John Carpenter Quotes

Nike is Nike. Adidas is Adidas. I've played in their circuits and stuff like that, but now it's a business. You don't want just product. You're not a kid anymore. You're really trying to get bank. That's about it.

If DreamWorks and Disney need that name to sell the cartoon and get people in the seats, that's what they need. It's not fair, but there's plenty of other work for us to do.

If I want to, I can sign 20 films for ridiculous amounts of money, but I really want to do different kinds of cinema. I want creative satisfaction.

I absolutely love television, and I don't mean to be vulgar, but as I keep having to explain to people from the movie industry, I get more power and more money doing television, so why on earth would I do a film?

I don't like to use my last name. I don't like it attached to things because people think you can just stamp your name on something, and it's not organic or that you're just doing it for money.

I enjoy selling my music. I don't enjoy selling myself.

I probably should have a brand, but I think you can't get the best artists to work for you if you're branded. I get the trade-off, and I really would like to be more famous for my work, get more credit for my achievements.

I absolutely loathe the idea of doing a fragrance simply as a moneymaker. Personal brand to make money? Vomit.

It's not in the interest of the artist to think of his market.

We've been able to have our cake and eat it, too. Every song, every T-shirt, is absolutely a pure expression of what we want to do. And it connects.

I enjoy building something good and having a successful product and making money.

I'm not Tyler Perry. I'm not Dino De Laurentis. I think it's a bit much to put one's name in front of the film. It makes me uncomfortable.

I don't really think of myself as a businessman at all. That's why I have the 'chief creative officer' role.

I don't want to be in somebody else's movie, and then they make all the money. I've gotten offers to do the movies, but I won't sell myself short and be in somebody else's movie, like 'Boyz N the Hood.' I don't think I woulda done that.

I still manage to spend around 40 hours a week at work but it is a lot more focused on what can make money as opposed to what makes me look good in the papers.

If you are handed something, it's a blessing and a curse. Look at hip hop artists, they produced everything themselves. Even people like Robert De Niro are getting into production. Again, it's art vs. marketing. Not everyone can take the risk. You have to break a few eggs to make a good omelet.

I'm shying away from getting lost in really bad movies for really good money.

I have been accused of having people design my image, tell me what to say in interviews, design my clothes, the way I look and talk, and, of course, my music. It's true I do work with people, but not to accomplish anything bad: just the basics that any person does in this business and with this opportunity to live out my dreams.

What I've noticed about Hollywood is, if you go out there shouting about who you are, they will love you for it. But if you go out not knowing what it is that you're representing, and you are just a canvas, they will make you into the thing they need you to be.

I'm going to build an empire. I'm always writing for someone else. I want to be someone who has her fingerprints all over the pop charts.

Whenever I've done jobs, whether it's an acting job or writing job, there's an aspect of it that feels like you help build your piece of it, and then you watch as someone takes it, and they finish building it.

I do feel like in filmmaking you are largely in control of the perception of you. If you want to be seen as the comedic person you've got to write a comedy and go after that.

Nokia's industry-leading intellectual property has the potential to create significant value for our licensees and our shareholders.

I think it's like the '60s - we're going to see another revolution in film where these new filmmakers stand up and take ownership of what film is and mould it into what they want.

I definitely want to record an album, direct a film and start my own religion.