Quotes from David Leitch

I think what's really important is to challenge yourself. You can very easily fall into the rut of, 'We know it works! We'll use that old chestnut.'

Selling art is a lot different than making it.

I've been really fortunate in my career to do budgets at all different levels.

'Atomic Blonde' is about the characters' bigger existential crisis and their world. It's not so much the conceit of the spy game; it's more that being a spy sucks. But we're going to make it fun to watch.

I think the biggest thing you take from the stunt world is your understanding of the filmmaking process. For years, you've worked with every other department closely. You know hair, makeup, wardrobe, special effects, and you know what everybody's needs are and their expectations. You also know how to collaborate with them.

Shooting a fight is like shooting any other scene. You have to tell a story using a very specific choreography.

You can sometimes break rules in comics that you can't necessarily break in cinema. It's fun to find something cool in a comic and then try and find a way to break the same rule in another medium.

People have given their lives to this industry to make movies compelling.

There's an arc to an action sequence, and you need to come out the other end knowing your character better, and maybe the story has moved forward in a compelling way.

Every movie you attack has its challenges, and I was excited about the challenges presented by 'Deadpool.' I was a huge fan of the original, and I think, as a director, you have to put the script first.

I find fight scenes actually more interesting, in a way, than chase scenes because you're watching your character go through this problem-solving process and fight the antagonist mano-a-mano. It's more powerful, more emotional.

The thing that I like about action sequences is that if they're done well, you get to know more about the character in those few minutes than you do through 10 minutes of exposition.

You always start a fight scene or an action scene with, 'What are we learning about this character at the moment, and how are we gonna arc him or her in the next three minutes,' and it's no different with 'Deadpool' or 'Atomic Blonde' or 'John Wick.'

Choreographing a fight scene is telling a little story. You learn a lot about the characters involved.

As a filmmaker, I'm a collaborator first.

I think in the 'Deadpool' franchise, the writers are really good at distilling the good stuff and applying that to the material in this universe.

We don't want John Wick to retire again; we're glad he's back in the game. We want a sequel or a prequel. There's a lot of fertile ground to cover.

I'm a fan of the sensibility of comics, and I love the escapism of them and the defining of good and evil. They're just so creative, too.

If you have John Goodman in your movie, you want to use him as much as possible.

People want to be empowered to the point where they can thwart their enemies physically.

The way you present a stunt is tied in to the way you photograph it, so you're hanging out with the cinematographer.

Fight choreography has far more in common with dance choreography than it does with actual martial arts. You learn martial arts techniques, but those are just the movements for the choreography. You're working with a partner in choreography. You're working on timing.

Even when you're being safe, eight hours of choreography makes you look like you've been through a war. It's hard. It's like playing hockey for eight hours.

The completely irreverent tone was the thing that won me over about the first 'Deadpool' movie.