Jason Reitman Quotes

I knew that I'd end up directing because I'm so hands-on with my films.

There's no point in it unless it's a story that you really want to tell. It's a nebulous job. Unless you're doing it well, you're not doing anything. And there are a few of those. It's perfectly possible to be a passenger on a film set because if somebody else has written it, you can make nothing of that role and that's exactly what bad directors do.

I thought of myself as part of the general filmmaking effort. And as my scope broadened, I began to think about directing. I wanted to be the guy who got to say whether the dress is red or blue.

I like directing much better. It's more fun, that's all there is to it. It's essentially the same job, which is storytelling, but you have more control over the way you want to tell the story. It's a high. I love it.

I guess I probably see myself as a director. If I had to choose, I think that that's the aspect of the process that I'm most excited by.

Most screenplays depend primarily on the vision of a director.

I think I'm drawn to films more as a director with a directorial mind even as an actor. I make movies to make the films, not to act.

I think every movie is its own little world, and a director certainly sets the tone.

Going to directing wasn't a reaction away from acting as much as it was a move towards something I always wanted to do. Ever since I was a kid, I was interested in the camera and how it worked and why one director would place it in this part of the room and then another would place it in that part of the room.

I want to act for the rest of my life - and I also want to pursue directing. Watching Bill Condon direct 'Twilight' kind of made me think, 'OK yeah, I really want to do this now.' This idea that you can make an image in your head and be in full control of how it comes out - I thought that was really cool.

Films are a director's medium. We're all stemming from the director.

We filmmakers are control freaks. For us, it's about bending the elements of a story into existence.

There's a heresy which is perpetuated by film school that to be a great director you have to write your own stuff.

Directors are the fulcrum of the movie. They guide us well, not merely rein actors in. Whenever we stray, they bring us back on track.

I don't think film is the writer's medium, and so I was interested to see what a director would do with it.

I never think of myself as a celebrity - or even an actor, actually. I think of myself as a writer-director.

Everyone that I meet always wants me to direct, but whenever I think of directing, I think of aligning shots. I'd definitely have to write and direct something. But I don't know if I could.

If someone were to hire me for a film they'd be getting a certain kind of package, that's for sure, a certain set of tools. But I would listen to the director.

A director can come from anywhere, but having a story background, if you have nothing else, is probably a good thing to have because it's really the one tool you need.

I would love to be able to get behind the camera and direct actors. I think that would be a lot of fun.

The work of a director can be summed up in two very simple words. Why and How.

Insofar as I'm good at directing, it's because I've become a writer.

I think directing is a huge responsibility and it's not something where you can just be like, "Yeah, sure, I'll give it a go!" I think it's something you really need to focus on, and put a lot of effort and attention into.

You have to have the essential pleasure of making a movie. It's such a huge factor and adventure for a director because you really are the leader and the captain.

I didn't want to be a director for hire. It really just took me a long time to learn how to direct and to feel up to the job.