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Jason Reitman

Jason Reitman Quotes

Film director

Jason Reitman, born in October 1977 in Canada, is an accomplished film director known for his profound social insights and unique narrative style. His works, such as 'Thank You for Smoking' and 'The Big Short', are renowned for their social commentary and storytelling.

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Famous Jason Reitman Quotes

“Most people see a documentary about the meat industry and then they become a vegetarian for a week.”

People Week Industry Meat Vegetarian Documentaries Meat Industry

Author:Jason Reitman

“My writing voice is very much like 'Thank You for Smoking.' It's a guy's voice. It's very masculine.”

Writing Guy Voice Smoking Thank You Masculine Writing Voice

Author:Jason Reitman

“Really, it's the director's job to disappear and allow the movie to just feel.”

Feels Jobs Actors Directors Disappear Movie

Author:Jason Reitman

“There are only so many movies you can direct. And yet there are movies that I want to make sure make it to the screen in as honest a way as possible.”

Way Want Honest Direct Screens

Author:Jason Reitman

“Filmmaking is a completely imperfect art form that takes years and, over those years, the movie tells you what it is. Mistakes happen, accidents happen and true great films are the results of those mistakes and the decisions that those directors make during those moments.”

Years Art Moments Happens Film Form Actors Decision Results Mistake Directors Accidents Movie Imperfect Filmmaking Great Film Accidents Happen Mistakes Happen

Author:Jason Reitman

“I think it's a mistake for young filmmakers to just buy digital equipment and shoot a feature. Make short films first, make your mistakes and learn from them.”

Thinking Firsts Film Young Mistake Features Filmmaker Digital Equipment Short Films

Author:Jason Reitman

“'Looper' is about what your 55-year-old self would tell your 25-year-old self over a cup of coffee. It's about finding love in the third act of your life. It's about overcoming trauma and the idea of true sacrifice.”

Years Ideas Self Sacrifice Findings Thirds Overcoming Trauma Coffee Cups Finding Love Coffee Cup Old Self

Author:Jason Reitman

“Most people are nostalgic in a way that they're fond of the past, but they still are happy that they are where they are now. You know, when you say, 'Oh, high school was this or that,' you don't want to go back. No matter how much you loved high school, you don't want to actually be back in high school. I certainly wouldn't.”

People Knows Way Want Stills Matter School Past High School Nostalgic

Author:Jason Reitman

“People want to know if I have a moral standpoint that they should be picking up on, and the truth is, I don't. I don't want people to think that I'm trying to tell them to feel a certain way. I think that's cheap filmmaking.”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Way Want Feels Should Trying Certain Actors Moral Truth Is Movie Filmmaking Standpoint

Author:Jason Reitman

“'Alien' asked ground-breaking questions about eco-politics and female empowerment. 'The Matrix' delved deeper into the concept of perception versus reality than perhaps any other film I know. But for some reason, we tend not to remember the significance of their writing.”

Knows Writing Reason Reality Remember Film Perception Concepts Female Empowerment Deeper Aliens Significance Versus Female Empowerment Eco

Author:Jason Reitman

“All the airports kind of feel and look the same now. Some are more beautiful, some are less beautiful, but for the most part you're going to find a Starbucks in every airport. You're going to get your coffee and the 'USA Today' or 'New York Times' in every airport.”

Feels Looks Kind Today Beautiful New York Coffee Usa Airports New York Times Starbucks

Author:Jason Reitman

“And as a director, you make 1,000 decisions a day, mostly binary decisions: yes or no, this one or that one, the red one or the blue one, faster or slower. And it's the culmination of those decisions that define the tone of the film and whether or not it moves people.”

People Film Moving Decision Directors Red Blue Faster Tone Culmination Binary Yes Or No

Author:Jason Reitman

“And over the course of the last six years, as I've directed more features and commercials, I've become better at articulating exactly how I want the audience to feel.”

Want Feels Years Lasts Courses Audience Six Features Articulating

Author:Jason Reitman

“As far as writing, I like watching bad movies. Nothing stops me in my tracks more than watching a great film like 'The Godfather' or 'Dog Day Afternoon' or 'The Graduate.' You watch one of those, and you never want to write again. Whereas with bad movies, it makes you think, If that counts, I certainly could write.”

Ifs Thinking Want Writing Film Watches Dog Track Afternoon Graduates Make You Think Great Film Bad Movies Dog Days

Author:Jason Reitman

“Filmmaking is finding a piece of granite and you start to chip away and then you have the shape of a head, the shape of the arm, you can see the shape of the face and the face starts to gather character. You have to find it.”

Character Faces Actors Pieces Arms Shapes Findings Movie Filmmaking Chips Granite

Author:Jason Reitman

“From the onset of the 'Live-Read' series, we wanted to hit all the major writers and Woody Allen is simply one of the greatest screenwriters of all time. He has ability to match pathos and comedy and drama and then turn it all on a dime. If you're going to make a series based on dialogue, you can't find much better than Woody Allen.”

Ifs Wanted Turns Ability Comedy Drama Majors Series Dialogue All Time Screenwriters Dimes Woody Pathos

Author:Jason Reitman

“Humanizing good people is kind of boring and I don't really see the value in it... humanizing tricky characters is exhilarating, and making audience films out of indie subjects excites me.”

People Kind Character Film Values Audience Subjects Boring Good People Tricky Exhilarating

Author:Jason Reitman

“I have a strange fascination with the Midwest. I'm waiting to find out that my parents are actually from the Midwest. I grew up in Beverly Hills, up the street, and I just feel comfortable there. I've shot in Minneapolis, in Detroit, in St. Louis, in Omaha - they would say they're the Plains, not the Midwest - and I love it.”

Feels Waiting Parent Streets Strange Grew Comfortable Grew Up Shots Hills Fascination Detroit Midwest Beverly Hills Omaha Minneapolis

Author:Jason Reitman

“I laugh a lot in horror films. If I'm scared in a horror film, I try to think about what's scaring me... particularly, if it's a bad movie, but something they're doing still works. It's the same way I look at comedy. I've always had an intellectual view of comedy, and what makes people laugh, and how does it work.”

People Ifs Thinking Way Trying Looks Doe Stills Film Views Laughing Comedy Horror Intellectual Scared Working It Making People Laugh Horror Film Bad Movies

Author:Jason Reitman

“I remember when I was like 19 years old and I started a desk calendar company to pay for my first short film, just so I could say one day that my daddy didn't pay for my first short film. And I really established myself in the film festival world.”

World Years Firsts Remember Film Pay Company One Day Desks Daddy Remember When Festivals Calendars Short Films Film Festivals

Author:Jason Reitman

“I think romance is a tool, comedy is a tool and drama is a tool. I really just want to tell stories that challenge the viewer, move people, make you laugh, perhaps push an idea about being open-minded but never settle on a genre or an opinion. I hate genre. I like movies that are original in their approach.”

“I'd done table reads for my own screenplays, and I always thought they were so much fun. Why couldn't we do these for other classic screenplays and bring them to life? You can experience live theater, where you get to see plays produced by different directors and different casts, but there's really nothing like that for movie scripts.”

Different Done Play Fun My Own Directors Theater Tables Scripts Casts Classic Screenplays Live Theater

Author:Jason Reitman

“I'm not Michael Moore. I think Michael Moore wants to tell you how to think. He wants to give you answers. I make movies to raise my own personal questions and not to give answers.”

Thinking Want Giving My Own Answers Raises Personal Question

Author:Jason Reitman

“I'm really specific in the way that I shoot. I've always had a very good sense of what I need in the editing room. I used to shoot in a way that drew more attention to the camera and I've tried, in each film, to draw less and less attention to the camera. I think when you pay attention to the shots, you're aware of the fact that there's a director.”

Thinking Way Needs Facts Film Used Rooms Pay Attention Directors Draws Shots Cameras Very Good Pay Attention Editing Good Sense

Author:Jason Reitman

“I've been very, very lucky in my career, in my life - from day one. When aspiring directors say, 'what's your advice?' first I say, 'be born the son of a famous director. It's invaluable.'”

Firsts Born Careers Advice Son Lucky Directors Invaluable

Author:Jason Reitman

“It's easy to get caught up in a moment and think, 'Oh, I've been offered some giant studio film or a superhero franchise or some actor wants to meet with me about a project they want to do.' And it's easy to get caught up in a moment because it's flattering. But you can't do a movie because it's flattering.”

Thinking Want Moments Film Actors Easy Projects Caught Studios Giants Caught Up Superhero Flattering Easy To Get

Author:Jason Reitman

“'Juno' really changed things for me and I get a lot of screenplays come in now, but I like to self-generate and I like to kind of pursue my own ideas. And I think the more personal the better.”

Thinking Kind Ideas Self My Own Changed Pursue Screenplays

Author:Jason Reitman

“Rian Johnson's 'Looper' is inventive, entertaining, and thought-provoking in every way a movie can be. It is in fact the kind of movie that reminds us why we watch them and make them, a beautifully told story that deserves to be not only remembered, but acknowledged for its writing.”

Way Writing Kind Facts Stories Watches Deserve Remembered Thought Provoking Entertaining Provoking Johnson

Author:Jason Reitman

“Unlike with any other art form, filmmakers have this unique web of festivals. There are hundreds. It is a democratic system in which you submit films, and if they are good enough, they play. The only barrier to entry is the submission fee.”

Ifs Art Enough Play Film Form Unique Democratic Filmmaker Barriers Good Enough Submit Submission Festivals Entry Fees

Author:Jason Reitman

“Well, Toronto, I consider to be the birthplace of my films. I've made three films and this is the third one to premiere here in the same theater on the same day at the same time - they are my audience. They're the people that I think about while I'm writing, directing, and editing. I specifically make movies for them.”

People Thinking Writing Wells Made Film Three Audience Thirds Theater Editing Toronto Premieres Birthplace Birth Place

Author:Jason Reitman

“When I think of 'Nightmare on Elm Street,' there was a warmth to those teenagers that I related to. They were not aware that they were in the middle of a horror film, and I really loved those characters and I empathized with them.”

Thinking Character Film Streets Middle Horror Teenager Related Nightmare Warmth Horror Film Nightmare On Elm Street

Author:Jason Reitman

“When it comes to casting, I've been so lucky. I've worked with unbelievable actors who make me look better than I am and take the written word and make it honest.”

Looks Actors Written Honest Lucky Unbelievable Casting Written Word So Lucky

Author:Jason Reitman

“When you're young, you want to make every kind of film: musicals, Westerns, horror. Slowly you begin to hear your own voice. I hope people receive what I do as small, personal films that are somewhat contrarian about their main characters.”

People Want Kind Character Film Young Voice Horror Main Characters

Author:Jason Reitman

“Yeah, I was born in Montreal and I go back to Vancouver and Toronto a lot, so I have a sense of being Canadian, and I was raised by two Canadians, and my wife is Canadian, so yeah, I feel it.”

Feels Two Born Wife Yeah Raised My Wife Toronto Vancouver Montreal

Author:Jason Reitman

“I used to have a group called Bad-Movie Saturday. Every Saturday, six of us would go see the worst movie that came out each weekend. It'd be noon in Burbank. It was just a running commentary. All executives - we would each talk through the movie and make jokes.”

Running Romance Used Groups Worst Six Jokes Executives Weekend Saturday Noon Commentary Bad Movies Worst Movie

Author:Jason Reitman

“And the biggest improvement I see between 'Up in the Air' and 'Juno' and 'Thank You for Smoking' is that 'Up in the Air' deals with the complicated human stuff in a way that my other films have not. It's a more articulated film, and because of that, I'm most proud of it.”

Way Humans Film Stuff Deals Air Proud Complicated Improvement Smoking Thank You Up In The Air

Author:Jason Reitman

“I hate movies that tell people what to think. I'm proud that Democrats thought 'Thank You For Smoking' was their film and Republicans thought it was theirs. I'm proud that pro-choice people thought 'Juno' was their film and pro-life people thought it was theirs.”

People Thinking Film Hate Choices Proud Republican I Hate Democrat Smoking Thank You Pro Life

Author:Jason Reitman

“If someone else made 'Up in the Air' or 'Thank You For Smoking' or 'Juno,' I would have wanted to rip their head off. I need that same sort of passion for every project I take on.”

Ifs Needs Made Wanted Passion Air Projects Smoking Thank You Rip Up In The Air

Author:Jason Reitman

“Doesn't every generation feel like the one that's coming up behind them doesn't know how to grow up? I'm not sure if we're progressively getting worse or if your perspective shifts.”

Ifs Knows Feels Grows Behinds Know How Growing Up Generations Perspective Not Sure

Author:Jason Reitman

“Growing up the son of a director has made me very aware of the various turns that a directing career can take. Sometimes your films turn out exactly as you want. Sometimes they don't. I spent a lot of my childhood on sets. I think as a joke, my father gave me a line of dialogue in each of his films during the worst moments of my puberty.”

Thinking Want Made Sometimes Moments Film Turns Father Lines Careers Growing Up Growing Childhood Worst Son Directors Jokes Various Dialogue Puberty Worst Moments

Author:Jason Reitman

About the Author

Born: October 19, 1977
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 90

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