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Rebecca Miller

Rebecca Miller Books

Film director

Rebecca Miller is an American film director known for her unique perspective on women and their complex relationships. Born on September 15, 1962, Miller graduated from Harvard University and then entered the film industry. Her films often focus on the inner world of female characters, exploring themes of gender, power, and identity.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

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“Courtship is romantic. Marriage ... is an act of will," said Pippa, taking a sip of water. "I mean, I adore Herb. But the marriage functions because we will it to. If you leave love to hold everything together, you can forget it.”

Love Marriage Commitment

Book:The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Source: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

“I am half-Jewish, and yet really hadn't been brought up within the Jewish faith. So I had felt culturally Jewish, if that's possible, without really understanding it.”

Ifs Felt Understanding Half Jewish Faith

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I think one of the great joys of being a writer is you can transcend everything, even your own sex, what century you live in, and how you think. I found it quite natural to think as a male because I actually think that as a female, one often thinks in the mind of a male in terms of eroticism. You think about what the other person feels. So it's not that hard to imagine being that person.”

Thinking Feels Mind Persons Hard Joy Found Sex Term Natural Imagine Century Female Males Great Joy

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I had a lot of great lakes of ignorance that I was up against, I would write what I knew in almost like islands that were rising up out of the oceans. Then I would take time off and read, sometimes for months, then I would write more of what I knew, and saw what I could see, as much as the story as I could see. And then at a certain point I had to write out what I thought was the plot because it was so hard to keep it all together in my head. And then I started to write in a more linear way.”

Way Writing Sometimes Hard Stories Together Certain Saws Ignorance Months Ocean Islands Rising Lakes Plot Take Time Linear Time Off Rising Up Great Lakes

Author:Rebecca Miller

“As much as there are intellectual choices to be made and all the rest of it, a great actor has the ability really, to disappear and lose themself in a kind of mystical fashion. My appreciation and fascination with true acting is really all over the book, definitely.”

Kind Made Book Choices Actors Loses Ability Acting Fashion Intellectual Appreciation Disappear Mystical Fascination Great Actors

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I never had any desire to become a well-known actress.”

Wells Desire Known Actresses Well Known

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Every milieu has something ridiculous about it - film-making, the music world, painting - because people who take themselves seriously become funny pretty quickly.”

People World Film Painting Ridiculous Milieu

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I would have started writing a lot earlier if I hadn't been [Arthur Miller's daughter].”

Ifs Writing Daughter Arthur

Author:Rebecca Miller

“We all have to embrace the idea not to be worried about there being other women in the room. Gay men work with such solidarity.”

Men Ideas Rooms Gay Embrace Worried Solidarity Gay Men

Author:Rebecca Miller

“As if there's a world that exists that you're semi-privy to yet can't quite penetrate - that's how it feels when you're starting a book.”

Ifs World Feels Book Starting Penetrate

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Writing is acting in the sense that you're imagining and inhabiting another. In the book I was trying to get at the root of what true acting is.”

Writing Trying Book Acting Roots

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I was interested in the mystical element of humor - was humor part of creation? Is God laughing at us, or with us?”

Laughing Creation Elements Mystical

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I'm fascinated by what makes up a self, how one becomes a self, how much is it an answer to others and how much is it an essence of self.”

Self Answers Essence Fascinated

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I was always very curious about other people. I would always stare and my mother would say - just please close your mouth!”

People Mother Please Mouths Curious Staring

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Writing is still a bit of a miracle - the whole process: I see the world, filter the world, write down abstract squiggles on a page which somebody is then able to connect with. I'm still amazed by it and think I always will be.”

Thinking World Writing Stills Whole Able Bits Process Pages Miracle Abstract Amazed Filters

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I was trained to look at colour, edges, to see negative space. I honestly think my greatest influence as a writer is from Cubism - the idea of a multi-faceted, multi-perspective way of looking at things.”

Thinking Way Looks Ideas Space Influence Perspective Negative Edges Honestly Colour Cubism Negative Space

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Looking at paintings was a huge part of finding my way into the lush world of the 18th century.”

World Way Century Painting Huge Findings My Way 18th Century Lush

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Deirdre Maddon has an extraordinary, almost celestial way of telling a story. There are so many great writers now - although I also want to go back and read all of Dickens again.”

Way Want Stories Extraordinary Celestial Great Writers Dickens

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I was 100 percent sure when I left university that I was going to be a painter.”

Left Percent University Painter

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I saw Dolce Vita and my mind was blown by it, by the synthesis. I realised I wanted to be a filmmaker and started making films. I was writing screenplays and couldn't get money because my work was so uncommercial.”

Writing Mind Wanted Film Saws Filmmaker Realised Screenplays Get Money Synthesis Dolce Vita

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Novels have become equally important to me as films. I consider myself a storyteller and passionately engaged in both of those disciplines.”

Important Film Novel Discipline Engaged Storyteller

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I have a great drive to make things and sometimes I forget to slow down a little.”

Littles Sometimes Forget Slow Down

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I do think it is a kind of illness in the sense that it sets you apart, it injects you with an endless, unslakable thirst to keep making the thing. The artist has to voluntarily use themselves endlessly.”

Thinking Kind Use Artist Illness Endless Thirst

Author:Rebecca Miller

“One of the things that's good for me is that I can go from one art form to another.”

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Writing is a particular kind of frustration, which is why when I was making the structure for the novel I visualized it for myself with a color-coded board so I could see it.”

Writing Kind Novel Particular Color Structure Boards Frustration

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I think it's very important to keep being frightened - if you're not frightening yourself, you should take a break. You need to keep experimenting. You also need to take time - that's how you do good stuff - layering and depth of knowledge.”

Ifs Thinking Needs Should Important Stuff Break Depth Frightened Frightening Take Time

Author:Rebecca Miller

“It is really hard when the actor you pictured can't do the film.”

Hard Film Actors

Author:Rebecca Miller

“In a way, a lot of my work is in the re-writing once it is cast, as I adapt to the rhythms of how the roles are played out by the actors.”

Way Writing Actors Roles Casts Rhythm

Author:Rebecca Miller

“You work with each individual actor as you perceive their needs to be. It's something that you've figured out in the weeks of pre-production.”

Needs Actors Individual Week Productions Perceive

Author:Rebecca Miller

“In a way, after you're done directing there is a sense of amnesia that washes over you, you can't exactly remember how you did things. It's a zone, just like an athlete, when they can't remember what they did, but somehow got it done.”

Way Done Remember Athlete Zone Over You Amnesia

Author:Rebecca Miller

“At best, I think of a director as a magnet. You get all the metal fillings in all the individual actors and crew, and get those filings moving toward your magnetic direction.”

Thinking Moving Actors Individual Directors Metals Crew Filling Magnet Magnetic Filing Filling In

Author:Rebecca Miller

“There is a magic thing called 'tone' in a film, that the director must master and maintain.”

Film Magic Masters Directors Tone

Author:Rebecca Miller

“The script is the musical score, and everyone has to play off that score. Even I have to interpret it. The producers are there to eliminate obstacles to that interpretation.”

Play Musical Scripts Obstacles Producers Score Interpretation

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Every work coming from the creator is about getting the demons out, and each character in those stories had a different personal crisis to get through.”

Different Character Stories Crisis Creator Demon

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I'm really interested in the minutiae of different tones and what that explains - how people's backgrounds are reflected in minute details of how they interact. It's true that I'm hypersensitive to all that. Writing is acting in the sense that you're imagining and inhabiting another. In the book I was trying to get at the root of what true acting is.”

Writing Trying Book Different Acting

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I'm fascinated by what makes up a self, how one becomes a self, how much is it an answer to others and how much is it an essence of self. We learn how to be people from other people. Then you think - what's personal freedom? Is self-creation possible? This book is dedicated to a friend of mine who really did re-create herself. I didn't do that - I stayed in the circus and am a circus performer like my parents were. I did what I was raised to do - I'm glad I did but I'm fascinated by the people who managed to do something else. I was always very curious about other people.”

People Thinking Book Parent Glad Curious Dedicated Personal Freedom

Author:Rebecca Miller

“When I left university I was sure that I was going to be a painter. Then I had a crisis, a revelation. I saw Dolce Vita and my mind was blown by it, by the synthesis. I realised I wanted to be a filmmaker and started making films. I was writing screenplays and couldn't get money because my work was so uncommercial. I got married and started writing fiction. What was wonderful is that it gave me my freedom because no-one can tell me I can't work. Novels have become equally important to me as films. I consider myself a storyteller and passionately engaged in both of those disciplines.”

Writing Mind Important Film Novel Wonderful Discipline Married Crisis Painter Filmmaker Revelations Storyteller Get Money

Author:Rebecca Miller

“One of the things that's good for me is that I can go from one art form to another. Because I think if I had to write another novel now I would really not be good in my head anymore. It's too much. The frustration is so intense of knowing that this structure is right around the corner. Writing is a particular kind of frustration.”

Thinking Writing Kind Art Novel Be Good Intense Frustration

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Nobody is so weird others can't identify with them.”

Being Weird Weird Stuff

Author:Rebecca Miller

“That's one thing I find about having children - it does unlock a door that separates you from other women who've had children.”

Children Doe Doors One Thing Having Children

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I've always been fascinated by the way that children and animals suffer stoically in a way that I don't think adults do.”

Thinking Way Children Suffering Animal Adults Fascinated

Author:Rebecca Miller

“The quality of life decreases with heightened security.”

Quality Security Quality Of Life Decrease

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I was an anorexic, beer drinking, class cutting, doodling, shoplifting, skater chick that was into nature, art class, and the beach.”

Art Class Cutting Drinking Beer Beach Chicks Beer Drinking Skater Anorexics Art Class Shoplifting Doodling

Author:Rebecca Miller

“I don't like getting patted down and taking off my shoes at the airport.”

Down And Shoes Airports

Author:Rebecca Miller

“Ambition can be a disease, and it feeds on itself.”

Disease Ambition

Author:Rebecca Miller

About the Author

Born: September 15, 1962
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 45

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