Nick Hornby Quotes

When studios start telling me why a particular film project won't work, I remember 'Rocky.' I remember that the biggest success Bob Chartoff and I have had was a film nobody wanted to make.

I think 'Sound of My Voice' was the first film where suddenly I could point to something I had done that I was proud of and say, 'Look at this piece of work.' And that's probably what led to 'Fruitvale Station,' which was the real break.

I didn't have any godfather in the industry and had to prove myself with each film.

It is not the most brilliant that excel in film, but the most patient!

Right before I got The West Wing, I was pretty much out of money. When I first came in to Warner Brothers, Aaron Sorkin was there. Of course I was nervous; I'm sitting here in front of the guy who wrote "You can't handle the truth!".

It felt like I'd been playing second-string football for a long time, when, suddenly, I was playing in the Super Bowl. Even when 'Basic Instinct' was a hit, I still felt like I was running with that ball toward the end zone. It took awhile for me to realize that I was already in the end zone with the ball down and the crowd screaming on its feet.

David Michôd changed my life, quite literally, along with the chaps at Sony Pictures Classics. That's what set me on my way. I thought we did good work and had a good film, but when it was so praised at Sundance that year that's what really started the ball rolling. We all paid our own way to Sundance.

Every team is beatable, you know.

I never thought I'd get [a 'Pitch Perfect 2'] audition because the film was just so massive.

Once your acting job is over, you just hope they have a good editor and they put together a good film.

I met Jay Jonhson. I won him the way poor people occasionally win the lottery: Shameless perseverance and embarrassingly dumb luck, and every time I see one of those sly, toothless, beaten-down souls on TV holding a winning ticket, I think, Go, team.

I've had a lot of failures as well and rejection. As actor, it's actually mostly rejection but people think it's mostly success because they only see your successes - the films that get made.

Making it through the ceiling to the other side was simply a matter of running on a path created by every other woman's footprints.

Some films go so well, and some films are disappointing. It's the beauty of the craft. You get it right, and you get it wrong. You have tremendous highs, and you have tremendous lows. Hopefully, you learn from them and become better, as you go along.

I'm the underdog, but know what I'm capable of.

Fundamentally, the most important thing is to get the film made for me and to get as many people to see it as possible. And if I help that, then - I know I help that, let's put it that way. I do know that I help that. It is called show business.

I've found that often, just when you think you've hit a wall, you experience a breakthrough that takes you to new heights in accomplishment

When you are tempted to give up, your breakthrough is probably just around the corner.

Not to the swift, the race: Not to the strong, the fight: Not to the righteous, perfect grace: Not to the wise, the light. But often faltering feet Come surest to the goal; And they who walk in darkness meet The sunrise of the soul.

The true marker of success is when the creative minds behind a film can sit down and feel that they have succeeded in the mission they set out to accomplish - and that is to make good cinema. If we feel that we have achieved that as a team, then we have all been successful.

The underdog is a person that's at-risk, a person that has a lot of big trials you have to overcome. I mean that was my life. Me - coming from a single parent home. I didn't have offers coming out of high school. So I had to really have faith and lean on Jesus for everything because nothing was given to me. I had to really work for everything. I'm definitely an underdog. I think Jesus made me be in that situation to be able to relate to more people. That's why give back to the at-risk kids.

Sometimes when you are the closest to your breakthrough the pressure is the greatest. You have come too far to give up now!

Victory is a thousand times sweeter when you're the underdog.

Actually, there was one sequence but Liv didn't put this in but at the end of the movie, we ran out of money. Literally, ran out. And I couldn't make payroll. So I emptied all our accounts to make payroll. We were kinda like, "What do we do?" Then out of the blue, we were saved by Gucci. So it's always been like, you just gotta reach for the stars and hopefully the moon will catch you.

The formula for a successful film is simple: good script, good direction, a dedicated cast and a fantastic crew. If you have all of these elements then the rest will fall into place.