Don Ellis Quotes

I don't think that independent or off-beat films are not commercial, nor do I want to categorise them. At the end of the day, what matters is how much you compromise to please the masses. But, I am not someone who loves compromising. If there's a lot to give up on things that matter to me, I start losing interest.

All the arts, to varying degrees, involve some kind of a compromise. This being so, how far need the radio dramatist go to meet the public without losing sight of himself and his own standards of value?

I didn't try to think what my audience wanted and then make the music accordingly. I made the music and hoped that as many people liked it as possible.

The worst thing you can do after a test screening is slash it for the lowest common denominator.

I've never believed in cheapening music by going according to what some people think is public taste.

Art is uncompromising and life is full of compromises.

I've passed on a lot of huge-money jobs. Money doesn't enter into the decision-making. If I do a big blockbuster, it's about how big an audience you'll get and where you can take them.

I'm just not interested in selling out to get on the charts and make people happy.

I think the bar is higher these days in terms of audience expectations of authenticity.

You can't be trying to make a film that pleases all people, you know, so it's not a concern of mine.

I'd rather not make films than make bad ones.

I don't make movies because I think audiences will want to go see them.

I am uncompromising to the point of huge dissension in the studio. And it's served me very well. My theory and my philosophy is, 'Compromise breeds mediocrity.' Obviously, you have to pick your battles, and the more success an artist has, the more they want to be involved in their own career, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Art should never try to be popular. The public should try to make itself artistic.

I don't necessarily go out and try to do something that's going to be just something that will please the audience. I'm not interested in doing something where I get the most people to come see the movie at the same time and they get the biggest explosion. I'm not interested in that.

I want to be choosier. I can't let quality take a back seat... not after 'Kaaka Muttai.'

I expect the audience to come up to my level.

I never choose a genre over quality. I never think, 'I want to do that,' and sacrifice the fact it might not be very good.

I like to do films that I would want to go see, basically. I'm not out to make a fast buck.

As a designer, I'm not interested in trend.

I really don't want to put more than a couple of records out a year, and I think that makes sense - on an artistic level, but also for my label.

You can't expect to connect with everybody, and that's all right. The more I make films, I'm learning that you don't have to make films for everybody. A film can be made for a smaller group of people than that, and it still warrants an existence.

I've talked about this a lot, but 'The Witch' took four years to finance because there were certain compromises I wouldn't make.

I know the volume of my work is less and I would have wanted to do more films. But I can't do just any role. That's the reason why I have done less crappy films.

I will not accept a role just because a big hero stars in it. I am not here to merely dance, run around trees, and be a glam doll.