Ava DuVernay Quotes

When you produce and direct, your movies are different to you. They're not just something you act in.

When I make a film - I direct my own film, I write my own script - that's what I want to hear from the audience. 'Oh, thank you, Jackie!'

All the director wants is their idea of the movie to be believed in.

I think it's always good for the author to stay a good cattle prod's distance from the actual moviemaking.

Directing was easy for me because I was a writer director and did all my directing when I wrote the screenplay.

I want to direct one day. I want to write my own thing and really be behind the scenes because you have more creative control.

I try to do as much as I can, every facet of filmmaking.

When I'm writing a movie, it's usually pretty close to what the movie is going to be, which is just a luxury of being a writer-director.

I honestly never wanted to direct. It was only when I started to work on 'Alexander the Great' that I realized I had to direct. I saw something so specifically in my mind, I could not leave it to someone else.

I want to make my own films from my own scripts based on stories I want to tell, but they take time to put together.

As an actress you can participate, you can be a co-author, help the director. But I always wanted to be able to make the big decisions.

There comes a time as you continue to write and work on scripts and screenplays where you realize that you have opinions about the next step of the process, and you kind of want more control over the translation from page to screen.

I love the process of making a movie so much as an actor that I can only imagine I would love the process of being the director.

There's a heresy which is perpetuated by film school that to be a great director you have to write your own stuff.

Eventually, I would love to direct, but not anytime soon. I just love the storytelling aspect.

I like to control my films from beginning to end, to write them the way I want.

I would like to produce, and eventually, I would like to direct.

The thing is, as a film director, you're essentially alone: You have to tell a story primarily through pictures, and only you know the film you see in your head.

I don't want to be a director. I want to direct. There's a difference.

I have stories that I'd like to maybe one day consider directing, but you need a lot of time to write and put it together.

The only way you can learn about making films is by making them, by putting your stamp on the thing.

The whole process of making movies and writing screenplays is visceral and intuitive.

The director is the only person who knows what the film is about.

It's not just about acting. I love film, I'm a director now, I love writing, I love producing, I love having a company that makes films and to be prolific and have a place to put all the ideas that are constantly bubbling up inside of me and that don't let me sleep at night.

The truth is, when I started to make films, I was terrified. I had a huge difference in what I was writing in the screenplay and what was on the screen after. Sometimes there was a big gap. Now, the more I have experienced, the more I do movies, the more I feel that the dream is closer to the screen. It's coming with experience.