JR Quotes

The arts can be a great way to bring people together. I don't preach from the stage. I try to stay positive on solutions.

We'd be working in our motel room through the night, and I'd come up with an idea at two in the morning, and he'd start jumping up and down, pacing across the room, or whatever.

Fashion is much more collaborative than one might think. You have to have an idea and vision, and you have to communicate that vision to a team of people, and you have to create an environment that allows those people to give the best that they can give.

I direct with energy. I believe in energy. I think energy is an electric thing in actors. I try to inspire, encourage, and make choices with lots of energy. And truth. I'm big fan of truth and being funny. I like leading 50 people into battle every day.

Directing, I just feel comfortable. I know what I want. I know what I want from my crew. I lead by example. I have limitless energy as a director.

The great fun for me is these collaborators. I'm nothing by myself. Being with these people, whether it's the 'Homeland' cast or stage collaborators, they make you everything you are. They make you come to work. They make you be alive.

It never gets old. Working with somebody like Kevin Hart is rejuvenating in a lot of ways. He's such a pro. He's so good.

When I put something into motion, the creativity starts to make other people want to jump in, and then a lot of people get employed. I'm just like a shark, in that way. If I stop swimming, I'll die. But, it really is about that shared experience with people. I'm from theater, and that's really what theater feels like.

Directing, I get all kinds of inspiration. It's working with people. It's a lot more fun.

I try to be as good a director as I possibly can. I try to be prepared, and I hope everyone else is. The preparation, I suppose, means just about everything. Little things mean a lot.

The idea, as a director, is to be able to bring everybody on board and to inspire and give energy to everybody and to explain specific color, specific ambience. I need to be very precise, but I think I'm a better director when I'm more a channeler than a dictator.

Unless and until you inspire the people, you will not get results. Imposition will never give you the results. Inspiration will always give you the results.

When you talk about inspiration, I draw inspiration from life. The people that I work with.

When I came to L.A., I absolutely fell in love with the energy of the place. It's such a creative hub, so as a storyteller, there's nothing better than when you're surrounded by people who think like you and have the same goals as you.

Through music, I think we can inspire each other.

If you have a culture of respect, creativity flows. You create this energy, and then people have more desire to take risks.

Leadership is not just about giving energy ... it's unleashing other people's energy.

I think that other people covering my work is really exciting... Im really open to that kind of thing because I think interpretation is an art form.

Once you have a staff of prepared, intelligent, and energetic people, the next step is to motivate them to be creative.

I once asked a distinguished artist what place he gave to labor in art. "Labor," he in effect said, "is the beginning, the middle, and the end of art." Turning then to another--"And you," I inquired, "what do you consider as the great force in art?" "Love," he replied. In their two answers I found but one truth.

A tremendous amount of energy is freed up when you feel that your vision is actually respected and cared for by the people you're working with.

Some people say talent is energy and that's a very interesting way of thinking about it. In other words, people with talent have a lot of energy.

Music is probably the only place I get energy from. Music and maybe watching a really tremendous performer, watching a terrific performer like Jagger or watching a great movie.

People who aren't artists often feel that artists are inspired. But if you work at your art you don't have time to be inspired.

I think that 60 percent of inspiration is organization.