Lindsay Shookus Quotes

Casting is everything. I put a huge amount of work into casting, and consistently across my career, I am most proud of my bold choices I made in casting.

They wanted me to do Scream 2, and I hate talking about movies I turned down, because it sounds judgmental. There's nothing wrong with horror movies. I enjoy watching them. The main reason I turn a part down is if I think I won't be good.

I always used to say, as a director, that I could make anybody good in a movie if you found the right part. It all comes down to casting.

In the beginning, I would find a character I understood. That was my focus. Not now - but you basically get offered the exact same thing you just did. Which I find hilarious. I did 'The Vow,' and then I had every love story you can imagine thrown at me. And now I'm getting offers for comedies.

Casting is everything. If you get the right people they make you look good.

Everything that I decide to do means something, otherwise I don't do them.

Yeah, I mean the material, directors, the other cast, and if you think you can do something with the character then you do it and go from there. I am looking forward to doing some smaller movies.

A film is a chain of very difficult decisions, and I think one of them is to choose an accurate cast.

If a film is being made by an intelligent director, they're going to cast the right guy.

Bill Murray, we've got to get people worthy to be on the screen with him, as opposed to just a bunch of random… with no disrespect… but a bunch of random local actors.

Certain subjects are best done with stars. Certain subjects like 'Alai Payuthe' are done with non-stars. In such films, stars are a burden.

It's not a secret, but if you know what the hell you're doing, you pick good actors. And you know what makes a good actor? A good personality in the performer, in the person.

For me, casting is critical. It's nice that social media and the passionate fans really corroborated choices and embraced kids to be characters.

I'm always involved with casting my movies. I have final word on it.

So, most of it was done over the phone. But one of the first things I did as a director, because it's one of the first things you should do, even though most don't, is to ask good actors who they think is right for the part. They know better than anybody. But without missing a beat Maggie said Pauline Collins. I didn't know Pauline because I hadn't seen Shirley Valentine, but then I saw this thing that she did with Woody Allen [You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger], in which she was wonderful as a psychic, and I said to her on the phone: "The dialogue seemed improvised."

I worked so hard on that role [of Debra in Dexter]. And I barely worked on Rita. But I read for casting - both parts - and they said, "That's great, we're going to bring you in for producers." So I read for some producers - both parts - and they said, "That's great, we're going to bring you in to meet the creator." And I went in, and as soon as I walked in the room, he looked at me and he said, "Oh my god, you're our Rita!" And I said, "No! I'm Deb! I'm a total Deb!" "No, you're Rita!".

I just know that I had great matches pretty much every night. I had great rapport with the fans. I could make them love me or hate me depending on what I wanted.

What is the main problem of the actor? It is to keep the audience awake, and not let them go to sleep, then wake up and go home feeling they've wasted their money.

Quality … has to do with intention.

We're paid to care. That's what actors get their money for. But the main goal is not for the actors to be frustrated at the end of the show, but for the audience to be throwing their shoes at the television set. That's what we're trying for.

Intelligence is just a tool to be used toward a goal, and goals are not always chosen intelligently.

As far as casting, I'm there for every single person that's cast. Even if it's one word, I'm there for their auditions.

Let no act be done without purpose.

I relieve myself from the rigours of directing by casting the movie correctly.

I'll take anyone I can get that will pay money to see me. And if there's more of me in the world, people who think they're good people and comedians who have a good message or whatever, then that's great. If there's some kind of balance there that's good.