Choi Woo-shik Quotes

It's weird because movie-making, and especially movie theaters, have always been so old-school, and it wasn't until 3-D that a lot of them were forced to have digital projectors and even digital distribution.

Cinema will not go anywhere. We want to watch movies in theaters. Cinema and digital will coexist.

Independent filmmakers already have their heads around people on their couches watching their movies.

It seems that we're heading toward the day that films will be released in all platforms simultaneously, albeit with a cost premium to see it at home. But I hope that theater-going doesn't end - I think that watching movies on the big screen with an audience is still the best format and also an important one for society.

I'm all for streaming, and I do think it's thrilling that a gazillion people can see our film the day it drops. On the other hand, I'm a fierce believer of the theatergoing experience. My hope would be that films can be enjoyed in both ways, that there's room for both.

When I started in the late 1950s, every film I made - no matter how low the budget - got a theatrical release. Today, less that 20-percent of our films get a theatrical release.

Movies began as a communal experience. Even though we now watch them as DVD's, sometimes alone on our computers, mostly in the history of cinema it has been a communal experience.

Movie theaters still exist in spite of all of the alternatives that are available, video and video-on-demand and DVD and streaming video and all of these things.

I remember when I made 'A Scanner Darkly,' going, 'I hope people see it in theater - but I think it's going to be seen in someone's room at two in the morning.' It's that kind of movie. And I would have loved if it had been available on multiple formats at the moment it opened.

I'm not one of those people who only believe in the Netflix model. I go see films in the theater and love that experience and don't want it to ever die. But I like that Netflix exists, and you can discover so many different types of movies and TV and content you wouldn't have access to.

I am not going to approve the home-screening format for my film just carte blanche in lieu of a theatrical screening when I cannot trust that it will ever be seen in the format that it's intended to be.

I'm actually very critical of digital cinema.

There's not much of a difference shooting something for TV and shooting something for film; the difference is film is in a cinema and TV is in your home.

Everything is very convenient now and it would be real nice if somehow people started going back to the movie theater. And it's people of my generation. It's their fault in a lot of ways, people over 40. It's their fault that the only movies are about robots and beautiful vampires. It's wild, all vampires are beautiful.

Let's face it; people are doing everything online these days. So if they are going to watch my movies, I'm happy as long as it's being bought legally and being exhibited legally, as long as they are paying even a small fee for it. I'm just anti-piracy. If it's a legitimate way of watching film online, then I'm very happy.

The fact is, it's hard to release movies.

It is important that alongside the blockbusters there are stories that can inspire and audiences can experience together in the cinema.

Let's put it this way: art house theaters are vanishing. They have almost disappeared completely, and that means there's a shift in what audiences want to see. And they have to be aware of that and be realistic. It's as simple as that.

The current distribution model for movies, in the U.S. particularly, but also around the world, is pretty antiquated relative to the on-demand generation that we're trying to serve.

The consumer is deciding what they want to see and when and how, and filmmakers are more aware and accepting of the fact that success is not predicated on your movie showing in a traditional theater for a certain amount of time.

So many movies get made, and so many go to VOD, which is a market I admire.

In case you don't know this, we're not in the '90s anymore. Indie cinema does not reign.

I am glad that 'Lust Stories' is coming on Netflix as opposed to the kind of commercial release it was going to get.

If I am not able to go to theaters confidently and watch a film then I don't expect people to watch my film also.

Festive seasons are good for releases, but we have to leave some festival dates for other producers to release their films as well. We cannot take away all the holiday releases.