Amy Irving Quotes

I'm a believer in trusting the director.

As a director, I get to have a much broader creative expression than as an actress.

I am very clear that when I work with a director what he or she says is the last word.

I think, at the end of the day, filmmaking is a team, but eventually there's got to be a captain.

And I maintain good relationships with all the studios so I've never been bullied into any cut, frankly.

I've worked with some really great directors, and I'm really choosy about them because they're telling the story at the end of the day.

Directors always used to be like the police to me - the enemy, the people to tell me what to do when I didn't want to do it. But I've lived with one for a while now and I guess I can put myself more in their position. You shouldn't be too sympathetic to them.

The more alone I am, the more focused I can get. I've written things with people, some of which I liked and others I think are total travesties. Collaborating is trying to make a piece of music and get someone else to come up with the ideas. What's the fun of that?

The only person who has artistic control is the director, and 'director' is how you spell God in Hollywood.

I'm always cautious about overstepping any boundaries. At the end of the day, it's a director's medium, and if they don't want to hear from me I just step back.

When I'm writing a movie, it's usually pretty close to what the movie is going to be, which is just a luxury of being a writer-director.

You get spoiled as a novelist because you get to be the director and the editor, and you play all the parts, but as a screenwriter, you are a bit down the ladder.

There's always been a struggle with filmmakers between art and industry, and you have to find a balance.

As an actress you can participate, you can be a co-author, help the director. But I always wanted to be able to make the big decisions.

'Super 8' was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun working with J.J. Abrams, who I think is a kid in a grown man's body, which is a great ingredient for any artist in our business. You have to be a kid at heart to be able to make believe, and his imagination is phenomenal.

'Senna' took five years, 'Amy' took three years. You try and say, 'Look, there's no deadline.' That's important. Just saying, 'We've got to make the film. And once the film's ready, it will be out there.'

Making music is like being the president: You can't tell people you're going to make health care free to get them behind you, but when you get that role, you don't do it.

Ultimately in the end, it's the director's choice.

He allowed us to choreograph the sex scenes.

I love the creative process, of getting to create your own show or your own movie, whatever it is you want to do, and have the resources to try and make that happen.

The great thing about movies is that they're collaborative. And the worst thing is that they're collaborative.

I am co-writing a screenplay now and I'm working on the rights to another story I want to do. So I plan to produce and direct. So, for me, I don't really feel that I am vulnerable to that sad baggage that comes with the business of filmmaking.

I'd like to be a director who gives my actors complete freedom while collaborating with them to find performances.

There is a director for a reason, because a director knows what's best for the movie. You just give your director as much as you can to work with, and hopefully, the decisions they make are going to be great.

When it comes to being in a band or going solo, one is collaborative, and one is not. But generally speaking, when going solo, I am the boss. People can contribute ideas, but I am the boss. When collaborating, you make compromises and look for a common ground.