Telugu-Tamil producer Thyagarajan has bought the South Indian language rights for two Hindi hit films, Vikas Behl's 'Queen' and Neeraj Pandey's 'Special 26.' He wants me to play Akshay Kumar's role in the Telugu version of 'Special 26.' Akshay and I even look similar, physique-wise.
I have always believed that there is a need for life-affirming films.
I have actually been very fortunate to be able to make films on my own credit card without having huge funders behind me dictating how the story should be told.
If, you know, all your life you're making films or whatever, and somehow along the way you lose meaning in whatever you're doing when you're making the films, they're just not the same as they used to be to you. That doesn't mean your life is over; it just means maybe go try to live a different life.
I look at the Christian Bale movies, the 'Batman' films, and that shows you that superhero movies don't just have to be about men in tights.
I've always wanted to do stunts for films and television, and I'm doing exactly that. I'm glad it is my job, but I've said it before that I'd probably do it for free.
I'd like to do a number of films. Westerns. Genre pieces. Maybe another film about Italian Americans where they're not gangsters, just to prove that not all Italians are gangsters.
When I was a kid, there was no collaboration; it's you with a camera bossing your friends around. But as an adult, filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself.
And the reason for that I think is that in Australia our films don't get the exposure, so the process is foremost. But anyway, I love being part of the team and hate being stuck in a corner somewhere.
I want to act in a Tarantino movie and be a vixen in one of his films. Maybe I'll secretly drop an episode of 'Flesh and Bone' in his mailbox and see what he thinks.
I love Nicole Holofcener and Lynn Shelton, both for the same reasons: their films are funny without being forced, intimate and real while also being hugely entertaining.
I offer originality: you don't know what my films are like until you go to them. I think that's the reason I've been getting all this attention.
I try not to look for messages in films.
I think TV, films, and the stage inform each other. It's good to go back and forth.
The world is shrinking, and everyone is majorly interested in Indian films now.
I have been very fortunate to be able to work and get the opportunity to play different roles. It's nice to do big studio pictures and then work in Glasgow on films like 'Red Road' and then dress up as a vampire or an alien. I think that's why a lot of people are actors - the versatility.
Most writers can tell stories of how their books failed to be made into films.
I think too often in films, people think endings are a summation of plot, and I don't like that. Because once you know where you're going as an audience member, then it's like a video game. You're just waiting for them to get through the levels and beat the bad guy. And I just think that's boring.
I just want to touch something deep in the heart of humanity. I don't know if that's in movies, producing films, or writing a book, but I'm concerned about our spiritual well-being as a human race. I want to impact people in a way that makes us all reach for our best.
I was very influenced by the films of the '70s.
I do have a responsibility, but I would make the most boring films in the world if I woke up every morning worrying about my social responsibility.
Believe me, sequels are just as hard to make as original films.
Films are a whole new world that I'm excited to explore. But being on stage is very close to my heart; it has given me a sense of belonging. I will always try to find a way to balance both.
As a filmmaker, I believe in trying to make movies that invite the audience to be part of the film; in other words, there are some films where I'm just a spectator and am simply observing from the front seat. What I try to do is draw the audience into the film and have them participate in what's happening onscreen.
In the '80s, when I was watching Bond films in the cinemas, Roger Moore was the man. I'll always have a soft spot for him. His Bond films were light-hearted and silly as well as action-packed. For me, this spoke volumes. It meant that, someday, maybe someone like me with a whacky sense of humour could be James Bond.
I don't look at my films or my old drawings much, so that was an interesting way to kind of reconnect with myself a bit.
I want to play a role of a 24-year-old woman, not 17-year-old girls. So I have picked a couple of films like 'Butter' to show that. And it's perfectly fine not to do anything for a year if I don't find the right thing.
Films do seem prestigious and glamorous, but when you create something, you want people to see it. TV still reaches so many more people; it still really appeals to me.
You can make films in a lot of countries, but they don't have very wide releases.
As the years go by and I make more films, I am increasingly interested in capturing place as a vivid backdrop for my films.
I remember going to see those Adrian Lyne films when I was going to see movies in the nineties, and I was jealous he wasn't working at New Line.
I'm very emotional and possessive about all my films.
I'm hooked on Polanski's films, his psychological thrillers. I love 'Rosemary's Baby,' I love 'Repulsion.'
As far as I'm concerned, Cate Blanchett is a goddess, but she's really down to earth. She's got all those Oscars, she's made all those amazing films and she could spend her whole life doing that, but what does she also do? She gives birth to three boys and creates her own theatre in Sydney.
Many of my favorite films, if someone were to tell me simply what they're about, I probably wouldn't be that interested. Plot often has so little to do with what's at the heart of a film.
I take more jobs when I need more money, if I'm investing in films. I take fewer when I don't. Or if something really good comes along, I usually find a way to do a good job on it in the time that I've got.
