Quotes About Interpretation

Tony Blair is not a villain, but he's played the part very well.

I don't think of 'Macbeth' as the villain. I don't think of 'King Lear' as the villain. I don't think of 'Hamlet' as the villain. I don't think of 'Travis Bickle' as the villain.

Some people who've read my story think I had a terrible childhood and that I was neglected or even abused, while others feel that my parents, while certainly flawed, also had truly wonderful qualities. And that's the way it should be, because in real life two people can look at the same president and one will see a hero and the other a villain.

I don't think you can play a villain with a negative point of view.

When I was composing for 'The Villain,' I looked at it as a fan and came up with tunes accordingly.

People are much more complicated in real life, but my characters are as subtle and nuanced as I can make them. But if you say my characters are too black and white, you've missed the point. Villains are meant to be black-hearted in popular novels. If you say I have a grey-hearted villain, then I've failed.

I have played 50 different kinds of fathers and villains. Only mediocre actors play the part the same way.

I think you have to be crazy not to want to work on the Joker! I can't think of many characters, heroes or villains, that are as malleable as him. He really can be interpreted in so many different ways, and generally, people don't really want to scratch the surface because you can get into some really dark territory real fast.

I've played a lot of villains, and I always feel slightly upset when people say, 'You were so bad!'

Christians take Scriptures out of context to try to justify or to vindicate retreat and cowardice.

I think when you're working with a character that another writer is acting as - for lack of a better word - custodian of, your obligation as a professional is to not do anything that violates that 'primary' take.

Lots of people think the violence in the films I make is overwhelming, but they think they're seeing something that they aren't seeing.

The violence in the Bible is appalling.

If you hate what you're seeing, you call it sex and violence. If you like it, you call it 'romance and adventure.'

We don't have any rules about how we depict violence, or how much violence is in a movie. It's a calibration on a case-by-case basis.

If you read Shakespeare's stage directions, all the gore and violence is right in there.

People say that my movies are violent. I do not think so.

I have recurring dreams about losing my temper, which become quite violent. I dread to think what that says about me.

Is there a more violent book than the Bible?

I don't look at my work as being violent. 'Officer Downe' is more campy than anything. It's a comic book, so it's funny to me.

It's always fascinating - and sometimes a little disquieting - when two first-rate critics violently disagree.

Acting is just playing the violin in an orchestra. Directing is being the conductor.

When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you're telling a story.

I approach everything as chamber music. Even with Beethoven symphonies, I lead from the violin and basically encourage the orchestra to think of it as a giant string quartet.