Jeff Bridges Quotes

I like the intimacy of independent films and I like the idea that people aren't being paid necessarily as much money as some one on a studio film.

Generally speaking I would say I enjoy the smaller films more because there's a less sense of pressure and often the material is more unusual.

I love improvising on the spot. I like that pressure.

I always try to stick to the script because I want to respect the writers, and I want to respect the director. But if the director and my fellow actors are okay with me playing with it a little bit, then I definitely want to play with it.

My partner, Beth Alexander, and I want to produce smaller films, but commercially viable films that will enable me to make the kinds of movies I want to make.

I think that there's a lot more freedom in the low budget, the independent films where, unfortunately, you don't have the money, necessarily, to get the orchestras in there to play a lot of stuff. But, you have a lot more freedom, very often.

I personally like to do independent films.

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.

I love doing short films because they're much more intimate and there's far less waiting around than on the bigger films.

There's never any pressure on the music having to be something.

I really love independent films. There's something so determined about the people who work on them.

With Fincher, you can take chances and try things. And what happens is that any pretension and preparation you've done, all the square, intellectual work, you can't keep that up for 40 takes. It breaks down, and new things start popping up. This, for me, is the most exciting thing about film-making.

Independent films have a certain freedom about them - there isn't so much at stake in terms of money. I think they're more interesting because they're not watered down to appeal to the masses. They tend to have a unique voice.

I think there's all these unknown things you can tap into when you just leave things open, and nothing is forbidden. Then you allow yourself to mold that thing that has been created by freedom and spontaneity and flexibility. That's why I avoid limiting performances of actors and characters.

I don't know that I necessarily feel more comfortable in the context of smaller films, but I tend to feel more comfortable more often than not with the material of smaller films.

Every movie I've ever made has just kind of come together.

I believe that improvisation is really just a directorial tool. It's a writing tool. It's not so much that the actors get to say whatever they want, whatever pops into their head. It's an opportunity to write the last draft of the screenplay as you're working on it.

We try to make films for people [that are] the films that we'd like to see. They're not easy to get made. They're hard to get made. You have to keep the budget low to get them made. But at the end of the day, I don't really worry about competition, because I don't really think of it that way. I don't feel like I'm in a race with anybody.

Making music is mostly spontaneously following sounds you find compelling that you chase and see where they're leading you.

I want to have the illegitimate child of independent film making and the budget to make it. That's my aspiration.

I'm lucky that I get to jump around, do a big-budget comedy and then a smaller film. I don't even make a big distinction between them. No one believes this, but it's the same. I'm the same person, trying to make it work. I just love being on a movie set. I like making movies.

Independent films now, they want to give you $2 million to make it, 21 days to shoot it and they want 10 movie stars in it.

Flexibility is an essential part of Jazz. It's what gives Jazz music the ability to combine with all other types of music and not lose its identity.

If I crave a frequency in the mid, I'll just drag in a sound and try to mold it into what feels right. It happens very quickly. And if I've been making a piece of music for five hours and it sucks, I'll just throw it away.

I don't know where jazz is going. Maybe it's going to hell. You can't make anything go anywhere. It just happens.