“I just decided to make a movie. I had no training, no film school, but I had been to a lot of movies.” SchoolFilmTrainingDecidedProfessionFilm School Author:Michael Moore
“I'm not a film-school guy. I was a high-school dropout. I was on a nuclear submarine. I was an electrician. I was a house painter. So if you get in my face, I'm going to fight you.” IfsSchoolFilmFacesGuyFightingHouseHigh SchoolNuclearPainterFilm SchoolSubmarinesDropoutsElectricianSchool DropoutHigh School Dropout Author:David Ayer
“I went to Oberlin College, and they don't have a film major, but they do have what's called an individual major, where you can sort of pitch to a committee your own course study, and if they approve it, you have essentially just designed your own major. So Oberlin doesn't have a film major; they do have a film minor... And then my spring semester of my junior year, I went off to NYU film school as a visiting student - they have a program for kids from other schools to come in for a semester.” IfsYearsKidsSchoolFilmCoursesIndividualStudyStudentsCollegeMajorsSpringProgramMinorsCommitteesJuniorsVisitingFilm SchoolSemesterNyuJunior Year Author:Ed Helms
“I might do a film someday for the collection. I love designing sets and creating environments, in film school and for my own presentations. I love telling stories.” StoriesMightSchoolFilmMy OwnEnvironmentDesignCreatingCollectionsSomedayPresentationTelling StoriesFilm School Author:Pamela Love
“I went to film school at UT Austin. I learned a lot and that school's good for puking up all your bad movies early and quick. But ultimately, no one can teach you to be an artist.” SchoolFilmArtistTeachFilm SchoolAustinBad Movies Author:Jay Duplass
“I went to film school when I was 17, and of course when you are very young you think that there is nothing else in the world except film. At some point I started getting hungry to see something else. For five years I didn't make any films, I was traveling around the world, writing for newspapers, working in theater, working in opera, I thought I would never return to film.” ThinkingWorldWritingYearsSchoolFilmYoungCoursesFiveReturnTheaterNewspapersHungryAround The WorldFive YearsOperaFilm School Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“I've always loved films, and I always felt like a storyteller. I left Norway after high school and moved to Manhattan and went to film school in Manhattan. That's when I really found out that this was my calling and what I wanted to do.” WantedSchoolFilmFoundLeftFeltCallingHigh SchoolMovedStorytellerManhattanFilm SchoolNorwayAfter High School Author:Morten Tyldum
“Whatever I was able to do with those experiences certainly contribute to whatever I'm able to do as a director. The corruption in that is that most of what I acted in the last 10 years was to steal film school time from these guys. Those were the people I thought I could learn from as a director.” PeopleYearsAbleSchoolLastsFilmGuyDirectorsCorruptionStealingFilm SchoolSchool Time Author:Sean Penn
“Every film is a challenge. I always say that making a movie is like film school - you're always learning. But unlike most schools, you never get done with it. You never learn everything.” DoneSchoolFilmChallengesFilm SchoolAlways Learning Author:Peter Jackson
“I attend film school, my background is acting and directing. But the acting does best, I like to work on the stage.” DoeSchoolFilmActingStageBackgroundsFilm School Author:Tommy Wiseau
“I went back to Jamaica after living in New York and started to work on experimental stuff and basically I grew as a filmmaker. I went to film school; I was a PA on a lot of projects and I worked so hard, you know, you're young and I learned from different mentors. And luck put me in the position to work with amazing people. One of my mentors by the name of Little X, who took me under his wing after I came out of film school and moved to New York. I worked in videos for Jay-Z, Pharrell to Busta Rhymes and Wyclef. I quickly realized how much I wanted to make films instead of music videos.” PeopleKnowsLittlesDifferentHardWantedSchoolFilmYoungNamesStuffNew YorkPositionGrewProjectsLuckMovedWingsVideoFilmmakerMentorRhymeFilm SchoolJamaicaAmazing People Author:Storm Saulter
“I started to write because of my dream to become a filmmaker. I got to know about a film school in Paris and it was my goal to get there. To do that I knew I had to learn French. In order to practice I started to write journals in French. The effort I made to master what I regarded a bad thing - a language owned by the rich Moroccans - brought me the ability to write.” KnowsWritingMadeDreamSchoolFilmOrderLanguageGoalAbilityEffortPracticeRichMastersParisFilmmakerBad ThingsJournalFilm School Author:Abdellah Taia
“When I was in film school I was learning more theory than practice.” SchoolFilmPracticeTheoryFilm SchoolLearning More Author:Louis Leterrier
“I came out of film school and went after movies that I thought audiences wanted to see or that the studios wanted, as opposed to the movies that I wanted. Over the last 10 years, I've gravitated more and more toward the films that I grew up loving - classic Spielberg, Lucas, James Cameron and Ridley Scott movies.” YearsWantedSchoolLastsFilmAudienceGrewGrew UpStudiosClassicCameronFilm School Author:Simon Kinberg
“I love films from all these different points of views that used the idea of the school as a way to talk about the American experience. It took me a while to figure how to write a movie like that, because that's not something you learn at film school” WayWritingIdeasDifferentSchoolFilmUsedViewsFiguresPoint Of ViewFilm SchoolLove FilmsDifferent Points Of View Author:Justin Simien
“You don't necessarily have to go to film school to be a brilliant film maker. If you are a good listener and you study life, and you find that story that is buried within each and every one of us, and you figure out a way to bring that out. And sometimes it doesn't necessarily mean money or winning the lottery.” IfsWayMeanSometimesStoriesSchoolFilmWinningStudyFiguresBrilliantMakersBuriedListenersLotteryFilm SchoolGood ListenerWinning The LotteryStudy Life Author:Tony Todd
“It wouldn't have existed without France, and it's a French initiative. As a filmmaker, I owe everything to France - I got accepted at a French film school that takes six directors a year. Once you're in, you make films under the eye of people in the industry. You grow up in front of their eyes.” PeopleYearsEyeSchoolFilmGrowsGrowing UpFrontsIndustryDirectorsSixAcceptedFranceFilmmakerInitiativeFilm School Author:Deniz Gamze Erguven
“When I watch my early documentaries, they're very eclectic. They don't follow any particular [pattern]. I would have gotten thrown out of film school because I didn't. I was just putting them together somehow as the spirit moved me, following my nose, thinking I was brilliant.” ThinkingSchoolTogetherFilmSpiritWatchesParticularMovedPatternsFollowingBrilliantNosesThrownDocumentariesEclecticFilm School Author:Pawel Pawlikowski
“I keep joking that I'm in Jason Reitman Film School, because I keep asking him questions every single day about directing and I have a list of things that he's told me to do and not do and I definitely couldn't learn from a better person.” PersonsSchoolFilmAskingListsBetter PersonJasonFilm School Author:Diablo Cody
“I went to school to be a psychiatrist. That's where I was going until I had a teacher-student conference with one of my teachers and there were film school pamphlets, and he said, "You don't belong here. Get out. Go to film school."” SaidSchoolFilmTeacherStudentsConferencesPsychiatristFilm SchoolTeacher Student Author:Bryan Fuller
“When I was in Hungary in December I was looking at student films and I could not tell which ones were shot on film and which ones were shot digitally. I think that is because the filmmakers in Europe go to four years of film school and learn the techniques.” ThinkingYearsSchoolFilmFourStudentsShotsEuropeTechniqueFilmmakerFour YearsDecemberFilm SchoolHungary Author:Vilmos Zsigmond
“Education is huge for me. I went to public school until I turned thirteen, and was lucky enough to afford college once I became successful as an actress. I cannot believe that quality education costs as much as it does in this country. Ghetto Film School is a remarkable public high school in New York City where students get to learn to express themselves through filmmaking, and have hands-on access to equipment.” BelieveDoeCountryEnoughHandsSchoolFilmCitiesQualitySuccessfulNew YorkStudentsCollegeHugeCostLuckyHigh SchoolActressesAccessRemarkableNew York CityFilmmakingEquipmentPublic SchoolGhettoThirteenFilm SchoolQuality Education Author:Julia Stiles
“Because I didn't go to film school, you learn so much from a lot of creative artists.” SchoolFilmArtistCreativeCreative ArtFilm SchoolCreative Artists Author:F. Gary Gray
“Sitting opposite Steven Spielberg, while he turns the pages of your script and talks about each scene as he goes, is about the best film school you can get.” SchoolFilmTurnsScenePagesSittingOppositesScriptsFilm SchoolBest Film Author:Matt Charman
“I went to NYU graduate film school and met Pam [Romanowsky], and after doing a few things with her I thought she had the right sensibility and that she could figure it [The Adderall Diaries] out.” SchoolFilmFiguresMetsGraduatesSensibilityDiariesFilm SchoolNyuAdderall Author:James Franco
“Almost all the movies I've directed are adaptations. And I think what I found when I went to film school, where they try to push you to find your voice or your thing, is that I got a lot of things out of adaptations.” ThinkingTryingSchoolFilmFoundVoiceAdaptationFilm School Author:James Franco
“When I was in NYU Film School I drove a taxi in New York for two years, I felt like I owned my own business with that little taxi.” YearsLittlesTwoSchoolFilmFeltMy OwnNew YorkTwo YearsTaxiOwn BusinessFilm SchoolNyu Author:Todd Phillips
“Because I didn't go to film school, I had a collection of books that were inspiring or taught me how to make movies, shorts with my friends back in Brooklyn, and one of those books was How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime which is Roger's autobiography. After reading that, I realized that oh my God, this guy is behind all my favorite Pam Grier movies. Oh my God, he made the Vincent Price Poe films that ran on television when I was little. He did Grand Theft Auto. He made Death Race 2000.” LittlesMadeBookSchoolFilmGuyReadingLostRaceBehindsTelevisionTaughtHundredMy FriendsHollywoodMy FavoriteI RealizedRanCollectionsAutobiographyThis GuyTheftBrooklynRogerDimesShortsFilm SchoolDeath RaceGrand Theft Auto Author:Alex Stapleton
“There hadn't been one done since the late 70s. I was living in Brooklyn, had no connection to Roger Corman, to no one in this movie. I didn't go to film school. I'm like the person who should have never made this film. But I just decided to put one foot in front of the other. I was writing film articles for magazines at the time. I convinced an editor from one of the magazines that I was working for to give me a shot to do a piece on Roger. This was an excuse to go meet him.” GivingShouldWritingPersonsMadeDoneSchoolFilmPiecesFeetFrontsLateShotsConnectionsDecidedShould HaveGive MeExcuseConvincedMagazinesEditorsArticlesBrooklynRogerFilm School Author:Alex Stapleton
“When I was in film school at USC, I wrote my thesis script about a woman on Wall Street - specifically a woman who used to work at Morgan Stanley, sort of based on her life. Through that process, I did some research.” SchoolFilmUsedProcessStreetsWallResearchScriptsThesisStanleyFilm SchoolUsc Author:Meera Menon
“I spent a year and a half working for an art fair. I worked as a post-production assistant for a documentary film company for a while. Then I worked at the Apple store because I wanted a discount to be able to buy new gear to edit things while I was figuring out whether or not I wanted to go to film school. Those were the main things.” YearsArtAbleWantedSchoolFilmHalfCompanyFairsProductionsStoresPostsApplesDocumentariesGearsEditsAssistantsDiscountsFilm SchoolPost ProductionDocumentary Films Author:Meera Menon
“I applied [to film school] figuring, "I need to find some structure for myself. I need to find a way to figure out what kind of filmmaker I want to be." And that is what film school provides you with. It'll teach you the basics of how a production works and the technical side of how to put everything together, but you could also learn that by working on film sets.” WayWantNeedsKindSchoolTogetherFilmSidesTeachFiguresStructureProductionsFilmmakerBasicsFilm SchoolFilm Set Author:Meera Menon
“You don't necessarily need to go to film school to learn that part of it. But what I valued was that it gives you that incubation and time to figure out who you are, what kind of stories you want to tell, and how you want to forge your path.” WantNeedsGivingKindStoriesSchoolFilmPathFiguresWho You AreFilm SchoolIncubation Author:Meera Menon
“When I got into film school, it really formed a sense of who I am and my sense of feeling like an outsider. If there was some greater purpose to do this, it would be so that future generations - my kids or my sister's kids - would grow up seeing themselves in their media culture in a way that I didn't. If The Mindy Project or Master of None were on when I was growing up, I wonder if I would be interested in doing this at all” IfsWayFeelingsWould BeKidsSchoolFilmPurposeCultureGrowsWonderGrowing UpGreaterGrowingSeeingGenerationsMediaMastersProjectsWho I AmMy SisterOutsidersFuture GenerationFilm SchoolGreater Purpose Author:Meera Menon
“After working with so many great actors and acting students in film school, it was a whole other thing working with Luke [Kirby].” WholeSchoolFilmActorsActingStudentsLukeGreat ActorsFilm SchoolActors And Acting Author:Paul Dalio
“I did it [photojournalism] as something that was really rewarding to do, given the opportunity to express myself about something I cared about, and also to learn a lot by watching filmmakers I admired. In a sense, it was my film school. After doing it for a few years, I decided that the time had come to get it together and do some work of my own. So I stopped doing that and wrote some screenplays on speculation, because even though I wanted to direct, to direct you need a lot of money.” NeedsYearsWantedSchoolTogetherFilmOpportunityGivenMy OwnDirectDecidedFilmmakerLots Of MoneySpeculationScreenplaysFilm SchoolPhotojournalismGet It Together Author:Curtis Hanson
“Consequently, their school [film-school ] was the school of life, and it was very much reflected in their work.” SchoolFilmFilm School Author:Curtis Hanson
“But even a kid, directing was something that I did. I made short films in school. I feel like I've been in the best film school in the world.” WorldFeelsMadeKidsSchoolFilmFilm SchoolShort FilmsBest Film Author:Alden Ehrenreich
“I run my own film school, the Rogue Film School, and I do it over three and a half days, eight hours non-stop everyday; alone, single-handedly. But the difference is in the Rogue Film School I do have real human beings in front of me from all over the world, and of course there's this course as well, they can ask, talk about their problems and obstacles, finances, anything, you just name it. Whereas in the Masterclass, you are speaking to cameras.” WorldHumansWellsRealProblemRunningSchoolFilmThreeCoursesAsksNamesHoursDifferencesMy OwnHuman BeingsHalfFrontsCamerasEverydayObstaclesEightFinanceRoguesFilm SchoolReal HumanNon StopHalf Days Author:Werner Herzog
“I'm in film school, so I really have to sock away my money for school, tuition, and so on, and I really don't have time.” SchoolFilmSockFilm SchoolTuition Author:Pam Grier
“I never went to film school, so I just sort of learned on my own.” SchoolFilmMy OwnFilm School Author:Steven Sebring
“People need to understand that hip-hop that has gun talk is just for entertainment; similar to if you were watching a movie. Film schools don't have anything against movies with violence.” PeopleIfsNeedsSchoolFilmViolenceGunHip HopEntertainmentHipsHopsFilm School Author:Kanye West
“I wanted to do comic books... as a comic book artist, as an illustrator. But I'm not very good so I thought I should do something else! So I went to a film school when I was seventeen and came out when I was nineteen.” ShouldBookWantedSchoolFilmArtistVery GoodComicComic BookSeventeenNineteenFilm SchoolIllustrators Author:Gaspar Noe
“You lose your sense of wonder the more you learn, right? When you go to film school and learn about moviemaking, you go to see movies and then only see where the lights are, where the cuts are, watching it from a technical basis, nodding your head, "Oh, that was good." The feeling of surprise, the feeling of being transported is further away.” FeelingsLightSchoolFilmLosesWonderCuttingBasesSurpriseSense Of WonderFilm SchoolNodding Author:David Copperfield
“When I started acting, my mom said, "If you want to go to film school and eventually direct, being on set is probably the best film school in the world." I'm incredibly grateful for the career I've had, but I was an actor to be a part of movies and TV, not the other way around.” IfsWorldWayWantSaidSchoolFilmActorsActingCareersTvsMomDirectGratefulMy MomFilm SchoolBest Film Author:Jay Baruchel
“If you go into a comic book store, there are tons of Star Wars stories on the stand. There are lots of different stories to tell. Maybe George [Lucas] won't tell them. Maybe some kid, who's a Star Wars fan that's planning to go to film school, will call Lucas and say, 'I'd like to make a Star Wars film.' Then, they'll make one.” IfsBookDifferentWarStoriesKidsSchoolFilmStarsFansStoresPlanningComicComic BookFilm SchoolWar Stories Author:Samuel L. Jackson
“In film school, I knew I wanted to be a director, but I found out pretty damn quickly that nobody was just going to hand me a script to direct.” HandsWantedSchoolFilmFoundDirectorsDirectScriptsDamnFilm School Author:Gina Prince-Bythewood
“I went to graduate film school at NYU, and at first I didn't get a degree, because I took a scholarship that was supposed to pay my tuition, and I used it to make a film. For the longest time, I never actually graduated. And about 70 percent of the things I learned there I had to unlearn, but 30 percent was really valuable. It's like Mark Twain said, "Don't let school get in the way of your education."” WayFirstsSaidSchoolFilmUsedPayDegreesPercentMarkValuableGraduatesScholarshipFilm SchoolUnlearnTuitionNyu Author:Jim Jarmusch
“I was never interested in being powerful or famous. But once I got to film school and learned about movies, I just fell in love with it. I didn't care what kind of movies I made.” KindMadeCareSchoolFilmPowerfulFilm School Author:George Lucas
“I can't even remember not wanting to go to film school.” I CanSchoolRememberFilmFilm School Author:Danny McBride