Elvis Mitchell Quotes

I don't really make movies with an intention other than asking myself, 'Do I love the character, and do I love the story?'

My proudest moment is when I'm part of a good film, when people are touched by it.

Essentially, my hero-role model is Muhammad Ali, because when I watched this one fight of his with my dad when I was a kid, and I watched him not go down... I think him just taking a lot of blows and not going down, it was so moving.

I haven't ever had so many women come up to me and tell me that I made them cry. And they're smiling about it, which is kind of an odd thing. Usually it's not a good thing.

On the stage, you enter into a bond with the audience, and you can sense they are moved by what you're doing. It's a sweet return.

My most successful song was 'Language' and I think partly because it's a nice, dancey record, but I'll see people cry in the audience to that song, and that's so much more interesting to me than making someone just jump up and down.

People have cried at a couple of shows. To think that someone could do that for me... Jesus Christ. That's a crazy sign.

I want people to be inspired by my music.

The task is to influence and create a reaction in the audience. In my opinion, any reaction of a human being in the audience, I think this is great. It means we touched the person's soul.

There'll never be another Muhammad Ali. He was a superstar. And although he has gone, his legacy will live on for what he has done for sport and humanity.

When 'Soorma' was first discussed with me, 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' was fresh in my memory because when I saw it and saw the hard work that went into making Milkha Singh an iconic figure, I felt that a biopic should also be made highlighting the odds that I've fought to make it so far in life.

The theatrical experience is also a communal one. When people saw 'Fruitvale' in the theater, there was not a dry eye at the end of the movie, and you would look to your neighbor and have this shared moment together that had a real weight behind it.

I discovered that my drag really does speak to people on an emotional level. I also discovered that people are sometimes put off by an intellectual approach to drag.

When I did 'Venice Dawn,' there were times where people would cry after listening to it.

What captivated me about 'The Flash' is the human drama in it.

Nate Dogg is my favorite artist. I cried more when he passed than when Michael Jackson did.

Muhammad Ali is my hero. Yes, he was the best boxer in the world, but he also put himself on the line. He talked when black Americans had to be quiet.

'War Horse' is just an extraordinary being.

'Straight Outta Compton' is my first biopic, my first period piece, and I got a chance to kind of get out there like some of my idols, you know, like Scorsese, Spielberg, Spike Lee, the guys who came before me. You know, I'm feeling good about it.

I saw Lee J. Cobb in 'Death of a Salesman' when I was about 15, and I couldn't get up from my seat in the theater; I was so... I was weeping, and I was upset. And I find that people are still like that in a similar circumstance in a theater today, where they just can't get up. It's too heartbreaking.

As a kid who grew up in Inglewood, California during the Showtime era, I'm so happy to help bring the story of Earvin 'Magic' Johnson to the screen. This project is a convergence of so many things that excite and interest me as a filmmaker.

To be able to be onstage and to hear people in the audience go, 'That's my song!' It's amazing.

In terms of work, I would like to work on a biopic and some people that I have met have mentioned that my life, in some way, is similar to Mumtazji. She was also a dancer and then became an actress so in that way, I relate with her. So I think if I get the chance, I would like to work in a biopic on Mumtaz.

When I shoot a film, I take my camera and put it among the characters and let it show you their world, their problems, their happiness and the little things that matter to them.

I remember specifically a couple of performances that I saw when I was young - River Phoenix in 'Stand by Me' and also Michael Jackson, in particular his ability to command such power and love while maintaining such deep vulnerability. It really moved my soul from a very young age.