Home / Authors / Jay Roach

Jay Roach

Jay Roach Quotes

Film director

Jay Roach, born on June 14, 1957, is a renowned film director known for his work in a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, and biographical films. Roach is recognized for his unique directorial style and profound understanding of cinema, with his works gaining widespread recognition both domestically and internationally.

Filter quotes by topic

All Film People Way Knows Austin Communist Ideas Bits Thinking War

Famous Jay Roach Quotes

“I learn so much from watching films like that with commentary and then when you get to hear another filmmaker talk about their films it's a really great experience.”

Film Filmmaker Really Great Commentary Great Experiences

Author:Jay Roach

“I really enjoy the consolation when I'm having to cut loose stuff I love, of saying 'Well, at least it will make it onto DVD.' There's a couple of scenes which I liked very much, but couldn't fit them into the film that are on there.”

Wells Film Stuff Enjoy Cutting Couple Fit Scene Consolation Dvds

Author:Jay Roach

“My biggest role as director on the film is keeping a sense of the overview - how to cast the movie and shoot it in such a way that it will cut together. And how to design the style and tone.”

Way Together Film Roles Cutting Style Design Directors Casts Tone Overview

Author:Jay Roach

“The success of the second 'Austin Powers' caught us by surprise a little bit. We had decided not to do even a second one, unless the audience wanted it and we could do something better.”

Littles Wanted Bits Audience Little Bit Decided Surprise Caught Something Better Austin

Author:Jay Roach

“As long as we, again, kind of keep earning the sequels with material and I'm confident Mike can, I'm in. You know I always want to do those. But I also want to keep going in some of the direction as Meet the Parents has.”

Knows Want Kind Long Parent Materials Keep Going Earning Mike Sequels

Author:Jay Roach

“Once you're a public figure, there's a certain amount of privacy you do give up.”

Giving Certain Figures Amount Giving Up Privacy Public Figures

Author:Jay Roach

“I'm a patriot, and I think democracy is the best system available. It's very flawed, but it works better than anything else.”

Thinking Democracy Available Patriot Flawed

Author:Jay Roach

“It seems like you can't actually have really bad hair or be bald and run for President of the United States.”

States Seems Running President United United States Like You Hair Bad Hair

Author:Jay Roach

“I was very interested in politics in college and was heading to be a lawyer. I have a degree in economics and I was interested in it. I hadn't really gotten super serious about it and I'd done a lot of student politics in high school. I really think it would be interesting and fun and challenging to go into politics.”

Thinking Done Would Be School Fun Challenges Interesting Students College Serious Degrees High School Economics Lawyer Headings

Author:Jay Roach

“I always had a respect and an admiration for people who got into politics. I certainly have always been interested in law and political science.”

People Law Political Admiration Political Science In-laws

Author:Jay Roach

“I'm pretty opinionated sometimes although my political views change all the time, too. So I'm not very zealous.”

Sometimes Political Views Opinionated Zealous Political View

Author:Jay Roach

“You can make an idea spread for good but you can also make an idea spread for bad and the power to make an idea spread, memetics, you know which now people talk about memes.”

People Knows Ideas Spread Memes

Author:Jay Roach

“There's people who actually have a whole science devoted to what makes a sticky meme and that idea of that question of why some ideas about how civilizations work catch on and others don't.”

People Ideas Whole Civilization Devoted Sticky Memes

Author:Jay Roach

“Sometimes perfecting the one thing can be the enemy of getting any traction on anything else.”

Sometimes Enemy One Thing Traction

Author:Jay Roach

“I like to shoot a lot of choices. I like a lot of stuff - and so I push to go faster, to shrink the time between the takes so that the takes are what you're spending all your time on.”

Choices Stuff Spending Faster Shrinks

Author:Jay Roach

“I wish I was sort of someone like Woody Allen who can stage everything in one long master shot, no coverage; just, you know, that's it.”

Knows Long Wish Stage Masters Shots Coverage Woody

Author:Jay Roach

“I just always look for stuff that has a character-driven thing.”

Looks Character Stuff Driven

Author:Jay Roach

“I don't stay in the genre because I just like all stories that have a smart hook in them and I can find a comic way through if it's a comedy or a suspenseful way through it if it's a drama.”

Ifs Way I Can Stories Comedy Drama Smart Comic Genre Hook

Author:Jay Roach

“Sometimes you fall in love with some things and then you fall out of love with it.”

Sometimes Fall Falling In Love

Author:Jay Roach

“People have an actual bias against there being some kind of popularity for political films, and when they get acknowledged, it helps keep the conversation going.”

People Kind Helping Film Political Conversation Popularity Bias

Author:Jay Roach

“People are willing to throw our civilization under the bus to discredit the existing system, without any proposed solution to the problems that they're willing to pointing at.”

People Problem Willing Civilization Solutions Bus Pointing Discredit

Author:Jay Roach

“There is an energy in the USA that will have to be dealt with, will have to be acknowledged and coped with. There are people who feel that they've lost ground, lost access to government - people whose quality of life has been affected.”

People Feels Has Beens Government Energy Lost Quality Access Usa Affected Quality Of Life

Author:Jay Roach

“From our perspective now, there is a not a huge understanding about the totalitarian Communism that Soviet Russia practiced during the 1950s - it was an atrocious system.”

Understanding Huge Perspective Russia Communism Soviet Soviet Russia

Author:Jay Roach

“When Dalton Trumbo and his friends joined the Communist Party it was 1943, and Russia was our ally in World War II. This was connected to a very popular movement of artists and intellectuals at that time towards anti fascism, and an alliance with the union movement.”

World War Artist Party Movement Unions Connected Russia War Of The Worlds Communist Allies Fascism World War Ii World War I Alliances Communist Party Very Popular

Author:Jay Roach

“There were two writer's unions in those days[ during World War II ] , the studio-friendly guild called the Screen Playwrights, and the more activist Writer's Guild. The studios were fairly upset that their group wasn't effective, and they sought to punish the other union by labeling them as Communists.”

World Two War Groups Unions Studios Screens Upset War Of The Worlds Friendly Activist Communist World War Ii World War I Playwright Labeling Guilds

Author:Jay Roach

“It was a way to try and shut down what the unions were negotiating for, like better hours and pay. [Dalton] Trumbo and his friends joined the Communists mostly for these reasons.”

Way Trying Reason Hours Pay Unions Communist Negotiating

Author:Jay Roach

“[Dalton] Trumbo himself was a terrible Communist.”

Terrible Communist

Author:Jay Roach

“Dalton Trumbo was constantly criticizing the membership [in the Communist Party], and was opposite to being a loyalist.”

Party Opposites Criticize Communist Membership Communist Party Loyalists

Author:Jay Roach

“That's why we had Louis C.K. portray the harder line Communist, to accuse [Dalton] Trumbo of being a hypocrite.”

Lines Harder Communist Hypocrite Being A Hypocrite

Author:Jay Roach

“Dalton Trumbo actually was [ a hypocrite], because he liked his wealth, which was against the grain of being a Communist. I put title cards at the head of the film that explains the context.”

Film Wealth Cards Titles Communist Grain Hypocrite

Author:Jay Roach

“John Wayne was just a very conservative guy, who had not served in World War II, and he was defensive about that - he almost overcompensated his anti-Communism because of that reason.”

World War Reason Guy Conservative Communism War Of The Worlds World War Ii World War I Wayne Anti Communism

Author:Jay Roach

“To his credit John Wayne was open about it, he even portrayed a member of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in a film called 'Big Jim McClain.'”

Bigs Film House Activity Members Credit Committees Wayne

Author:Jay Roach

“John Wayne was never shy about that fervor, but because he was never overly zealous about his politics, and of course his status as a movie, he was embraced by both the right and the left.”

Courses Left Shy Wayne Fervor Zealous

Author:Jay Roach

“Hedda's Hopper attitude was 'once a Commie, always a Commie.'”

Author:Jay Roach

“One of the series of decisions that the great screenwriter John McNamara made was about who to depict. [Ronald] Reagan had a role in HUAC, he was a friendly witness, but never went over-the-top about it.”

Made Decision Roles Series Witness Friendly Screenwriters Over The Top

Author:Jay Roach

“Hedda Hopper was a better direct opponent to [Dalton] Trumbo. We wanted to use Trumbo's battles to represent the larger battles, so the audience could understand the personal sacrifice he went through and the personal damage to his family. The choices were about who were the best representations of his antagonists, which is why we chose as we did.”

Use Wanted Choices Audience Sacrifice Battle Direct Opponents Damage Representation Antagonist Personal Sacrifice

Author:Jay Roach

“The first thing we noticed was how flamboyant [Dalton] Trumbo was in real life.”

Firsts Real Real Life Flamboyant

Author:Jay Roach

“It's hard to imagine in this day and age the accent in Dalton Trumbo speaking voice, the Mid Atlantic mixture of an English and American dialect, so flowery and oratorical that it almost sounds theatrical. It would be uncool today, no one would ever speak that way.”

Way Hard Would Be Age Today Speak Sound Voice Imagine This Day Accents Mixtures Theatrical Dialect Uncool

Author:Jay Roach

“For Bryan [Cranston ] to go back in time and become this larger-than-life and somewhat theatrical guy, who performed his ideas and rhetoric in public in a melodic and flashy way, was a bit of a risk.”

Way Ideas Guy Bits Risk Rhetoric Theatrical Back In Time Bryan Larger Than Life Flashy Go Back In Time

Author:Jay Roach

“Bryan [Cranston] created something completely unique, that was earned by its authenticity. That's what gave us the license to push it a bit.”

Bits Unique Authenticity License Bryan

Author:Jay Roach

“I was always interested in the larger picture, I was pre-law in college, and had a degree in economics. I was very interested in the big question 'how then shall we live?,' how do we organize as a civilization when we are so different, and often don't get along, yet we know at some point we have to unite for the common good? I actually really care about those issues, and I'm driven to understand how it works.”

Knows Different Bigs Care Law Common Issues College Civilization Degrees Economics Driven Organize Common Good Big Questions

Author:Jay Roach

“Dalton Trumbo was obsessed with justice.”

Justice Obsessed

Author:Jay Roach

“[ Dalton Trumbo] always said he fought so many fights, all seemingly different, but all about the concepts of fairness and justice.”

Said Different Fighting Justice Concepts Fairness

Author:Jay Roach

“When something so unjust as the black list happened, [Dalton Trumbo] would come to life in a certain way.”

Way Certain Black Happened Lists Unjust

Author:Jay Roach

“[Dalton] Trumbo wrote this incredible pamphlet, almost on the level of Tom Paine's 'Common Sense,' called 'The Time of the Toad.' It's an exquisitely written treatise regarding the black list era.”

Black Levels Common Written Incredibles Lists Common Sense Eras Toms Toads Paine Tom Paine

Author:Jay Roach

“In his life, [Dalton] Trumbo uses wit and comedy to fight these very high-stakes battles.”

Use Fighting Comedy Battle Wit Stakes

Author:Jay Roach

“I hope I can now use my ability to communicate, without being too precious or serious. It's good to have some levity, even as you're facing some really dark times, to mix it up a bit.”

I Can Use Bits Dark Ability Serious Communicate Dark Times Levity Ability To Communicate

Author:Jay Roach

“It was about the compelling need to make countries get along to prevent war, in contrast with the totally petty and selfish bullshit that drives the individuals who are supposedly in charge of these countries. It's hard to believe that these self-centered people have nuclear weapons that they can fire at any moment.”

People Needs Believe War Self Country Hard Moments Individual Fire Weapons Nuclear Selfish Contrast Nuclear Weapons Compelling Bullshit Petty Self Centered Hard To Believe Self Centered People

Author:Jay Roach

“Even modern wars are fought like revenge tales from some petty grievance.”

War Modern Revenge Tales Petty Grievance Modern War

Author:Jay Roach

“It's hard to believe that these self-centered people have nuclear weapons that they can fire at any moment. Even modern wars are fought like revenge tales from some petty grievance. It was definitely tapping into the Dr. Strangelove vibe, which is one of my three top favorite films or all time.”

About the Author

Born: June 14, 1957
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 81

Related Topics

Film People Way Knows Austin Communist Ideas Bits Thinking War

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Similar Authors

Christopher NolanBrowse related quotes
Alexander PayneBrowse related quotes
George LucasBrowse related quotes
Spike LeeBrowse related quotes
Dario ArgentoBrowse related quotes
Peter WeirBrowse related quotes
Duncan JonesBrowse related quotes
Chika AnaduBrowse related quotes
Roger EbertBrowse related quotes
Michael HanekeBrowse related quotes