“A lot of the reasons that I'm resistant to making films in the U.S. have nothing to do with not doing a film in Hollywood, but rather to do with what I'm committed to working on in the U.K. I feel very committed to the British film industry and infrastructure.” FeelsReasonFilmIndustryHollywoodCommittedBritishInfrastructureFilm IndustryBritish Film Author:Mike Leigh
“The problem with the British film industry is the nervousness and insecurity about - and genuflection toward - Los Angeles.” ProblemFilmIndustryBritishInsecurityLos AngelesFilm IndustryNervousnessBritish Film Author:Mike Leigh
“I found it really disturbing to see a novelist writing a diatribe about Islam and Muslim radical extremists, blurring the distinction between the two.” WritingTwoFoundIslamRadicalNovelistsDistinctionDisturbingExtremist Author:Pankaj Mishra
“Nietzsche's vision of the superman is of someone who's able to control and tame his passions and turn them into something richer than raw emotion and raw feeling. I think the best writing does that too. Untamed passion basically results in bad writing or bad polemics, which so many writers and public intellectuals are vulnerable to.” ThinkingWritingDoeFeelingsAbleTurnsPassionResultsEmotionVisionVulnerableUntamedBad WritingPolemicsRaw Emotion Author:Pankaj Mishra
“The delineation between the actor and his part is a practical matter. When the camera runs, you want the actor to be the character.” WantMatterCharacterRunningActorsCamerasPracticals Author:Mike Leigh
“I can't negotiate and collaborate with a character to create a distilled dramatic investigation of the raw material. I need to work with an actor. That stuff about actors who stay in character all the time is nonsense.” NeedsI CanCharacterActorsStuffMaterialsDramaticNonsenseInvestigationRaw Materials Author:Mike Leigh
“I think the Buddha presents an image of someone who believes in self-control. I think he's offering, perhaps, a critique of the romantic idea of the passions being this wonderful source of life or vitality that define you or your writing.” ThinkingWritingBelieveIdeasSelfPassionWonderfulSourceOfferingSelf ControlVitalityCritiqueSource Of LifeDefine You Author:Pankaj Mishra
“I wonder if I would have been capable of producing anything if I worked in a more conventional way with a prewritten script, because I'm of the procrastinator class.” IfsWayHas BeensWonderClassCapableScriptsConventionalProcrastinatorConventional Ways Author:Mike Leigh
“You can't make a movie about the artist without shooting outdoors.” ArtistShooting Author:Mike Leigh
“People have been very resistant to giving me more than the standard amount of money. So I keep making films on a similar scale. Which is fine, but also frustrating.” PeopleGivingHas BeensFilmFineAmountStandardsScalesFrustrating Author:Mike Leigh