Larry Gelbart Quotes

Films that score very high with test audiences generally tend to not be so great. But, there's a lot of money involved in making movies, and it's a way for people to reassure themselves, who have spent money, and it's also a way to work out how to market a movie.

The movies have a way of seeping out there over time. We don't put them in 2,000 theaters. It wouldn't work that way.

Movies don't sit in the theaters for an entire summer like they did in 1982. Now you've got a two- or three-week shelf life so you need to have that awareness right off the bat. And in order to make a lot of people know about your movie, you need to be out there banging the drum and showing your stuff.

To have a film in America means precisely nothing if you don't have a distributor who stands behind it.

Often, in the movie business, they need somebody who will garner box office because they need to pay for the movie. So the people who are in movies that make a lot of money are the people who most often get cast in studio pictures. In my career, I've never been a box office name.

Stupidly, in our industry, producers pay precious money to sign stars whom they might not even use in the film. Producers believe stars make hits; actually it is the script that makes a film successful.

I do believe that there are some films that cannot be made without stars.

I didn't even think anyone would want to make 'Cop Car,' and then I didn't think anyone would want to distribute 'Cop Car,' and then I didn't think anyone would want to see 'Cop Car.'

You want your film to be seen by the largest audience and stars help in facilitating that. Star-power does work.

I wrote another wrestling film script. And we finished the shooting [with Lloyd Phillips]. But Henry Winkler came out with his own wrestling film, which did poorly. So the studios passed on ours, and it never got released.

The industry has to have the audience in order to make these films. So it's a serious thing - how do you get people to leave their houses and go to the theater?

They say now in America that final cut doesn't mean anything. As Harvey Weinstein said to some film-maker, 'You can have final cut. I'll open your film in Arkansas.'

When you work in film, you learn to appreciate a distributor. You can have this great little film, but if you don't have a distributor, you are sitting in your living room with a great little film.

Think about trailers you see in theaters. If you're seeing a Warner Bros film, the studio might have three of the five trailers. So having a hit helps you create the next hit.

The best time to release a film is on a festive date like Divali or Eid, or at a time when there are no big films three to four weeks before or after.

Once Miramax gets involved, if they like your movie, there's a big machine that gets involved.

When I was out promoting 'Selma,' I became aware of so many other films that ought to be getting distribution. And this is a problem I can do something about because of my experience.

Star power opened 'Mission Mangal.'

I think that, oftentimes, what people say is, 'We need an actress who'll be able to greenlight a movie,' and my counterargument to that is always that, when it comes to a teen movie, you have very few people who can greenlight a movie.

I think, it's important to understand how to release a film.

I think of 'Beyond The Clouds' very fondly. Yes, it has not been seen by a lot of people in theatres. I had anticipated more people would watch it. But that has to do with something I don't know well: marketing. A lot of people didn't even know that it was a Hindi film.

According to me, a film can talk for itself. Like, Aamir Khan does not promote his films on a large scale, but his films work on the box office.

I have never had the problem of finding a producer for my films. I think I am just lucky because my first film didn't do great box office business.

The way we structure our deals is to work closely with the director. It is imperative to work with a studio because the way the film is marketed is crucial.

You've got the movie, distribution, and marketing. All are equally important, so educate yourself on how to do the best you can at each of them.