John Sayles Quotes

Quality isn't about where the money came from or which company gets to put their name on the thing. What matters is who made the movie and why they made it.

It's possible for me to make a bad movie out of a good script, but I can't make a good movie from a bad script.

I grew up in the indie world, and that's what I'm used to, but there's something really incredible about having money behind a film and having the time to do as many takes as you want.

The movie business is not about the money. Of course, you need money to make the movie. If you have a small budget, adapt yourself. Having $200 million dollars doesn't ensure that you're definitely going to make a good movie. There's so many examples that prove that.

It's hard to make a good movie in four weeks. It's hard. I've done it, but it's not easy.

They didn't have the money to keep Christopher Lee long enough to play his scenes with me.

It's nice when you're working in Hollywood and there's a movie you'd like to see that no one is making anymore. You make it yourself.

I am no expert on tax; I'm a film producer. I read books and think about which ones would make good movies, and then I work with directors in order to make them.

I'm not prejudiced about what type of movies I'm in, what form they take or whether they're studio or independent. I just want to make films that are going to be good. The main reason is not to make money, although at some points it's really difficult when you're broke.

My point was that it's hard to make good films, but I'm not under any illusion that you do all the time.

And I like being able to go back and forth, and I don't really care if it's a small budget or big budget or studio or independent, as long as it's got a story that's compelling and there's enough money to make the picture.

If a script comes together, and you end up liking the people who are part of it, that's when you can make magic happen. It's a huge combination of trying to find something you think you can deliver on and a director you think you can collaborate with to make a good picture.

When you go into a film, you read it, and something clicks for you, and you like it, and you sign on for it; you go for it. You know that this is going to be a good film, and that is your best hope. Past that, it's a crap shoot - you roll the dice.

Honestly, when you're making a movie, you never say, 'Oh, this one's going to suck and go straight to video.' When you're in it, you think you're doing the best work you can do. You're surrounded by people who are working hard. Everybody's hopeful.

A film like 'Good Night And Good Luck,' you make that for $7 million because you know it's a black-and-white film, and it's not an easy sell. If you make it for $7 million, then everybody can have a chance to make a little bit of money, and you get to make the film you want to make.

A horrible script 99 percent of the time means a horrible movie. But if you start with a good script, odds are you're going to have a good movie.

I prefer to see a good exhibit sponsored by a brand than a bad exhibit due to lack of funds.

It's nice to work with Hollywood because there is never any question of resources put at your disposal to make a film as long as it is the right thing to do.

Look, I've done some low-budget movies and I've done some big-budget movies, and the big-budget movies were always kind of disorganized.

Just making a good movie is hard to do.

What happened on 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith,' I was given a big budget and given too many choices, and I made a lot of mistakes and missteps early on until I squandered all that extra money. But then, once my back was up against the wall, I made what I consider a really good movie.

The size of the budget doesn't make that much of a difference because the kind of issues I have on a low budget film I have on a big budget film as well, but they're just much bigger.

I don't know how anyone ever makes a good movie. It's a miracle every time.

Not all of our movies work, but we take shots, and we're able to do that because we really stick to low budgets.

I've seen it happen with other directors. Sometimes there's a period where, if they're lucky, they get the financing where they can make two films in a year.