Yorgos Lanthimos Quotes

Being in front of the camera, you never got to see the whole process from the conception of the script all the way through to the filming process.

Visual elements are, of course, the director's job.

I think you cannot make films without choosing everything.

Making a movie and not directing the little moments is like drinking a soda and leaving the little slurp puddle for someone else.

Visually, I'm always considering shots and composition quite a lot, and I love putting art into films, and I do a lot of the art.

I am eternally impressed and amazed by what directors do.

As a director, I start with the visual.

Movies are in a much longer production conversation before an actor is even involved. I always thought of actors as the last piece of the puzzle - so you're a tool.

When I make a live-action movie, it's a very physical process. It's like running a marathon.

Film work can be very interesting, but it also can be awfully boring because who creates the film? The actors? No. It is the director. It's his piece of work.

Ever since 'Star Wars,' there was a rash of how a movie was made. I remember that as a kid. I never really understood how movies were made until that movie, because it was such a technical accomplishment. Since then, you've seen more and more and more, for all different kinds of films, about what goes into the process.

There's some things that you learn as you're shooting, and as you're editing that are key, because when you start you don't have the brain that can finish it. You don't really know what it is, and that's the key job; figuring out what you actually have, not what you're dreaming of having.

I loved being behind the scenes and finding out how they make movies.

I was very glad later when I was directing that I wasn't in the hands of a cinematographer and hoping that he would do it well. I would know what he was doing, and we could discuss how that scene would look.

As I began making my feature films, it was a great adventure. It was about constructing something I saw in my head or I had designed on storyboards and capturing that on film.

Directing a film is a lot of work.

You could get in rehearsals, pre-production, anything that would actually contribute to the understanding of how a film gets made. I actually find those things increase people's interest in a movie and like that better than worrying about showing the tricks behind the curtain.

I love directing more than anything in the world, and I love being in the editing room. I love cutting. When I'm shooting, I cut it in my head anyway. That's not to say that it always turns out that way, but you have a sense when you're composing a sequence or a scene how you want it to look anyway.

When you're on a set it can be very tedious and slow. It's just not as big as when you see it on film.

When you're making a film, you have an obligation to fill the frame with life.

Making movies is about creating illusions, and they can be subtle illusions, but it's all a cumulative effect as you make these little tweaks. It kinda adds up to something, hopefully.

I never watch the dailies. What I usually do is have a look at the rough or final cut, and I just get something from the story. Sometimes I start composing even before the director has shot anything. The dailies don't help me at all.

I made shorts films, learning the dos and don'ts. Most importantly, I've been editing all these short films. Nothing can teach you filmmaking like editing can.

I don't think you can be a great director without knowing a lot about editing.

Half of 'Mudbound' were shots I stole in between other scenes.