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John Sayles

John Sayles Books

Film director

John Sayles is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, known for his socially conscious works. Born on September 28, 1950, he has directed several critically acclaimed films since the 1980s, including 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' (1984), 'The Brother-in-Law' (1984), and 'Lone Star' (1987). Sayles' films often delve into social and political issues, conveying profound insights into human dilemmas through the medium of cinema.

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“My argument has always been that this is not an anti-Bush film, it's a pro-democracy film. And if George W.Bush comes out on the wrong side of democracy, that's his problem.”

Ifs Problem Film Sides Democracy Argument

Author:John Sayles

“There are genres I don't care for, and I've never worked in those genres, and then sometimes there are people that I haven't liked and I haven't worked for those people. But if I feel like there's a movie that I would like to go see, I'll jump into it.”

People Ifs Feels Sometimes Care Havens Don't Care Genre I Don't Care

Author:John Sayles

“There were not fifteen people in the story department and twenty-five producers and stuff. And Roger had produced 1,000 movies and directed a couple of hundred, and their comments were always very, very specific.”

People Stories Stuff Five Couple Hundred Twenties Producers Department Comment Fifteen Roger Twenty Five

Author:John Sayles

“To this day, I get rewrite offers where they say: 'We feel this script needs work with character, dialogue, plot and tone,' and when you ask what's left, they say: 'Well, the typing is very good.'”

Needs Feels Wells Character Asks Left Offers Very Good Scripts Dialogue Tone Plot This Day Typing

Author:John Sayles

“Well, acting is cheap; I knew all these actors who weren't in the Screen Actors Guild yet, and it happened that they were all just about thirty years old.”

Years Wells Actors Acting Happened Screens Thirty Thirty Years Guilds Thirty Years Old

Author:John Sayles

“I don't have a social agenda. I just don't choose to ignore what's in front of me.”

Social Fronts Agendas

Author:John Sayles

“Sometimes people can't afford to work for you, or they're not interested or available, and you hate to have written the whole movie with somebody in mind and not get them.”

People Mind Sometimes Whole Hate Written Available Not Interested

Author:John Sayles

“I never actually do rehearsals. That's one of the reasons that I write those bios and if I can meet with the actors I'll meet them or talk to them on the phone. What I want is for them to come on set knowing their lines and knowing who the character is.”

Ifs Want Writing I Can Reason Character Actors Lines Knowing Phones Rehearsal Bios

Author:John Sayles

“The hardest thing about movies is doing take 12, 13, and 14, and finding new ways to do the same lines. So the early takes are actually easier and I think there's more surprises in them.”

Thinking Way Lines Easier Findings Surprise Hardest New Ways Hardest Thing

Author:John Sayles

“There are very few distributors left to do off-Hollywood movies, and those distributors generally have got thousands of movies to choose from. So you're pretty lucky if you get one to even take your movie and it's pretty rare that they pay anything upfront.”

Ifs Left Pay Lucky Hollywood Hollywood Movies Distributors You Re Pretty

Author:John Sayles

“I see very small movies being financed by crowdfunding. If you're a well-known actor or celebrity of some sort, you can probably raise between one and two million. I don't have that kind of cult [following].”

Ifs Wells Kind Two Actors Known Millions Raises Following Cult Well Known Crowdfunding

Author:John Sayles

“I've always got five or six things that would either make a good feature or TV show. And you just never know. You go and you pitch and it may be exactly what they're looking for, or they may stop you after two sentences and say, "Oh, we've already done something just like that."”

Knows May Two Done Shows Five Tvs Six Sentences Features Tv Shows

Author:John Sayles

“I'm never at a loss for new projects.”

Loss Projects New Projects

Author:John Sayles

“When I read a story or see something play out in front of me I say, how come nobody's made a movie or a television show out of this? This is something that belongs in the conversation. Certainly that's what interests me about a project.”

Made Play Stories Shows Interest Fronts Television Conversation Projects Television Shows

Author:John Sayles

“As a screenwriter I'm often writing in genres where there have been thousands of movies; whereas when I direct movies they tend to be in between genres. They tend to have a little bit of a genre to them, but they're really about the people, and they're people we haven't met before.”

People Writing Littles Has Beens Bits Havens Mets Little Bit Direct Genre Screenwriters

Author:John Sayles

“The less money and time you have, the more you haveto plan ahead and be careful about your coverage. It's like a gas:it expands or contracts depending on the size of the container.”

Plans Size Careful Gas Contracts Be Careful Coverage Containers

Author:John Sayles

“America is a very divided country now. Not only are there red states and blue states, there are now red facts and blue facts. The right-wing believe in creationism. The left in evolution.”

Believe Country States Facts America Left Evolution Red Blue Wings Divided Right Wing Creationism Divided Country

Author:John Sayles

“If you write a movie for Roger Corman, it's going to get made. You saw it almost the next day.”

Ifs Writing Made Next Saws Next Day Roger

Author:John Sayles

“Basically, if you could get a good trailer out of the script, Roger had no objection to you making a really good movie. He liked it if you did. He liked the more cleverness and ingenuity you could bring to it. He just wasn't going to give you any more money.”

Ifs Giving Scripts More Money Ingenuity Roger Objections Cleverness Good Movie Trailers Really Good Movie

Author:John Sayles

“I remember being out here at the Sunset Marquis, and whoever knocked on the door, I would take that picture that I was writing and I would put that in the typewriter, so when I had the meeting, they would say: 'Oh, you're working on it right now?'”

Writing Remember Doors Right Now Meetings Sunset Typewriters

Author:John Sayles

“I figured somebody wrote a story who had a typewriter and I thought that movies were made by the cowboys and that they just said, 'Okay, you fall off the horse this time.”

Made Said Stories Fall Okay Horse Cowboy Typewriters

Author:John Sayles

“I've always felt like I was on the margins. Once upon a time that's what independent used to mean.”

Mean Used Felt Independent Margins Once Upon A Time

Author:John Sayles

“When I was really young I didn't know that there was such a thing as a screenwriter. I wrote stories.”

Knows Stories Young Screenwriters

Author:John Sayles

“Assumptions allow the best in life to pass you by.”

Inspirational Assumption

Author:John Sayles

“The media in America has become so cowed and compromised.”

Author:John Sayles

“I always feel that there are no final victories and no final defeats. But it's true that America is in a hole right now. There are a lot of dead fish in the water.”

Feels America Water Victory Right Now Finals Defeat Fishes Holes Fish Tanks

Author:John Sayles

“I made it about a three-day weekend so people wouldn't have to change their clothes a lot. We didn't have an art department; we didn't have a make-up department.”

People Art Made Three Clothes Made It Department Weekend

Author:John Sayles

“We just said, 'Okay, you're in the movie. Bring what you would bring for a three-day weekend and I hope you like the way you look in it because once you're on camera, that's your wardrobe.' But it worked; it worked and we were very surprised.”

Way Looks Said Three Okay Cameras Weekend Wardrobe

Author:John Sayles

“Fahrenheit 9/11 took public domain information that should have been on the news every night and put it in a film that a lot of people went to see. But still Bush has never had to answer those charges.”

People Should Has Beens Stills Film Night Answers Information News Should Have Every Night Domain Should Have Been Public Domain

Author:John Sayles

“Michael Moore, whether you like him or hate him, has done something very important.”

Important Done Hate Hate Him

Author:John Sayles

“There was a widespread indignation in the American media. They were saying, How can you make a movie during an election that's about politics? What are you doing? Are you trying to influence people's lives? To which my response was, Well, I hope so.”

People Trying Wells Politics Influence Media Election Response Indignation Influencing People American Media

Author:John Sayles

“But compared to writing a novel, where you can be God, I did the Bay of Pigs invasion in six pages once, and there were 50,000 guys with boots that I didn't have to pay, and all those extras; we didn't have to pay them.”

Writing Guy Pay Novel Six Pages Extras Boots Pigs Invasion Bay Of Pigs

Author:John Sayles

“I don't write [screenplay character] biographies beforehand. I usually go in knowing some sequences: this is where I want to start, this is where I want to end.”

Want Writing Ends Character Knowing Crafts Biographies Sequence Screenplays

Author:John Sayles

“It's a mixed crowd at the dogs - black, white, hispanic - but to Walt they all look like Jackie Gleason. Heavyset guys with big plans and polyester souls.”

Looks Soul Bigs Guy Black White Plans Dog Crowds Hispanic Walt Jackie Black White

Author:John Sayles

“I like to act. I work for scale. I don't have an acting agent. I'm in the book.”

Book Acting Scales Agents

Author:John Sayles

“I probably wouldn't have done as many as I did in one year, which I did when I was trying to raise money.”

Trying Years Done Raises

Author:John Sayles

“For me the writing, when I'm going to direct it myself, is really just the first draft, and I don't change it very much; I only change it on average about two lines per movie.”

Writing Firsts Two Lines Direct Average Don't Change

Author:John Sayles

“I certainly grew up seeing more movies and television than I read books, but when it came time to do the thing itself you don't have to hire a lot of people to sit down and write a book, so that was the story-telling medium that was available to me.”

People Writing Book Stories Seeing Television Grew Grew Up Down And Available Mediums

Author:John Sayles

“I figured, 'When is that ever going to happen again?'. So I basically set out the opposite way movies are made; I set out with a budget first. I said, 'What can I do well for $40,000?'.”

Way Firsts Wells Made Said Happens Opposites Budgets

Author:John Sayles

“I never thought about being a writer as I grew up. A writer wasn't something I wanted to be. An outfielder was something to be. Most of what I know about style I learned from Roberto Clemente.”

Knows Wanted Style Grew Grew Up Outfielders

Author:John Sayles

“I take more jobs when I need more money, if I'm investing in films. I take fewer when I don't. Or if something really good comes along, I usually find a way to do a good job on it in the time that I've got.”

Ifs Way Needs Jobs Film Investing Fewer More Money Good Job

Author:John Sayles

“I think I got spoiled and that writing a short story and getting it published, or writing a novel and getting it published, you pretty much get to do the first, second and third draft yourself without a whole lot of interference.”

Thinking Writing Firsts Whole Stories Novel Thirds Short Story Spoiled Interference

Author:John Sayles

“In a movie you have all these logistical problems; all these practical problems. But you're also going to have people come who can do things that you can't do, and you get to direct their talents.”

People Problem Can Do Talent Direct Practicals

Author:John Sayles

“Not that I've always loved the movie when they finally come out, or if they ever come out-because many of them don't come out-but I've gotten to work with really good story editors and stuff like that.”

Ifs Stories Stuff Editors Good Story

Author:John Sayles

“The hardest thing about movie acting is that if you're playing a character who changes within the movie, you've got to do that, but you've got to do it out of sequence, because we never have gotten to shoot in sequence, and that's really, really tough.”

Ifs Character Acting Tough Hardest Hardest Thing Sequence

Author:John Sayles

About the Author

Born: September 28, 1950
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 45

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