I've learned that I really want to shoot short films on a short schedule. There can be very good films that run 110 minutes, but 90 minutes is beautiful.
Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.
When 'Pizza' released, I was a nobody. Initially, we managed to get only 100 screens. But, after its success, the producers of 'Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom' got 150 screens and also released the film in the U.S. Now, distributors are keen to invest in my films because they feel I have face value.
I think goodness is very powerful, but often evil is made more attractive in films. It's a challenge to make goodness appealing.
You can't watch 'Daredevil' or 'Jessica Jones' or the Marvel films and not be aware that the villain has to be awesome. I've always wanted to have more space. And the scope, morally, is more broad for the villain than the hero.
I like Cronenberg's early work; his '80s films had all these weird, amorphous flesh objects in them.
Black films and television are growing and getting the recognition... and the opportunities.
There are woefully few women CEOs in the world, but there can be lots of them in films.
'Belko Experiment' was the harshest, most extreme movie I ever made. But I still think there's a very cohesive center to it that wasn't always in my early films. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I think it's a commercial thing.
Movies will end up being this esoteric art form, where only singular people will put films out in a small group of theaters.
It's quite a dangerous career move to go wilfully on making films that may not find a distributor.
Anything that's memorable about a movie is often what a test audience will object to because they're being asked to be experts. They just compare the film they finished watching to all of the other films that they've seen.
I remember those days with Bergman with great nostalgia. We were aware that the films were going to be quite important, and the work felt meaningful.
If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.
My films have always been considered the benchmark in action. I have a big responsibility to shoulder.
When my films don't do well, I'm hurt and surprised. It's discouraging.
Now that I've got some films under my belt, I have the courage of my convictions regarding acting. It gives me a leg to stand on.
Because Chicago was to radio what Hollywood was to films and Broadway was to the theatre: it was the hub of radio.
The freshest moments in my films have always been with unknown actors.
The way Nolan looks at things is just amazing. It can be easily seen in all his films. I was just watching his videos on how he came up with the screenplay of 'Memento,' and it's just extraordinary. It just opens up your mind.
For me, whenever I would see a lot of 'black films,' I didn't feel represented in it. I didn't feel connected to the characters or the situations or the humor.
All the characters in my films are fighting these problems, needing freedom, trying to find a way to cut themselves loose, but failing to rid themselves of conscience, a sense of sin, the whole bag of tricks.
In fact, 95% of the people in my films have been nothing less than a pleasure to work with.
And of course I've got kids of my own now, and they love me being in the Harry Potter films. I'm now part of a phenomenon. You become incredibly cool to your kids, and you get a young fan base. So you became the cool dad at school. You're suddenly hip.
Financing for 'Shotgun Stories' was initiated with money from close friends and family. This is where the money to go into production came from. After production, a company called 'Upload Films' came on board and provided post-production funds and services. In both instances, people were taking a gamble on us.
I hope that Requiem is better than Pi. I hope that Pi is better than my student films, and I'm hoping that I'm getting better as I get older.
United Artists wanted to do records with me. I had no idea, what a rare thing that was... to make an album. And they put a guy with me working on songs, and I got busy with films. I just kind of let it slide. Isn't that amazing?
I'm in a happier place because my dreams are coming true. I'm acting in feature films, and I'm travelling the world. Before, I was just broke.
I hate it when you see in films people with their anoraks flapping open in a blizzard. They'd be dead in a couple of minutes. It's got to be real. It's got to work.
I love films that make you feel good when you come out and, in my opinion, there's not enough of them these days.
I took an acting class with Louise Lasser, Woody Allen's first wife and co-star in many movies. I've done some other indie films, if you look on the YouTube. I love acting - it's great.
I got trained in kick-boxing and mixed martial arts. I enjoyed the whole process so much, and I'd love to do more action films.
It costs so much to make films. With a novel, you can write the whole thing on a ream of paper from Staples for $4.
I loved all the princess films, and I grew up with them, and I think it's really cool how they've changed over the years - how the princesses have become more positive role models right up until 'Frozen.'
I'm looking at working with people I get on with, that respect me, that don't just see me as a piece of ass. Which I have experienced as well. I've nearly walked off very big films before, and I would, because I don't want that in my life. I want to enjoy the work I do.
I'm obsessed with those old romance films. I also would love to venture into the silent film world. I think that's extremely compelling and interesting and really relies on the acting, even more so than when you have an actor speaking.
