Quotes About Film

I like my role in 'Akira,' which is a remake of a south Indian film. I play the role of a pregnant cop like the original. So, since it's the role of a pregnant cop, luckily I didn't have to do any stunts.

I stepped away from stunts and into acting right around when stunt people started getting put into motion-capture stuff.

I think every American actor wants to be a movie star. But I never wanted to do stupid movies, I wanted to do films.

Even actresses that you really admire, like Reese Witherspoon, you think, 'Another romantic comedy?' You see her in something like 'Walk the Line' and think, 'God, you're so great!' And then you think, 'Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?' But of course, it's for money and status.

I really would have been stupid not to have done it. It was also a film that was actually happening, I mean, Miramax was doing it, and it had a kind of legitimacy to it. And once I read the script, I was there.

I've made some stupid decisions, so I have to be careful. I once said 'no' to a film that was a number-one hit. And 'Date Movie' had the smallest budget of any movie I'd been in, and it went to the top of the box office.

In the film industry, all the money is focused on television and the stupidity of American cinema.

I dress according to the requirement of the film, as a true actor. Off the camera, I'm just me. I have my preferences and my personal style. Before I step out, I look into the mirror just to confirm that my style is intact. Beyond this, it doesn't matter.

I'm not very aware of styles. We never talk about styles before we start shooting, or even during shooting, because I think the film will bring you there.

For people who know about dance, 'Cats' is a musical that really celebrates dance, and there are so many different styles of dance in this film, too. I was really looking forward to being part of that.

Personally, I don't want to do theater that's very stylish, when it's just stories on stage that are basically the same as TV or film.

Someday, I'd like to sit down with a small group of people, in a relaxed environment, and make a film that feels more independent. That way we can be a little more free in terms of storytelling and subject.

If somebody had started on a remake of French Kiss before I announced my own film, I would have dropped my subject. If someone else starts after me, what am I to do?

I did a film, 'X+Y', in which I played somebody on the autistic spectrum. It's a subject I didn't know very much about, but being an actor gives yourself the opportunity to really immerse yourself in that world and learn things. It's one of the great things about what I do.

Sometimes it's difficult directing yourself on film because you can't quite separate yourself from the subject.

I'm often asked, 'What was, for you, your greatest film experience?' And it always comes back to 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' aside from being a film that really handled subject matter in such a brilliant, brilliant way.

If you don't infuse humor into a subject matter, no matter how dark, the audience can't accept the message of a film. It closes them down. Humor can open them up.

Realism is always subjective in film. There's no such thing as cinema verite.

As with sound, images are subjective. You and I may not see the same color red as red, but we will probably agree that the image on the screen is a digital image or film image, based on contrast, bit depth, and refresh rate.

I try to turn a place on film into a mental state. I always have three or four locations that I repeat and return to in a film, to make it more mythic. But my fiction films are relatively subjective stories, experienced though one character. And that always justifies a little stylisation in terms of landscape.

Generally, I don't like publicity on docs in progress, much less ones that are only in development; I've always tried to stay under the radar in terms of any press, especially with regard to the subjects of the film. I don't want them to be thinking about the film or funding or what the public reaction is going to be.

All my film ideas and subjects have come from photography.

I love young directors who experiment with subjects. But I am definitely not choosy. I don't get that many offers to be selective.

It takes a lot to be a part of a film and as an artist, I want to be a part of subjects that makes me feel happy and that's become a big priority for me.