Bill Murray Quotes

It's a unique experience when you're doing an independent film where you have one person who puts up all the funds to make the film.

People always ask why I don't make independent movies. I do make independent movies - I just make them at Sony and Paramount.

I'm an independent filmmaker with complete creative control of my films. I hire who I want. I have final cut. But at the same time, I go directly to Hollywood for financing and distribution. I find it's best for me to work within the Hollywood system.

I'm just thinking of 2001, which I think is the most expensive independent film ever made - which is great, someday I hope I will do one. But I know the parameters when I got onto this project - I have to take care of everyone, make sure that they are all on board, and this process interests me.

There was a time when I first started that there was such a thing called 'a woman's film' and there were certain scripts that women would make. But I think that's changed a lot now. I think that if a woman director walks into a room with a script, it doesn't really matter what the subject matter is, or the genre is, so long as the financers feel that the woman has the skills to make the film.

I'm from that world where I feel so comfortable making small independent movies.

Any asshole can make a good movie for $100 million. I think it's way harder to make a movie with no money, and to start with no contacts and work your way up to international productions.

There are so many scripts and they are fantastic. I think I would like to do something different, maybe something smaller.

I did very much enjoy being part of an independent film. It was just the energy.

I consider myself an independent filmmaker.

It's always fun to get to do independent film because I believe that that's the life blood of film. It's about writers and directors who truly have their own vision, and that's hard.

On an independent film you're lucky if you get one, but ostensibly the job is the same. There's very little difference, apart from the knowledge that there's a captive audience at the end of it - which you can't always guarantee with a movie.

I think distribution has become a lot harder. With the whole explosion of digital video, there's just a lot more people making films. Distributors have a lot more choice. I do think there's an audience out there for small films. It's obvious to me what the studios do: they've co-opted independent film. They all have their independent arm. They can afford to crush the competition.

I don't mind that if I ever star in movies, they'll likely be mine. That's okay, because my great role models - Woody Allen, even Tyler Perry, who is actually one of my role models, even if that seems kind of strange - they do that themselves. And it's great. They build empires, and they're known as having their own voice. I think it's 20 times more fun to act on a set where I feel the freedom to change the dialogue.

You know, independent films have been institutionalized, practically. Every studio has got a boutique arthouse label. There's like, 18 different independent film-financing funds. In fact, I think the children of those films are getting made. A more interesting question is whether those films are going to get seen and appreciated.

Honestly, I think it's dumb luck that I'm able to kind of get away doing different types of films in different genres. There's always a tendency to kind of stick with what works, or stick with one particular kind of brand or movie. But so far I've been getting away with it, so I'm going to continue to do that for as long as I can.

I want to have the illegitimate child of independent film making and the budget to make it. That's my aspiration.

I think the fun thing about doing a project under your own name is that literally anything could be a follow up, it doesn't necessarily need to be a record, it could be film related, it could be book related, it could be anything.

I enjoy doing independent films more, only because there's more freedom. There's not as many cooks tampering with what you are trying to do.

It's a really unique situation where you just - you make independent films or you make big blockbuster movies, but it's very rare when all of those ingredients come together, and you can really tell a story that you care about with a character you absolutely love with the people you love making movies with.

The independent films are really where I kind of come from and where I feel comfortable. It's never been about the blockbusters and making a huge tonne of money. It's always been about wanting to do projects about the things that I think are important to be out there.

Independent films now, they want to give you $2 million to make it, 21 days to shoot it and they want 10 movie stars in it.

To be honest, you have to do a big Hollywood film to get enough money to do a good independent film!

I've always felt that an independent film is a film that almost doesn't get made.

When I go and make smaller films, I actually never think about them being made for a smaller audience.