I am not intellectually choosy. My choice of films reflect who I am, but it is not done with strategy and planning. I hear something and go by my intuition.
As you know, in America there's no rights for the artist, so whatever films I've made kind of belong to the studio, so if they want to remake it they can.
My taste in watching things runs from dramas and low-budget films to high-end fantasy/science fiction.
I want all of my films to be grounded in reality, and I think 'Midnight Special' is the most grounded film I've ever made, in spite of its genre.
My father always told me that story was first and foremost. We would watch not just his films but a lot of classic American films. My father was a great David Lean fan, and David Lean's one of my favorite directors. We would discuss films endlessly.
I still, by and large, make low-budget Australian films.
My oldest brother was a big influence on the films I watched as a kid.
I've done approximately 15 films, and most of the things I've done have either been stunt or costume work.
You have to nail the right tone because sometimes when you just see his films cold, you're not quite sure. It's the same in - I'm trying to think of other directors with a similar sense - David Lynch's films, Tim's films, some of Cronenberg's stuff.
In most horror films, you don't really get to understand why this character is the way he is.
I'm not averse to being in big commercial films.
I hope to do films. Right now I'm just doing projects that are interesting.
The truth is often terrifying, which I think is one of the motifs of Larry and Andrew's cinema. The cost of knowledge is an important theme. In the second and third films, they explore the consequences of Neo's choice to know the truth. It's a beautiful, beautiful story.
'Coco' is shaping up to be one of the most beautiful films we've made.
Most actresses have multiple commitments, from films to endorsements, that require us to maintain a particular look over a long period. Hence, there is never an opportunity to experiment with hair, so we just settle for a neutral look that we can work with across projects.
Films take up so much time, and with theatre, you do have to plan a period of time that you can be free.
The truth is, when I started to make films, I was terrified. I had a huge difference in what I was writing in the screenplay and what was on the screen after. Sometimes there was a big gap. Now, the more I have experienced, the more I do movies, the more I feel that the dream is closer to the screen. It's coming with experience.
I was not getting work, even after auditioning for films. So I started working in a studio as a photographer; I assisted a cinematographer for two ads. I was thinking that I will get into photography or cinematography or assist someone. But then the 'Dangal' offer came, and I was busy with the auditions.
I make different films now.
When I make a film I'm away from home for two to three months. So I want my kids to look at my films one day and say, I love his movies, I love his choices-because he loved them.
I go through periods, usually when I'm editing and shooting, of seeing only old films.
It is not easy to get parts in mainstream films for most people of color. Hollywood and British writers are not writing parts for us, or the directors are not interested in casting us in parts that are color-blind.
We're always trailing, as far as the amount of roles that are written for us and the films that are being made that have black characters in them. I don't know if that's going to change.
Nothing in my background has anything to do with films. In that sense, I am a complete outsider.
For me, my realism has stood me over 15 years, so the kind of films that I have done has garnered enough respect for me to be able to survive the industry.
I haven't got anything against films that are about the minutia of relationships or customs, but I love extremes.
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.
I love games, and I feel they've been sold short shrift in films so far.
By the usual reckoning, the worst books make the best films.
Working with my dad was such a gas. We approached the work in a similar way. We only made two films together when I was an adult, Tucker, and Blown Away, but it was so much fun to play with your parent like that.
I think that the episodes are like mini horror films really; the characters make bad decisions early on and these things just snowball for them and get worse and worse. And that's what I find funny.
There were some films I refused because the feminist aspect was a bit wonky.
The secrecy thing has gotten to be more and more prevalent in films, and maybe that's good. It's nice to go see a film and not know anything about it. Sometimes I feel like we know too much about films.
The kind of filmmaker that I am, even my darker horror films generally are still very fun. And I think that's important for me and the kind of films I make.
In all my 'Bond' films, everything you see there is fantastically real.
I have always meticulously storyboarded my films from beginning to end.
