Those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.
I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking panther. I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion.
I’ve been lucky to work with some of the most creative people and it’s true that I enjoy filmmaking and I’m an enthusiast.
Passion is very important to me. If you stop enjoying things, you’ve got to look at it, because it can lead to all kinds of depressing scenarios.
My father used to say to me, “It doesn’t matter what the profession is, but if they’re the best in their field, it will always be fascinating to watch.” And I said, “Really, dad? Even like someone who makes pencils?” “Even someone who makes pencils, it will be fascinating to watch.”
Someone like Vincent Price or somebody like Christopher Lee, they never won an award, and it doesn’t matter. They’re cool.
Nobody can make a movie as exciting as Jerry Bruckheimer. When it’s a Jerry Bruckheimer movie that it’s going to have lots of chrome and gloss, it’s going to be sexy, and it’s going to be big and fun.
All movies on some level can aspire to be more than just whatever the label is of the movie.
I always add a year to myself, so I’m prepared for my next birthday. So when I was 39, I was already 40.
Peter Fonda is the reason I became a motorcyclist. I saw Easy Rider and I bought a motorcycle the next day, and I rode it all the way from LA to San Francisco.
My best takes are my first two takes.
I’ve always believed that the greatest actors are the ones that have the voices that are imitable.
I love working with younger actors because they always come into the game full of energy and ideas that challenge me and keep me learning and stimulated.
I think that if you go about making movies to win Oscars, you’re really going about it the wrong way.
I actually enjoy working with green screen, because I can imagine all that stuff happening, and I really cut my teeth on a movie I made called “Adaptation” where I had to imagine four-page dialogue scenes with my twin brother, who was nothing more than a tennis ball and a gas stand.
I think I’ve spent more time in front of a camera than off camera. That’s just the way it is.
Nobody ever thinks clearly at the airport.
I like movies where you feel like you’re going into another world, and no matter how many times you watch it, you’re gonna see something new in that world. That level of detail really inspires me.
These so called Popcorn movies, or family movies, actually provide something quite beautiful and something quite necessary, which is a family bonding experience.
Movies work, in my opinion, on the best level when they’re more enigmatic, when we don’t say it’s this or that and where it raises more questions than answers.