Quotes from John Milius

I find that screenwriting is at best kind of a hackwork in some ways.

You never know when you're going to be considered un-hip... The people that really pass judgment on you really have nothing to do with what you do, usually.

I think Francis at half form is better than anybody else by 50%, you know? I think it's just that he has never... he has a late pick of the things that are ambitious enough for him.

'm a general, I do something. I go out and fight wars and win them.

I suppose when I started out I would have liked to have been the darling of critics or something, but everybody wants to be loved and admired.

A lot of people thought of me as a threat to Western civilization.

Films are always pretentious. There's nothing more pretentious than a filmmaker.

Most of the good executives do pretty well. Because to be a good executive you have to be strong, and you have to have a simple attribute that people have forgotten about - courage.

Most artists think they're frauds anyway.

I felt that the Star Wars series became very pretentious as time went on. Just heavy and leaden.

Everybody's a filmmaker today.

Most of the good executives do pretty well. Because to be a good executive you have to be strong, and you have to have a simple attribute that people have forgotten about - courage.

There is a certain kind of respect for authenticity today that there wasn't back in the days when they did 'Cleopatra ' where everything looked like a giant motel. People want to have it be authentic in the look, and authentic in the way people behave.

Also, they don't understand - writing is language. The use of language. The language to create image, the language to create drama. It requires a skill of learning how to use language.

There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

For us, there is no spring. Just the wind that smells fresh before the storm.

I may not be the strongest guy or the most well-armed, but you can put me in a room with a pencil and a piece of paper and I can kill anybody.

I've always been able to survive by writing, though.

Everybody's a filmmaker today.

Egotism is not a good quality. It's not something to be admired or even tolerated. It wouldn't be tolerated in a field commander and it shouldn't be tolerated in a movie director.

Yeah, I think that's it... It's like Jesse James. He became really popular because he lasted so long. You know, there is some degree of truth to the fact that time will dignify anything, too.

Yeah, there's absolutely. I mean, remember when The Searchers came out, it was a relatively big hit for a Western, and I think it made 5 million bucks - I don't even think it made that.

I became a loner. I became a mountain man. A lot of those things are very good qualities and they help you do your work, help you be singular and keep the artistic integrity of your work intact, but they don't make it very easy to live your life.

Also, they don't understand - writing is language. The use of language. The language to create image, the language to create drama. It requires a skill of learning how to use language.