“When you saw the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," that was Michael [Jackson]'s story write large. Born as an elderly person, Benjamin Button was, in the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and in the film starring Brad Pitt, he dies as a newborn child. Michael Jackson's childhood was one of enormous, prodigious production.He was a child prodigy, he was a wunderkind.” WritingChildrenPersonsStoriesFilmDiesBornCasesNovelSawsChildhoodProductionsEnormousCuriousButtonsElderlyNewbornBradProdigiesProdigiousScott FitzgeraldNewborn ChildBenjamin Button Author:Michael Eric Dyson
“I made a very bad mistake; I miscounted these scraps of information on the record as 92, and in continual homage to this man who had been so influential to me, I began creating or constructing my own films on this so-called "magic" number of 92 ... but when I eventually made a film about John Cage and met him, I explained this to him, and he found it very amusing because there are only 90 stories on the two sides of the record, and I'd based three years of my filmic career on this mathematical error!” MenYearsMadeTwoStoriesFilmThreeFoundSidesMy OwnNumbersMistakeCareersRecordsMagicInformationMetsCreatingErrorsMathematicalThree YearsCagesInfluentialAmusingTwo SidesScrapHomageBad Mistake Author:Peter Greenaway
“You can think of my films as cautionary tales, but you might even think of them as despairing tales, because at least in a cautionary tale, you have this idea that by listening to the story you can assure a better outcome. Whereas I'm not at all convinced that's the case. In fact, if anything, I'm convinced that it's the opposite.” IfsThinkingIdeasFactsStoriesMightFilmCasesListeningOppositesConvincedTalesOutcomesCautionary Tales Author:Errol Morris
“Centuries from now our great-great-great-grandchildren will look back at us with amazement at how we could allow such a precious achievement of human culture as the telling of a story to be shattered into smithereens by commercials, the same amazement we feel today when we look at our ancestors for whom slavery, capital punishment, burning of witches, and the inquisition were acceptable everyday events.” FeelsHumansLooksStoriesTodayFilmCultureCenturyEventsAchievementHollywoodSlaveryEverydayPunishmentBurningWitchAncestorAcceptableGrandchildrenShatteredAmazementCapital PunishmentInquisitionGreat Grandchildren Author:Werner Herzog
“Well I'm Superman, just not action. I'm kind of looking for something with a lot less action and more talking and listening. I also have a film that's premiering Vegas Film Festival, short film, directed by Joel Kelly, it's called Denial and it's a story, short film, 35 mm short film and it's about a man's struggle to choose between the woman of his dreams and his reality, so it's definitely different than Superman. So I'm really proud of that.” MenWellsKindDifferentStoriesDreamRealityActionFilmTalkingStruggleListeningProudDenialFestivalsVegasShort FilmsFilm FestivalsTalking And Listening Author:Brandon Routh
“I deliberately, in a way, went for something that was a huge challenge and was a big period film. I was excited about the canvas on which I could tell the story as much as the story itself.” WayStoriesBigsFilmChallengesHugePeriodsExcitedCanvas Author:Sam Mendes
“I'm an actor because I love movies, and always have loved movies. I'm a film buff. So, getting to work with those kinds of directors and getting to tell those stories is what I want to do.” WantKindStoriesFilmActorsDirectorsMovie Love Author:Alden Ehrenreich
“New York is my home and I have a particular fondness for it. I think it's a place where you can generate any kind of story wonderfully. But I also would be very happy to make a film in Paris or Rome.” ThinkingKindStoriesHomeWould BeFilmNew YorkParticularParisRomeVery HappyFondness Author:Woody Allen
“What I love about the way they both [Paul Thomas Anderson and Joaquin Phoenix] work is that all of the monkey business is on film. There's no monkey business outside of the monkey business of making the movie. There's no ego bullshit, there's no wasted energy. It's all directed at the story and that's rare.” WayStoriesFilmEnergyEgoBullshitMonkeysPhoenix Author:Katherine Waterston
“Comedy is immediate. Comedy is a solo mission. You're all by yourself, up there. And when you're in a film, on a set, it's a collaborative effort. It's about me being a tool for somebody else to create a story and a character from nothing, from their imagination.” CharacterStoriesFilmImaginationEffortComedyToolsMissionsSoloCollaborative Effort Author:Dane Cook
“What's so great about television. You're able to tell a long story, where you couldn't really do that in a film because you have to tell a story in an hour and a half or two hours.” LongTwoStoriesAbleFilmHoursHalfTelevisionLong Story Author:Aaron Paul
“Even on my films, I always collaborate with the actors. That's a given. I think you need that. You need the actors to feel as much ownership of the performance and the direction of the story as you do, to get the most out of everyone's potential.” ThinkingNeedsFeelsStoriesFilmActorsGivenPerformancesOwnership Author:Cary Fukunaga
“Im drawn to stories about ordinary people who get tangled up in an extraordinary event or idea or emotion. Im not saying I dont love films about super-people or super-doctors, but my preference is for stories about how we get through this life, what it is to be human, because Im always struggling with it myself.” PeopleHumansIdeasStoriesFilmEmotionStruggleEventsOrdinaryDoctorsExtraordinaryThis LifePreferenceOrdinary PeopleTangledLove Films Author:Sophie Okonedo
“In a business that has exploited and ignored our people I have only found dead-ends. We need romantic comedies, gross-out and mockery comedies, horror and thrillers, teen movies and love-stories. All these and more will be a positive step towards the future of Native Americans in the world and film industry; an industry that that offers us not only the chance to play the parts of heroes, love interests and warriors, but also of villains, dorks and dangerous, brokenhearted products of circumstance.” PeopleWorldNeedsEndsPlayStoriesFilmFoundInterestChanceStepsComedyDangerousProductsIndustryHeroCircumstancesHorrorOffersAnd LoveLove StoryWarriorNativeVillainNative AmericanIgnoredGrossMockeryThrillersFilm IndustryDead EndsDorkBrokenheartedMovies And LoveFound Dead Author:Misty Upham
“When you get into a film, it is one story and one set development of a character, and you are able to delve into one character for a short period of time and discover everything about them.” CharacterStoriesAbleFilmDevelopmentPeriods Author:Alexander Gould
“Hallmark makes beautiful films that feel as if they should be watched in a theater. The Hall family knows the power of stories, and they give us unforgettable movies with heart and depth and the resonance of classics.” IfsKnowsGivingFeelsShouldHeartStoriesBeautifulFilmTheaterDepthHallsHallmarkResonanceUnforgettablePower Of Stories Author:Luanne Rice
“Every search has its own momentum. It is why a search makes such an excellent plot for a film or story.” StoriesFilmExcellentPlotMomentum Book:The House Source: The House
“My dad hasn't said much about his college days. Oh, a few times, he might start telling stories. And I've seen some highlight film of him from college. I remember thinking he looked really small. Which is funny, because growing up, I thought he was a pretty big guy.” ThinkingSaidStoriesBigsMightRememberFilmGuyGrowing UpGrowingCollegeDadMy DadNflHighlightsTelling StoriesBig GuysCollege Days Author:Andrew Luck
“It's not always expected of filmmakers to do stereotyped stories. But one has to be willing to travel to festivals and hook up with people, engage people intellectually about your passion and the kinds of films that interest you, and sooner or later you find people that have the same affinity that you have.” PeopleKindStoriesFilmPassionInterestWillingExpectedFilmmakerSooner Or LaterHookFestivalsAffinityHook Up Author:Haile Gerima
“A lot of young black people in America, and even in Africa and Brazil, would say that they are telling their story, but most of the films are like application forms with the formulaic ideas of Hollywood.” PeopleIdeasStoriesAmericaFilmFormYoungBlackHollywoodApplicationBlack PeopleBrazil Author:Haile Gerima
“Most young people make films to be accepted, to be discovered, when in fact that was the last idea with the group I went to film school with. To be discovered was not our intention. Our intention was to tell our story our way, and make our own mistakes and learn from film to film.” PeopleWayIdeasFactsStoriesSchoolLastsFilmYoungMistakeGroupsIntentionAcceptedFilm School Author:Haile Gerima
“Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear, misheard words or lyrics, dreams” PeopleKnowsStoriesShowsDreamInspirationFilmFictionTvsSourceNewsReportsTv ShowsNon Fiction Author:Trudi Canavan
“Screenwriting involves an often un-personal process. Co-writers, directors, producers, everyone has a say in what you put on a page, and stories are constantly changing according to budget, actors, and commercial needs. Films are a collaborative process and are also inherently narrative and structured, so you are always working within very tight parameters. Short fiction unleashes a more intimate voice and a passion for language. I believe short narratives can have the same amount of danger and drama as any action film.” NeedsBelieveStoriesActionFilmPassionActorsLanguageI BelieveProcessVoiceFictionDangerAmountDramaDirectorsPagesProducersNarrativeBudgetsIntimateScreenwritingParametersAction FilmsAlways Working Author:Chiara Barzini
“I try not to think of myself as a woman filmmaker. I don't look for women influences. I have noticed in the past few years that there is a certain ceiling that a woman filmmaker can reach. I don't believe that it's sexism per se, but there are certain expectations in the industry about what films should be, how they should be made, what stories they should tell, and it's a habit, it's a tradition.” ThinkingShouldTryingBelieveLooksMadeStoriesFilmCertainInfluenceIndustryHabitExpectationsTraditionDon't BelieveFilmmakerSexismCeilings Author:Signe Baumane
“The "Toy Story" films accomplish what timeless classics aim for - innocent characters who face an endless trail of adventures.” CharacterStoriesFilmFacesAdventureAimAccomplishEndlessInnocentToysTimelessTrails Author:Tom Hanks
“A film has a beginning, middle, and an end. There is a certain amount of time that you have to embody these people. You know the entire story arch. But on TV, you have to let your guard down. You don't know how long the show is going to last. There is this excitement that comes with developing a character long-term.” PeopleKnowsLongEndsCharacterStoriesShowsLastsFilmCertainTermKnow HowMiddleTvsAmountDevelopingExcitementLong TermArches Author:DJ Qualls
“When you're playing a real person there's a balance between playing the person in the script and playing the person as he was in life. You have to be respectful and true to who that person was, but at the same time tell the story in the film.” PersonsRealStoriesFilmBalanceScriptsRespectfulReal PersonBe Respectful Author:David Tennant
“I love films. I love music. I love poetry and stories. All of that I feel… I sort of get very excited and fed by.” FeelsStoriesFilmExcitedFedsMusic LoveLove PoetryI Love MusicLove Films Author:Ben Whishaw
“In independent film you tend to have stories that involve more of a community, and the smaller characters are important to the story.” ImportantCharacterStoriesFilmCommunityIndependentIndependent Film Author:David Morse
“I love to act. And oh-so-love telling stories through film as an actor. Even on my days off.” StoriesFilmActorsTelling StoriesDays Off Author:T. J. Thyne
“Instead of the 1997 film directed, written, by James Cameron with Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane creating a love story and a large diamond with a beautiful song “My Heart Will Go On” sung by Celine Dion. What about the real love story that took place that night between the passengers themselves, and many crew members knowing they would also give their lives. Adding another meaning for “SOS” Service, Obedience, and Sacrifice.” GivingHeartRealStoriesBeautifulFilmNightSongKnowingWrittenSacrificeGoes OnMy HeartMembersCreatingLove StoryObedienceDiamondReal LoveCrewKatePassengersCameronLeonardoCeline Author:Tom Baker
“Growing up, I didn't have television. My dad would make up stories and tell me stories, so my imagination ran wild. When I did see films, which was very few and far between, that was such an interesting medium that was so new to me. It wasn't something that was just part of my life, so it was really appealing and so different that I enjoyed that.” DifferentStoriesFilmImaginationInterestingGrowing UpGrowingTelevisionDadMy DadMediumsEnjoyedRanMy Imagination Author:Shiloh Fernandez
“Directors who have inspired me include Billy Wilder, Federico Fellini, lngmar Bergman, John Ford, Orson Welles, Werner Herzog, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola and Ernst Lubitsch. In art school, I studied painters like Edward Hopper, who used urban motifs, Franz Kafka is my favorite novelist. My approach to film stems from my art background, as I go beyond the story to the sub-conscious mood created by sound and images.” ArtStoriesSchoolFilmUsedSoundDirectorsApproachConsciousInspiredMy FavoriteMoodBackgroundsPainterNovelistsStemUrbanArt SchoolStanleyHitchcockWilderMotifsBergman Author:David Lynch
“I'd like to think that we strive in film and theatre to tell great stories, and I believe in the power of storytelling in our culture.” ThinkingBelieveStoriesFilmCultureI BelieveStriveI Believe InTheatreStorytelling Author:Andy Serkis
“Usually, you lose interest in a story beyond a certain point. But with Highway, there was something very subtle, yet something very influential. I intended Highway to be the first film that I ever made. Didnt happen.” FirstsMadeStoriesHappensFilmCertainInterestLosesSubtleHighwaysInfluential Author:Imtiaz Ali
“Sometimes people that are very good at improvisation in life, meaning like stage improvisation, aren't good in films because you have to ultimately take a scene where it needs to go. It's not about just saying something that's funny. You can say something funny but if it's not on story or driving the scene to its end it's really not very helpful at all.” PeopleIfsNeedsEndsSometimesStoriesFilmStageSceneVery GoodDrivingMeaning Of LifeHelpfulImprovisationJust SayingLife Means Author:Vince Vaughn
“Learn how to draw. It's the basis of what we [animation directors] do. Keep a sketchbook. Try making a very simple little film. Try and tell a story clearly and entertainingly. Study the way people move and animate move. Observe all you can, and try and capture that simply in a few lines on paper.” PeopleWayTryingLittlesStoriesFilmMovingLinesSimpleStudyDirectorsPaperDrawsBasesCaptureAnimationSketchbooks Author:John Musker