Quotes from James Wan

I guess, deep down, there's a dark side to us. I guess that's why movie fans really love the revenge drama. We like to go into dark movie theaters and fantasize.

People are so used to seeing John Goodman as a lovable dad or the quirky characters he played in the Coen Brothers films.

People are so used to seeing John Goodman as a loveable dad or the quirky characters he played in the Coen Brothers films.

No one knows how much we went through to finish 'Furious 7.'

Up until 'Fast and Furious 7,' every movie I've made has been a film that I've created, franchises that I've created.

'Fast and Furious' is the only franchise that I've directed that I did not create from scratch. So it definitely was an eye-opening experience for me coming to that world. I had to be respectful of the roles that had been established by the filmmakers before me, and I was cool with that.

My first film out of the gate was financially so successful that I guess, being in Hollywood, you get kind of put into a certain box.

I use myself as the barometer to gauge what is scary.

I use myself as the barometer to gauge what is scary. I like to think if something scares me, then there's a very good chance an audience will feel the same way.

I love my genre films, but I think when I get older, the way I tell it will be very different to how I told it when I was in my mid-twenties, which is how old I was when I made the first 'Saw.'

It all comes down to what is best for those particular genres, and if you believe in the stories that you're telling and the characters that you like that you want to tell those stories with, you can pretty much apply it to any genre.

I think Mel Gibson could make 'Passion of the Christ' because he really believed in it and gave it his all.

'Saw' was good and bad. It was good in that it gave me a career start, but it was also negative in that it really marginalized me as a filmmaker.

There's a reason why Smellovision has never really taken off. And I think it's a good thing.

'Death Sentence' really is a throwback to the '70s style revenge drama with moments of action. It's like a contemporary 'Death Wish' with a much more thriller style storyline, but the action scenes I shot very much in the style of '70s films like 'The French Connection.'

I think you cannot be too complacent. I think that's dangerous, and you cannot take anything for granted.

I'm a big John Woo fan.

I love to be scared in the safety of a movie theater. It is like a thrill ride; like a roller-coaster ride.

Still one of my favorite movies is the original 'The Haunting.' I love that style.

It's good to be finally able to afford food for a change. It's good to move on from potatoes and tin soup.

I like to think if something scares me, then there's a very good chance an audience will feel the same way. The key is creating scenarios that people can relate to.

I think, ultimately, if you create characters that people like and can relate to, your characters are grounded on a human level even if your cars are not.

Our culture today that we live in is getting so diverse, yet in Hollywood, there's not a lot of diversity.

When you conceive the scene, you go, 'That is scary, right?' When you shoot it, a lot of times you're not quite sure. Hopefully what you can shoot is what your conception is.