmmakers where you draw the line.
I learn so much from watching films like that with commentary and then when you get to hear another filmmaker talk about their films it's a really great experience.
It's hard to predict what kinds of people are going to enjoy it [film]. And what people ain't. That's the movies. You never know.
Mostly I do films that mainstream Hollywood wouldn't touch.
It's weird when you're watching yourself in a film - you can't really detach yourself from the experiences you've had that day. You're never watching the film as a proper punter.
I make American films for American audiences and Asian films for Asian audiences.
