I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care both about the antagonist and protagonist was masterful.
To get an Oscar would be an incredible moment in my career, there is no doubt about that. But the 'Lord of the Rings' films are not made for Oscars, they are made for the audience.
Before I started doing the film and when I found out I was going to be doing it, I just decided to pump up on the whole cardio stuff. Just in terms of stamina.
Our function as playwrights to some extent is to make audiences see with their ears, because films make us see with our eyes much better.
The bastard form of mass culture is humiliated repetition... always new books, new programs, new films, news items, but always the same meaning.
On 'Darjeeling,' I was on set every day and I acted as the second unit director and a producer on that film. I was there throughout the whole process. On 'Moonrise Kingdom,' I showed up for one day.
One difference between film noir and more straightforward crime pictures is that noir is more open to human flaws and likes to embed them in twisty plot lines.
Many thrillers follow such reliable formulas that you can look at what's happening and guess how much longer a film has to run.
Sometimes miraculous films come into being, made by people you've never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius.
I never studied anything about film technique in school. Eventually, I realized that cinema and theater are not so different: from the gut to the heart to the head of a character is the same journey for both.
I can only go places because I know that I can go away from them, if that makes sense. I like the gypsy lifestyle that filming affords.
I was a huge movie watcher, but I really loved 'Kenan & Kel,' 'Rugrats,' 'Doug,' & 'Catdog.' I was also into drama films, though, and I really loved 'Poetic Justice' and 'Set it Off.'
Whether that's an action film or a comedy or a drama or anything in between, I'm willing to prove that I can play with the big boys.
A person who shakes a leg to 'Zor ka jhatka' at a disc doesn't care about its picturization in the film. He enjoys and downloads it because of the merit of the song.
Filming is long - you get very tired, and your skin breaks out and you get lumps and bumps. It's easier if you're allowed to have bags under your eyes.
If I am to be remembered for anything I have done in this profession, I would like it to be for the four films in which I directed Spencer Tracy.
Prior to 'Tokyo Drift,' the iconic perception of Asians in Hollywood films has been either the Kung Fu guy, the Yakuza guy or some technical genius. It used to be such a joke, to be laughed at rather than with.
When a new generation watches the films, people might mention that it has improved their lovemaking. I guess it's because it isn't threatening. It was very sweet and delicate.
If chess has any relationship to film-making, it would be in the way it helps you develop patience and discipline in choosing between alternatives at a time when an impulsive decision seems very attractive.
We did this two-week boot camp before we filmed the movie. I got to know everybody in the group and we became friends. We got really tight throughout those two weeks.
I didn't dream about being a director. I didn't know I wanted to do something with film until the summer between my sophomore and junior years at Morris College in Atlanta, Georgia.
