Yorgos Lanthimos Quotes

I don't like directing that much to want a career as a director for hire. I like to have as much creative control as possible.

My goal was, and still is, to write first, direct my own stuff whenever possible and control my own creative destiny.

If I only acted, I feel like I wouldn't have enough creative expression over my own sensibility, and also if I only acted, the notion of surrendering my fate and future to other people is deeply unsettling to me and it would make me uncomfortable.

My job is to just express something that I want to express. And if I'm ahead or behind the curve, that's for others to decide.

I only make movies that are interesting to me.

I just make the movies I want to see. I've always been that way.

I think everybody goes off and does their own vision. And I don't take responsibility for other people's work, frankly. It's bad enough taking responsibility for my own.

The main thing that's important to me is getting to do whatever project it is the way that I do what I do, and that's different. To go to an entity - whether it's a traditional film studio or some newer company, or HBO, Amazon or Netflix - they would have to know that I need to work the way I work.

I am an artist, and I will always be working. But a film should match my personality and should be primarily based on a woman for me to go forward with it.

I always say I want creative control. A lot of people don't think about that. And that's what every artist should think of - being creative and not just a puppet.

I always felt like an outsider of the industry, and now I feel quite comfortable as an independent artist.

'Drawn & Quarterly' has always given me complete editorial control over my books and comics, so any decision about what to include or exclude from the book was my own.

I think the real exciting part about becoming a solo artist is that you get to really decide on what your new sound and what your new message will be.

I want to write my own stuff, and, you know, it would be nice to put myself in it. But I would like to hope that there are going to be better roles offered as well and that I don't need to do everything. You know, like, I appreciate my career being somewhat DIY, but it would be nice to get some help.

I love to work. It's the idea of having someone else tell you how to make your film or how to sell it - that's the part I can't really deal with. I would rather do 1,000 things that are work than deal with one thing that's a political problem.

I understand it's my role to realize people's dreams. I'm O.K. with that so long as my songs are my own. No one can take my songs away from me.

Every show I've ever, you know, produced, essentially it's the show I want to watch myself.

I can't tell you how freeing it is to have my own label. For the first time in my career, I have total control.

Frank Miller is more of a visionary than any director I've ever worked with, and he achieves that vision better than anyone I've ever worked with.

There hasn't been one moment in my career where I felt I didn't have any control over the creative aspects of my records.

You gotta make the movie you want to make.

I want to be able to go wherever I want to go, do whatever I want to do. I guard the material and the filmmaker.

When you direct a movie, you're basically looking at a story, the way you want to look at it. You bring that director's vision, and I'm totally open for that.

Tim also has enough confidence so that it always looks like a Tim Burton film, but it really is collaborative. You're allowed to do it your way but of course he's always going to choose his way.

I don't believe that an animation studio should be an executive-driven studio.