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Oren Peli

Oren Peli Biography

Film director

Oren Peli is an Israeli-American film director known for his horror film series 'Paranormal Activity'. Born on January 21, 1970, he is recognized in the film industry for his innovative and low-budget filmmaking style.

Oren Peli is an Israeli-American film director known for his horror film series 'Paranormal Activity'. Born on January 21, 1970, he is recognized in the film industry for his innovative and low-budget filmmaking style.

Related Quotes

“In many cases your imagination is much more effective than what can be shown. It primes you to know something is about to happen - the anticipation and anxiety is worse than what ends up happening.”

Knows Ends Happens Imagination Cases Anxiety Happenings Anticipation

Author:Oren Peli

“Almost any movie, no matter how original, is borrowing from some other movies.”

Matter Originals Borrowing

Author:Oren Peli

“By trade, I am a software programmer, so I never really had any experience with movies before. I started out with 'Paranormal Activity.”

Activity Trade Paranormal Software Programmers Paranormal Activity

Author:Oren Peli

“Don't know if I'm a nerd - I'm more of a geek.”

Ifs Knows Nerd Geek

Author:Oren Peli

“I'm pretty content with what I have, but the one thing that I don't have is something like the iPod - but PC-based. I think that would be cool.”

Thinking Would Be One Thing Being Cool Ipods

Author:Oren Peli

“It's always about finding the right balance between answering some questions and raising new ones to keep your story going.”

Stories Balance Findings

Author:Oren Peli

“The less people know about 'Paranormal Activity,' the more they enjoy it.”

People Knows Enjoy Activity Paranormal Paranormal Activity

Author:Oren Peli

“After I watched 'The Exorcist' I refused to watch any other movie that had anything to do with ghosts or demons. I didn't even watch 'Ghostbusters' until I was much older.”

Watches Ghost Demon Exorcist

Author:Oren Peli

“Even if you look at the 'Paranormal Activity' movies, at the end of the movie things get really crazy and nutty, but they all start in a very mundane situation that people can relate to, and that's also to some degree what we tried to do in 'Chernobyl Diaries.”

People Ifs Looks Ends Situation Crazy Activity Degrees Relate Paranormal Diaries Get Real Mundane Chernobyl Nutty Paranormal Activity

Author:Oren Peli

“Even when I was making the first 'Paranormal Activity,' I didn't tell anyone I was making it, not my friends or neighbors or co-workers. I just kind of found that there was nothing to gain by announcing to the world that you're doing something.”

World Firsts Kind Found Activity My Friends Gains Workers Neighbor Paranormal Co Worker Announcing Paranormal Activity

Author:Oren Peli

“For a found-footage-style movie, there's a definite advantage in using unknowns, because it helps sell the illusion that it's real. A known actor would get in the way of the suspension of disbelief.”

Way Real Helping Actors Found Known Style Illusion Advantage Sells Definite Disbelief Suspension Suspension Of Disbelief

Author:Oren Peli

“Gory stuff can be shocking but it doesn’t really scare me. I’d say the kind of stuff that gets under my skin is the unknown. You hear a knock behind a wall and you don’t know what it is. Is there something there or not?”

Knows Kind Stuff Behinds Wall Skins Scare Shocking

Author:Oren Peli

“I believe that whenever I want to learn something I can learn it much better and faster by myself if I'm motivated to learn it as opposed to kind of doing it in more a standard, institutionalized way.”

Ifs Way Want Believe Kind I Can I Believe Standards Faster Motivated

Author:Oren Peli

“I do not buy CDs any more; I usually stream Internet radio. For movies, I hardly every buy any DVDS. I have a DVR, so just record things off HBO, Showtime and so on.”

Records Internet Radio Streams Cds Dvds Hbo Showtime

Author:Oren Peli

“I don't know if I would say that I'm specifically a history buff. I do find a lot of things fascinating, especially anything that's bizarre or mysterious and unknown and we don't have all the answers for.”

Ifs Knows Answers Mysterious Fascinating Bizarre

Author:Oren Peli

“I feel like when you do things with such a small budget, it actually makes you be more creative... and allows you to concentrate more on the story and the characters. I think that there is something about dirty, gritty and raw filmmaking that makes it feel a little more natural and makes it easier to connect with the action.”

Thinking Feels Littles Character Stories Action Natural Creative Easier Dirty Budgets Filmmaking

Author:Oren Peli

“I pay a lot of attention to box office because I understand it. TV ratings? I don't know how to interpret them, since I'm new to TV, so I'm just going to wait for somebody to tell me.”

Knows Waiting Pay Attention Know How Tvs Office Boxes Rating Box Office

Author:Oren Peli

“I don't know. I think that horror, in general, is fairly popular. It's definitely popular in film. There's just not a lot of good horror on TV, so whenever there is good horror on TV, people rush to it.”

People Thinking Film Tvs Horror

Author:Oren Peli

“I think the traditional explanation is that demons just find someone, they pick on them and try to break down their spirit so they can... take control of their bodies. Why exactly? I don't know.”

Thinking Knows Trying Body Spirit Break Picks Traditional Explanation Demon Breaking Down Take Control

Author:Oren Peli

“I think the tricky balance, the most important thing more than the horror is to have a compelling story, compelling drama, a show about great characters that you care about and you want to come back every week to see what they're up to.”

Thinking Want Important Character Stories Shows Care Week Balance Drama Horror Important Things Compelling Tricky Great Character

Author:Oren Peli

“I'm just considering myself extremely lucky. All I wanted is to have 'Paranormal Activity' be released and become successful. And everything that's happened since then is just an enormous bonus.”

Wanted Successful Happened Activity Lucky Enormous Paranormal Considering Bonus Becoming Successful Paranormal Activity

Author:Oren Peli

“I've always had better luck learning things on my own. And I really love the challenge of doing it yourself and kind of being alone against the system.”

Kind Challenges My Own Luck

Author:Oren Peli

“I've been having a lot of fun exploring different aspects of filmmaking, like writing and producing. There isn't a specific plan and I usually don't know what's going to be the next thing I do.”

Knows Writing Different Next Fun Plans Aspect Filmmaking Exploring

Author:Oren Peli

“I've never owned an Apple product. I like the fact that PCs are open architecture and not locked down like Apple products. I feel that Macs are also unjustifiably overpriced.”

Feels Facts Products Architecture Apples Locked Macs

Author:Oren Peli

“Our lives are pretty calm. Merging on the freeway in the closest you get to risking your life. So what’s missing now is that primal emotion of being scared to death, and I think that’s why people crave thrills like roller coasters or scary movies. They give you the chance to feel this very primal emotion in a very controlled environment.”

“In many places around the world, all over the U.S. and Europe there are active nuclear power plants. And for many years during the Cold War the threat of nuclear war was a permanent fear. There's always the concern that human kind is biting off more than they can chew in harnessing nuclear power.”

World Years Humans Kind War Cold Europe Concern Threat Plant Active Nuclear Around The World Permanent Cold War Nuclear War Biting Nuclear Power Power Plants

Author:Oren Peli

“Because of the way we let the actors improvise, it feels like you're watching people react rather than actors reading lines - so I think that's always going to be something I like.”

People Thinking Way Feels Reading Actors Lines Like You

Author:Oren Peli

“I'm having fun with what I'm doing but I'd never categorically say no to something because it's not horror. I'm keeping an open mind.”

Mind Fun Horror Having Fun Open Mind Keep An Open Mind

Author:Oren Peli

“Really it's always things that scare me like loss of control, dealing with the unknown and the unseen... Something that's not supposed to be there and you don't know where it came from, or what it wants from you, or how to defend yourself against it. That's the root of the things I find scary.”

Knows Want Loss Roots Scary Supposed To Be Scare Unseen

Author:Oren Peli

“Usually I don't find gore or slasher films scary. What works for me is the slower build where you are tightening the noose around the situation until you are running out of options and then really have no idea what to do.”

Ideas Running Film Situation Scary No Idea Where You Are Gore Nooses

Author:Oren Peli

“There is so much misinformation out there. If you give people even a little bit, it gets blown out of proportion then you have to go put out fires. So it's much easier to say, 'No comment.'”

People Ifs Giving Littles Bits Fire Easier Little Bit Proportion Comment Misinformation

Author:Oren Peli

“Personally I like the slow burn; I don't think there is anything wrong with it. When I think about the movies that were most effective on me as a viewer I think of the original Haunting and the Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, the Sixth Sense, the Others. These movies are not over the top at all, they are movies that rely on good story telling, good acting, good premise, good exposition and I want to stay true to that in future projects.”

Thinking Want Stories Acting Baby Projects Originals Rely Viewers Haunting Premises Good Story Stay True Over The Top Sixth Sense Exorcist Good Acting Rosemary

Author:Oren Peli

“Not knowing the thing that’s chasing you is a lot scarier than seeing it right in front of you”

Knowing Seeing Fronts Not Knowing Chasing

Author:Oren Peli

About the Author

Born: January 21, 1970
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 33

Related Topics

Knows Thinking People Activity Ifs Kind Paranormal Paranormal Activity Feels Stories

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