“The research period of a film is the most exciting part of the process, and filming is sometimes a letdown because when you're dealing with biopic material, the real thing is always much more intricate than the story told in the film.” RealSometimesStoriesFilmProcessMaterialsPeriodsResearchExcitingReal ThingsIntricateLetdowns Author:Alessandro Nivola
“I think the movie business and film crews are a little bit like the circus, in that we travel around like a pack and we're a big family for a finite period of time. We roll into someplace, cause a bunch of damage, and then roll out.” ThinkingLittlesBigsFilmCausesBitsPeriodsLittle BitBunchDamagePacksCrewFiniteCircusMovie BusinessBig FamiliesFilm Crew Author:Francis Lawrence
“When you see period films, it tends to often be with older actors.” FilmActorsPeriodsOften Is Author:Gaspard Ulliel
“Music, as many people have said, is the universal language. Of course points are made which make you think about things, but ultimately it makes you feel. And that's why people remember more songs that have meant something during their life than films. They start to define periods in your life, and that's kind of the beauty of it.” PeopleThinkingFeelsKindMadeSaidRememberFilmSongCoursesLanguagePeriodsUniversalMake You ThinkUniversal Language Author:Scott Weiland
“You will find hardly any improvising on camera anywhere in my films. It's very structured, but it's all worked out from elaborate improvisations over a long period, as you know.” KnowsLongFilmPeriodsCamerasImprovisationImprovising Author:Mike Leigh
“The period from 2001 to 2005 was really tough. My films were not working even though there was an acceptance of a model. I was depressed but did not cry. I cry when I am happy.” FilmCryAcceptancePeriodsModelsTough Author:Arjun Rampal
“The 60's has its own particular style and I think setting film in a period enables you to create your own reality that the audience can escape into and have fun, and in a way make it more real than it actually is.” ThinkingWayRealRealityFilmFunAudienceStyleParticularPeriodsSettingSettingsHaving Fun Author:Lionel Wigram
“Whenever you're trying to do a film in a genuine historical period, you do have to make sure that you get as much historically accurate as you possibly can because there are thousands of people who are wildly interested in the Civil War. If we get anything wrong, there is no doubt that we're going to hear from them.” PeopleIfsTryingWarFilmDoubtPeriodsHistoricalGenuineCivil WarNo DoubtAccurate Author:Nicholas Sparks
“Typical horror movies of the 1930s were often given a period setting in what looked like a kind of stylized 19th century... the sense of 'elsewhen', of distance, lent to many of these movies by their settings. They exist, as it were, in a 19th century of the mind.” MindKindFilmGivenCenturyPeriodsHorrorHollywoodDistanceSettingSettingsTypical19th Century1930s Author:Andrew Tudor
“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
“When you're making a film you start living with it, and I find myself sitting down and figuring out a sound or melody that would go with a film, or a particular period. It's not brain surgery, you just kind of feel it along.” FeelsKindFilmSoundBrainParticularPeriodsSittingDown AndMelodySurgerySitting DownBrain Surgery Author:Clint Eastwood
“I don't even know why, but my entire career is contemporary films. Entire career! There's no period movies - there's one - but there's no period movies, no special effects movies. I just do character studies and so, some of them are gonna bump into each other, but I love the challenge, with a good script. I love the challenge of playing not a very pleasant or attractive character that seduces an audience or wins an audience over by the end.” KnowsEndsCharacterFilmWinningChallengesCareersAudienceStudySpecialEffectsPeriodsScriptsContemporaryAttractivePleasantBumpsSeducingSpecial Effects Author:Michael Douglas
“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
“When I stepped out from doing films and had a dark period, I never did anything dark on a set, so I never made enemies on a set. I never was a bad girl on a set; I always considered films a really sacred space, so when I had my problems, I had them very much away from the film community.” MadeProblemFilmGirlCommunityDarkSpaceEnemyPeriodsSacredBad GirlSacred Space Author:Courtney Love
“I've always been sort of addicted to genre-jumping. I've never been in the mood to do the same thing I did last time. Hence, me going from 'Big Love' to romantic comedy, to period film I can't sit still.” StillsI CanBigsLastsFilmComedyPeriodsMoodGenreLast TimeJumping Author:Ginnifer Goodwin
“A period film, where you, for example, where you have a traditional wardrobes, you are bound to act a certain way. But in a modern film, a lot of body gesture.” WayBodyFilmCertainModernExamplePeriodsBoundsTraditionalGesturesWardrobe Author:Donnie Yen
“For me, the challenge of a period film is that, unlike a contemporary film where the character can be very free-form when it comes to the acting, there's a burden to acting in a period film because you have to stay within the character's historical background and the gestures of certain periods.” CharacterFilmFormCertainChallengesActingPeriodsHistoricalBurdenBackgroundsContemporaryGestures Author:Donnie Yen
“You have to find it in the moment, and that's one of the challenges of being an actor - especially a film actor - is that you have to maintain these heightened emotions for long periods of time. There's no trick to it. You just have to do.” LongMomentsFilmActorsChallengesEmotionPeriodsTricksLong Periods Of TimeFilm Actors Author:Aaron Stanford
“When I was growing up in the mid-'50s, the Roaring Twenties were a huge part of the culture. There were a number of films and a bunch of television shows that dealt with the mythology of the underworld from that period.” ShowsFilmCultureNumbersGrowing UpGrowingTelevisionHugePeriodsTwentiesMythologyBunchTelevision ShowsRoaringUnderworldRoaring Twenties Author:Martin Scorsese
“The other main difference between film and television is that you have the opportunity to flush out a character, over a longer period of time. Whereas with a film, you're confined to two or three hours, or whatever it may be.” MayTwoCharacterFilmThreeOpportunityHoursDifferencesTelevisionPeriodsConfinedFilm And Television Author:Elijah Wood
“The smaller films just take a longer period of time to build their fan base because people don't see them as soon as they come out in the theater. They see them, after a period of years.” PeopleYearsFilmFansPeriodsTheater Author:Stanley Tucci
“It's interesting in this day and age to do a film about political espionage and wiretapping. I don't think that those types of secrets that J. Edgar Hoover was able to obtain and keep for such a long period of time would be possible in today's world, with the Internet and WikiLeaks.” ThinkingWorldLongWould BeAgeTodayAbleFilmPoliticalInterestingSecretTypeInternetPeriodsThis DayEspionageLong Periods Of TimeToday's WorldWikileaksHooverJ Edgar Hoover Author:Leonardo DiCaprio
“There is no crisis in cinema. There are negative periods. There are times when some films are received well and others aren't. The past teaches us that some films were received badly, while others go sailing on.” WellsPastFilmTeachPeriodsNegativeCrisisCinemaSailing Author:Vittorio De Sica
“The joy of a period film is that you're taken to another world. The costumes determine the way you move, and then consequently the way you breathe. And then, the way you breathe effects the way you think.” ThinkingWorldWayFilmMovingJoyTakenEffectsPeriodsDetermineBreatheCostumesAnother World Author:Rhys Ifans
“Whatever is being investigated, created or produced now, in movies or TV, needs to consider the context in which it is being distributed. It's not a vacuum. There are certain universal themes of love, conflict, loyalty or family that are everlasting and that need to be presented in a way that makes it feel relevant, even if it's a period piece. You need to consider what context that film, that story and those characters are being seen in.” IfsWayNeedsFeelsCharacterStoriesFilmCertainPiecesTvsPeriodsConflictUniversalLoyaltyThemeRelevantEverlastingVacuumsUniversal Themes Author:J. J. Abrams
“Each form of the acting is different. I think it keeps your mind active. TV, film and theater are different disciplines, as are independent films, opposed to studio films. There are differences in the size and the genre, or a period drama as opposed to a contemporary drama, or the types of characters.” ThinkingMindDifferentCharacterFilmFormDifferencesActingTvsTypeDisciplinePeriodsDramaTheaterIndependentSizeStudiosActiveContemporaryGenreIndependent Film Author:Luke Evans
“The first day's always the hardest, because it moves so much faster than a film does and once you get into that rhythm, though, you feel like you've accomplished so much in such a short period of time, so there a bit of comfort in that. You just have to find your rhythm.” FeelsFirstsDoeFilmMovingBitsLike YouPeriodsComfortHardestRhythmFasterAccomplished Author:Jaimie Alexander
“To evoke the classic period of Italian cinema in a little film seemed like a great, fun thing to do. I had relations to that period. I had known Fellini and I had known Antonioni. I had made a movie with Antonioni and I had visited Fellini in his studios. So, it seemed like something worthwhile doing. You bring yourself to that mythical cinema.” LittlesMadeFilmFunKnownPeriodsRelationStudiosCinemaThings To DoClassicItalianWorthwhileLike SomethingEvokeDoing YouFun Things Author:Wim Wenders
“Of course there are many films about the period of Fascism itself but I don't know of any about that period beforehand. But it wasn't that specific fact that they weren't there that got me to think about this in the first place. It's not what led to the basic idea for the film, although it became apparent when I began to think about it.” ThinkingKnowsFirstsIdeasFactsFilmCoursesPeriodsFascism Author:Michael Haneke
“I've been extremely lucky to work with Elmer Bernstein, Howard Shore over the years, but I've always imagined films with my own scores, because I don't come from that world or that period of filmmaking. And so how could I make up my own score on a film like this where it isn't necessarily made up of popular music from the radio or the period; it isn't necessarily classical music. But what if it's modern symphonic music?” IfsWorldYearsMadeFilmMy OwnModernPeriodsLuckyRadioScoreWhat IfShoreFilmmakingClassical MusicPopular Music Author:Martin Scorsese
“It's such a commitment, making a film, you're really dedicated, it's your life, that's all you do for that period of your life.” FilmPeriodsCommitmentDedicated Author:Cameron Diaz
“Period films to me are very often alienating to the audience. There's very often a formality. A staunchy quality to them that comes from the misenscene. It also comes from the performances of the actors, because they're acting Victorian which really means that they're just acting the way they've seen previous actors act Victorian.” WayMeanFilmActorsActingQualityAudiencePeriodsPerformancesReally MeanVictorianFormality Author:Christopher Nolan
“I wanted to make a more Romanesque film that told a story over a long period of time - this one spans 45 years. I had a great desire to make another musical, but this time I wanted to be more ambitious.” YearsLongStoriesWantedFilmDesirePeriodsMusicalAmbitiousLong Periods Of Time Author:Christophe Honore
“I do my films the best as I can, period. I always hope that, gradually, my honest work will reach Americans.” I CanFilmHonestPeriodsHonest Work Author:Michel Ocelot
“I've always felt that I've made films, period. I wanted to leave the "ghetto." And here I am, I'm out.” MadeWantedFilmFeltPeriodsGhettoHere I Am Author:Michel Ocelot
“Nollywood is a genre, and not the entire Nigerian film industry. However none of the 'New wave' of directors in Nigeria would know what was possible without the Nollywood model, so I'm grateful to them for showing us that our stories are of interest to people other than Nigerians. I would describe myself as a filmmaker, period.” PeopleKnowsStoriesFilmInterestIndustryPeriodsDirectorsModelsGratefulWaveGenreFilmmakerNigeriaFilm IndustryDescribe Myself Author:Chika Anadu
“I've only made short films and two features, which are very different. One is a surreal comedy, and the other is a period tragedy. I'm curious to know what misconceptions this could trigger” KnowsMadeTwoDifferentFilmComedyPeriodsTragedyCuriousFeaturesTriggersSurrealMisconceptionShort Films Author:Sophie Barthes
“It is interesting to note that the best periods of Italian Horror films came out of the Sixties, when Italy was enjoying a carnival period of phenomenal optimism, and the shadowy side surfaced with all of its attendant dark, beautiful, baroque, catholic symbolism.” BeautifulFilmEnjoySidesDarkInterestingPeriodsHorrorOptimismCatholicNotesItalianSixtyPhenomenalSymbolismHorror FilmCarnivalsBaroque Author:Barbara Steele
“It was an honor to work with Samantha Morton on this Casablanca-esque, silent-film-esque, Americana photobooth Woolworth's hay day period piece of surrealism/ realism/ story time tell-tale-ism, black and white 35 mm film, washed in strange light, over this love hate tune, heartbreak song, life-goes-on lullaby, The Last Goodbye. It's a doorway into the future of the fatal past-tense. Get it?” StoriesLightLastsPastFilmHateSongBlackWhitePiecesStrangeGoes OnHonorPeriodsSilentTalesGoodbyeTunesBlack And WhiteRealismTenseDoorwaysLove HateSurrealismIsmsLife Goes OnHayLullabyAmericanaSilent FilmsSamanthaLast Goodbye Author:Alison Mosshart
“I went through a period when I felt my film characters were having more fun than I was. It might partly explain why I ended up tattooed or doing certain extreme things in my life.” CharacterMightFilmCertainFunFeltPeriodsExtremesTattooed Author:Angelina Jolie
“I hate the word "method acting." It's just so silly. You hear people going, "Yeah I'm a method actor." I'm like, "So what happens if you're playing a period film or something? You're in the Second World War. And what happens when your mom calls you on your phone? Do you go, 'Oh! What is this strange talking brick device?'" No. It's stupid. But you do everything you can to get in that mindset.” PeopleIfsWorldWarHappensFilmHateActorsActingTalkingStupidStrangeMomPeriodsI HateMethodYeahPhonesMindsetSillyWar Of The WorldsDevicesBricksSecond World WarYour MomMethod Acting Author:Jeremy Irvine
“I hate period films - and there are plenty of them - where they say, "Let's not do contemporary language because the audience won't understand it;" "let's not make the girls wear corsets, because it's not sexy" and all that sort of thing. Gradually it disintegrates into a no man's land: you don't really believe it's a period scene and it doesn't feel like it's now because it's not now. You don't feel it's quite real and you don't believe in it.” MenFeelsBelieveRealFilmHateGirlLanguageAudienceLandPeriodsSceneI HateDon't BelieveSexyContemporaryPlentyCorsets Author:Mike Leigh
“Some period pieces are shot slightly objectively, a little bit, and some call it stuffy or dusty or old fashioned. I always felt that some of the films that I admire the most are the ones where they're intimate with the characters.” LittlesCharacterFilmFeltBitsPiecesPeriodsLittle BitShotsAdmireIntimateOld Fashioned Author:Nikolaj Arcel
“There was a period of cinema, in the mid-90's, that I was a huge fan of, with Heat and Seven, and the Tarantino era. If I've ever been fanatical, it was about those films.” IfsFilmFansHugePeriodsSevenErasCinemaHeatTarantino Author:Rockne S. O'Bannon
“I don't think the film is going to work for everybody, period. It wasn't meant to be done for everybody. I didn't four quadrant this movie, like Hollywood did. I knew it was a very specific audience that was there. We're also taking a shot in the dark.” ThinkingDoneFilmDarkAudienceFourPeriodsShotsHollywoodMeant To BeGoing To Work Author:Joseph M. Kahn
“It's pretty awesome to see people dressed up in period clothing and running around on horses and in carriages and all that kind of thing. Part of the fun of making a period film is just that playfulness. It's just like make believe when you're a child except you get to do it for a real job.” PeopleBelieveKindChildrenRealRunningJobsFilmFunPeriodsHorseClothingsDressed UpMake BelieveCarriagesPlayfulnessReal Jobs Author:Cary Fukunaga
“A period romance film with elements of horror. That was successful, because I feel like Coppola's DRACULA was one or the other. You know? It was never scary it was never a film he got invested in the romance of the characters. He understood it, but he never got invested. So it as a challenge for me to see if I could do that, I still don't know how audiences will sort of react to that.” IfsKnowsFeelsStillsCharacterFilmRomanceChallengesAudienceKnow HowSuccessfulPeriodsHorrorElementsUnderstoodScaryIf I Could Author:Cary Fukunaga
“I came to this project and 'Far from Heaven' from completely different vantage points. 'Heaven' was of course about the Douglas Sirk films of that period, with the very specific cinematic language and style of melodrama. With 'Carol,' it was presented to me already packaged, with Cate Blanchett attached and Phyllis Nagy's script complete - when it came to me it had a long history and pre-history.” LongDifferentFilmCoursesLanguageHeavenStylePeriodsProjectsScriptsCinematicCarolsMelodramaVantage Point Author:Todd Haynes
“Audiences are less intrigued, honestly, by battle. They're more intrigued by human relations. If you're making a film about the trappings of the period, and you're forgetting that human relationships are the most engaging part of the storytelling process, then you're in trouble.” IfsHumansFilmProcessForgetAudienceTroublePeriodsBattleRelationHonestlyStorytellingEngagingHuman RelationsHuman RelationshipsIntrigued Author:Ridley Scott
“I've always loved theatre because it's so immediate. The challenge of it is that, career wise, it's easier to get traction in the industry if you do film and TV because the audience is larger, and because the work can be seen for a longer period of time. I did solid work in a series of regional and Off-Broadway shows, but the work I did on TV or film will have a longer life with a larger audience (and with services like Netflix). Ultimately, there's something intimate about TV, because the storytelling and the actors come home with the viewer. It can be powerful because of that.” IfsShowsHomeFilmActorsChallengesPowerfulCareersAudienceWiseTvsIndustryPeriodsEasierSeriesTheatreStorytellingIntimateComing HomeViewersBroadwayAnd OffNetflixBroadway ShowsTractionLonger Life Author:Steven C. Harper