R. J. Cutler Quotes

It wasn't until 2013 that I even started working in film. It was always something I wanted to do from six, but I didn't know how to get there other than working really hard and going to New York and doing theater like I saw on the bios of some of my favorite actors.

Directors tend to be more underrated than overrated because it's a quiet job and people don't really understand it.

If you're an actor from New York, and you're Italian-American, you grow up hoping Marty Scorsese knows your name at some point before you die.

I want to work with great directors. I've picked films based on the script or the character and seen them collapse because the directors were not strong visionaries.

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.

If one lazily thinks of what a fashion designer might do if he's going to conquer cinema next, it would be taking the opportunity to display his fashion sensibilities.

To be honest, I have never thought about getting into direction.

I left my career in Hollywood, moved back to New York, and went to Lee Strasberg and studied with him for the rest of his life.

My father was a director and producer, so when I was a little kid, he would take me to movies and show me what's good and what's not good and why, and often that would take me to a conversation about directing.

I love Maira Kalman. She's an amazing illustrator and writer. I've loved her since I was in college, but when I moved to New York and experienced the same city she was drawing and writing about, I developed a whole new appreciation. Her work made me observe everything so much deeper and more joyfully.

I dreamed of one day starring in a film. I've done that twice. Denzel Washington has done it countless times, so I still got some work to do.

John Boorman was the best director I've ever had.

When I moved to L.A. and had my first meeting with my agents, they asked me what I wanted for my career. And I didn't speak English at the time, but I did say, 'I wanna be Ryan Gosling as a woman.' So I got very excited to play opposite him.

Priyadarshan has directed over 84 films and more than 150 ad films. With every film, he is growing. He knows his job well; he is thorough. His way of making a film and song or choreographing a scene is entirely different from other directors. He knows how to use an actor's talent and how to handle an actor.

There are so many artists that have inspired me.

I would like to direct good actors, and there are good actors who are stars.

As a director, you see something in someone; you know it's there, you just got to go get it. You do that with any actor. That's your job.

I was like, 'I'm going to win Wimbledon!' I was crazy competitive, leg-slapping, all of that. But when I was 12, I saw 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape,' and it just opened my eyes to what movies can do and how they change us, and I was like, 'This is what I want to do. This is what I have to do.'

I want to be a director - and you need to get out there and do it, you can't wait 'til it comes to you... I'd give anything to be able to do what Ron Howard's done.

I did a lot of TV work for more than 30 years in New York and L.A., but I would get on the stage whenever I could.

I would love to work with Raju Hirani. I never thought I would have a wish-list of directors as such, but after seeing the consistency of his storylines and the human touch he gets in his film, I would love to work with him.

I want to do everything. I just want variety and longevity. I've never filmed a movie before, I want to do that. I want to come back to theater at some point. But I was in New York for like ten years, grinding. I'm ready to be in L.A. for a little while, and really experience film and television.

My dad discouraged me and my older sister watching too much TV. I don't want to portray them as crazy hippies, but I definitely feel like I was influenced by their creativity. But did I want to have an acting career myself? I didn't think so. I think my goal really was to direct. I really wanted to make stories in that capacity.

Moving to New York City and playing and listening with the wonderful music community that we have here has really been the guiding force of where I've arrived.

After three years in L.A., I began to dream of my glory days on the boards. But it's very difficult to make a living as a theater actor in New York, which is why I moved out here, and I always had an ambition to work in television. I am a great admirer of the format, and I think it's how we tell long stories.