Idina Menzel Quotes

I think I'm always trying to subvert conventions, and sometimes it's more successful than others.

The thing about creativity is, people are going to laugh at it. Get over it.

An artist should be taking risks. That's the whole idea of being an artist.

Independent films are where you really get to cut your teeth and have some fun and do the things that mainstream Hollywood doesn't want to do.

I think you don't do work for controversy alone, and whenever you do new work which people don't understand and they say it is done to create controversy.

There was always that thing with 'Johnny' - I always saw myself as his writer and PR. But when he got out there, I had no control. His whole thing was going off on those flights of fancy. Going, 'Let's see what we can possibly do that hasn't been done before up here.' And when it works, it's lovely; it's a great night.

What I do as a director is really create a safe environment that everyone can feel very comfortable in and experiment within so that they don't hold back anything. You never ever want someone to go, 'Oh I shouldn't have done that.' There isn't anything you shouldn't try. If it's terrible, who cares?

As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all we must dare to fail.

It dawned on me that comics were not an intrinsically limited medium. There was a tremendous amount of things you could do in comics that you couldn't do in other art forms - but no one was doing it. I figured if I'd make a try at it, I'd at least be a footnote in history.

I began taking liberties a long time ago; now it is standard practice for most directors to ignore the rules.

I want to do something that is unique, that has its own legs. But it's very hard because if you start veering off, if you get too crazy, then people won't know what to make of it. I want to please my audience, too. I want people to like what I do.

And I hate to see artists who are real safe. I love to see artists swing for the fences sometimes.

For the creative players, sometimes it is better that they are not under pressure.

The trouble is that in south cinema, after you become successful at the box office, market realities dictate your choice of films, and it becomes difficult to experiment.

Photographers should follow their own judgment, and not the fads and dictates of others. Photography is still a very new medium and everything is allowed and everything should be tried and dared... Photography has no rules. It is not a sport. It is the result which counts, no matter how it was achieved.

Do not be precious about your music within your own world. Try everything you want to try; just because it exists doesn't mean it's done.

So long as it doesn't get to the point where you don't remember whose opera you're listening to, I'm willing to experiment.

How can you go out on a limb if you do not know your own tree? No art ever came out of not risking your neck. And risk--experiment--is a considerable part of the joy of doing.

There can't be art without risk. It's like saying No Sex, and then expecting there to be children.

Your first film is always your best film, in a way. There's something about your first film that you never ever get back to, but you should always try. It's that slight sense of not knowing what you're doing, because the technical skills you learn - especially if you have a film that works, that has some kind of success - are beguiling. The temptation is to use them again, and they're not necessarily good storytelling techniques.

I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can give yourself the permission to try and see things differently or create something original, even though you probably won't make anything original for a really long time.

The creator gives no heed to the critic unless he becomes a barren inventor.

As an artist, comfort can be your worst enemy.

Don't be afraid to be outrageous; the critics will shoot you down anyway.