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Quote by Robert Altman

“People have asked me throughout the years which directors have influenced me. I don't know their names, because I was mostly influenced when I'd see a film and think, "Man, I want to be sure to never do anything like that." So I never learned their names. It wasn't a matter of copying or emulating somebody I admired. It was getting rid of a lot of stuff.”

Quote by Robert Altman

Author

Robert Altman was an American film director known for his unique narrative style and contributions to the art of cinema. His work spanned a wide range of genres, from drama to comedy, from epic to noir, with Altman's films always celebrated for their profound themes and distinctive narrative structures. more

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“Most of my films I call arena films. I deal with a confined area -- an arena -- and I try to cover every aspect of it.”

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“I insist that they do what they became actors to do. I want them to create something and not just hit marks and say words. So they all love that because they're playing. It's called playacting. Their contributions are not only welcomed, but are accepted and used.”

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“We make too much of the good and too much of the bad.”

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“If something works for you, you continue to do it. I did a bunch of pictures for 20th Century Fox when Alan Ladd was over there, but I set the budgets so low that they'd approve and I'd deliver the film. They would have no say in it, which is the kind of arrangement I liked.”

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“I was scared that no one would hire me. At that time, there was still a stigma attached to it. A big stigma. Actually, I think I was healthier after the operation than some people who have bypass surgery because I was completely cured. But when you mentioned "heart transplant," you got a very negative reaction. It triggered people's imaginations, and not in a good way.”

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“They'll never give me an Oscar. And I sincerely, honestly don't care. I always turn up when I'm nominated and it would be nice to get one, but to win one would be bad luck. It comes with too much expectation. It would be the end.”

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“All of my films deal with the same thing: striving, socially and culturally, to stay alive.”

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Book:Robert Altman: Interviews

Source: Robert Altman: Interviews

“I don't know what "Altmanesque" means, though I suppose I'm flattered by it.”

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“The minute you have more than one voice, you have more possibilities opening up. You have all the molecules in all of those bodies and their make up interacting.”

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