Michael Shannon Quotes

When you've written a movie, you then get together with a whole lot of people and make it. In many ways, I think it is far nicer to be with people rather than being completely solitary.

I believe everything creative is somewhat collaborative.

Film is like a casserole. Everybody is thrown into a pot, and we're all in it together.

Part of debunking the mythology of filmmaking is that we tend to want to locate it often in one person. And it's not one person. It's a collective, and it is a collaboration.

I'm a big believer in building a crew. Movies are the most collaborative art form at the tend of the world, and it takes hundreds of people to make one. At the end of the day, I get the lion's share of praise or blame but everybody on the ground knows that it was all of us.

I know that in Bollywood, there is this constant talk on which actor's film is minting how much money, but we are living in a time where the focus is shifting from 'actor's responsibility' to the result of a great team work. I believe filmmaking is about that.

A film is not done by one person. It's done by a lot of people. I love this whole collaborative aspect. When it works well, you end up with something better than any of us started out to do.

You're not really just a filmmaker that makes a movie good most of the time. It's everybody involved; it's a collective effort.

It's a real testament to the amount of skill and talent involved, across the board, whether it's the production design, the construction, the costume design, the other actors, the way it's shot, the directors we had on it, or obviously John's writing. When things do go well, it sometimes seems easy, in a weird way, but it's actually down to a lot of cogs working in a big machine. But, I'm certainly happy to be going back. I'm excited to carry on.

It would be fun to write with Adele, actually. She seems like a fun girl to write with.

Movies are a collaboration, I feel, so I didn't think of myself as an authoritative figure as much.

I'm not worried. I'm just so grateful to be in the position that I'm in. I'm just going with the flow right now, and I think my album will come together quite nicely because I think everybody is on the same page.

I'm proud of 'Sinister' because Scott and Cargill did a great job on the movie, and I set up a framework for them to make what they wanted to make. They gave me the idea, and I figured out how to get it out into the world.

I like to be on set and see what the camera guys are up to. I like to see all the jobs that come together to make the thing you are also making.

I'm learning more and more to share creativity with the crew and actors. A film crew is more powerful if you listen to them, but it does make my job more tough because I have to listen.

Everyone feels a sense of ownership in creating a Lynn Shelton movie. Lynn chooses amazing people - including the crew. Every person there is committed to making the film the best it can be.

And I think one way or another it's evident to those who work with me that as a writer, a director, a friend, as somebody's there that's very anxious to get the movie made.

Every film you work on is different, and that's part of what it's like for anybody who works on a film, is to learn how to work with others. Learn from top to bottom. Actors have to learn how to work with the director and the director has to learn how to work with actors, and that's not just those two departments.

When I go into making a movie, personally, I don't try to bring other pieces of movies with me.

I give as much as I can, and it's up to someone else to turn it into a movie. Good luck to you!

I loved working on 'Donnie Darko.' I learned a lot from the cast, Jake Gyllenhaal and the producers. I love doing what I do because I get to meet so many great people.

I'm the kind of person who likes to create the environment and mindset - not because I do it deliberately, but because that's how I like to live - where, from catering to makeup to hair to wardrobe, electricians, camera department lighting, sound, you know, it's our movie; we're together, and we have that camaraderie and that closeness.

A film takes a lot of time, and yet not enough to share with the people you're making the movie with, I think.

Movies are weird; it's like trying to make a painting with one hundred people. It's a weird world, but every job is weird; it's always a little bit hard, crazy and fun, a nice combination.

I just love working with actors, and I love working with writers, working with designers. I feel that I am just a storyteller, and whether I am wearing the director hat or the playwright hat, it doesn't matter. And the rooms I tend to be in are pretty democratic, and the best idea wins.