Laura Ziskin Quotes

I can honestly say, there was a moment when I was writing 'Upstream Color' where I fell so hard for what it was becoming that I couldn't think of anything else. I was absolutely secure in this story in the way I'm rarely secure about anything else in my life.

I don't take on projects that are a hassle or when someone comes in and says, 'We really need this design,' and I'm like, 'OK, fine, I'll do it.' It really has to be something that I personally feel intrigued and excited about - any product, as long as I'm excited by it. It doesn't have to be a car.

I always try and hold to that saying, 'I want to work on things I'd want to see.' The vast majority, that's been true.

I pick different projects for different reasons. Usually, it's a combination of things. I admire the director, and I am interested in working with the director. Or, it's the cast. I can be moved by the story. The ideal situation is you love the director and you love the cast.

I only make films when I have something to say.

I think you have to write what you want to watch.

I prefer writing originals.

I try to look at the whole thing and say 'yes' to the projects that I cannot stop thinking about. If I read a script and the subject stays with me - then that's when I want to go to work.

The best reason to make a film is that you feel passionately about it.

The painter's obsession with his subject is all that he needs to drive him to work.

I already have legitimacy as a filmmaker and now I'm trying to do stuff that's just fun. Until I find a cool tangible subject again that I want to tackle.

I only make movies that are interesting to me.

A painter's tastes must grow out of what so obsesses him in life that he never has to ask himself what it is suitable for him to do in art.

We only take on projects that we're really passionate about.

What I learned from doing 'The Graduate' was it doesn't matter what the medium is... as long as the material is inspiring and the characters are well written.

Directing is really my favorite thing to do, but if I never directed again, I'd be okay if all the work I did was good.

When I write a film, there's a particular thing I am wrestling with and the question or concern I'm dealing with has to be big enough for me to dedicate a year or two of my life. If the question isn't big enough, or rich enough, I'll lose interest.

When I make movies, I don't ever go out there to please anyone other than myself. I never try to make a film for the masses. I just try to tell my story.

With the success of 'Spiderwick,' it's allowed me to be able to have the freedom to really be able to tell the stories that I really wanted to tell, that I've always wanted to tell.

Usually, you lose interest in a story beyond a certain point. But with 'Highway,' there was something very subtle, yet something very influential. I intended 'Highway' to be the first film that I ever made. Didn't happen.

I chose films made by people I wanted to work with, about subject matter I thought was intriguing.

I want to do some bigger films, so long as there's some sort of exciting creative element or a good filmmaker behind them.

The films I want to make, I really want to be passionate about.

I came to the industry with wide eyes and an open heart thinking I was going to make a few films that really meant something that I could pour myself into.

I've just always loved really good projects. The things that draw me into a new project have very little to do with genre and have more to do with the characters I'll be playing, the people I'll get to work with and things like that.