James Baldwin Quotes

I paint my own reality.

I write about what I want to write about, and so the film comes out as a very personal expression even if its subject matter is totally prefabricated.

We are going to finish this picture just the way I want it... because you cannot compromise an artist's vision.

I just write what I write, produce the music I produce and try to give myself a chance to stay true to the art form. If you try to rein in an art form, it can be hurtful to what you are making.

Some musicians feel they have to provide what their audiences expect. They lose the distinction between an artist and an entertainer. I am not an entertainer.

It doesn't matter even if I am slow or fast as long as my films are honest and carries my integrity.

Rozay is an artist himself so he understands the importance of being true to your work.

[Salomaybe] is my presentation, my vision of the world. Not so much to satisfy the audience at large.

You're the artist - you make the music that you want to make.

If there was no risk, it wouldn't be art. It wouldn't be worth making. There is risk even in a fairy tale. Fiction is closest to pure narrative, and pure narrative is simply the logic we try to impose on an ever-changing reality.

I really approached the film as if it was a white big piece of paper and I was going to draw a picture on it. And whether that picture was good or bad, whatever people thought of it, what they could never take away was that it was my picture.

Every show I've ever, you know, produced, essentially it's the show I want to watch myself.

I'm trying to do the kind of projects that I want to see in the theatre.

I guess I created LeRoy Neiman. Nobody else told me how to do it. Well, I'm a believer in the theory that the artist is as important as his work.

What you're really after when you see a film or listen to a song is a singular vision, and I'm not sure how much of that you really get in Hollywood.

You gotta make the movie you want to make.

I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.

I love being creative. I love acting, but I also love directing because you get to have a vision for the whole and bring that vision to fruition.

I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do.

I only make movies that are interesting to me.

The potential success that could come with signing with a major label didn't quite outweigh how important it was for me to make my music the way I knew it needed to be made.

I make the kind of music I like.

Writing and directing your own film, for me, has been the best experience of my life.

The ultimate thing is creating your own stuff and making projects for yourself. That's what Seth Rogen does. He's writing and producing a lot of the movies that he's the lead in.

I'm not an artist who has an agenda that's set by the work.