Samuel L. Jackson Quotes

Movies are details. Movies are billions of details that come into a certain moment. So with all the years and months and weeks and days and minutes of preparation, then finally you're shooting and it all comes down to these moments when you're shooting, which is sort of insane when you think about it. The details make a difference.

I don't think I've succeeded in making any really good films. There are moments, scenes, whole movements that sing. It has all added up to a cinema of sorts, even though I'm still learning my art.

Actors become actors because they loved entertaining their family by putting on the lampshade and dancing around as a kid, ... That's not my personality. For me, the fun part of making movies is seeing it as a director sees it. I like the architecture of movies. I like knowing what's coming and working to set that up.

When I'm making a movie, it's making use of my creative juices, and it fills me up with what really is - I think my purpose here is to tell stories.

If I have an idea I want to put in a movie, I know what camera will make that look best, and I have ideas for future projects and stuff I'd like to build for those. I think it's just part of how I work, though.

The art of making a film and its content are far more interesting to me than the result or impact.

I always say writing is like dreaming, shooting is like living, and editing is like murder, because you take all these gifts that actors give you, and you cut them.

I would definitely like to direct at some point. I've been very fortunate to work with some amazing talent and study them. But when the right time and the right story arrives, and I feel like I'm compelled to tell it, then I'll do that.

I love directing because you get to see your film come to life. You get to work with the actors. There's something magical about each piece of it.

I continually marvel at people who can make films that reach five hundred million people. How do you do that? Everybody's different - I don't know how that works.

Films are not mathematics - that's the first thing you need to understand. At least, that's how I feel. They are not words on paper. Films are made with people, with teams and with individual bundles of creativity coming together to fulfill the vision of an individual who is the director of the film.

When the director has a vision for a piece that I've never heard before, and they can back that up with visuals, and they talk a good game, I get really interested in the world that they're trying to create.

When you make a movie, you can only make the movie that you would want to see.

When you're actually making the film, you're constantly battling to maintain its integrity.

Although filmmaking is collaborative and involves trust, ultimately it is the director who holds the whole picture together in their head.

I have always believed that when a film is being made, it has to be the director's vision.

Making a movie is, for me, like painting. I just enjoy the care that goes into every brushstroke and the choice of every color. I enjoy the intensity of it.

I think that there's no doubt that to work in film is a bit more of a creative journey. It's not that I don't put the same time or heart into something that's on television.

Often people going into directing want to learn as much as they possibly can about "technique." And I say the hell with that.

The best thing about making films is the time spent making them. When I see works that I've made, I always think what a great time I had making them. The films remind me of that time.

I would love to start directing. I just hope to find the right thing and, if I was afforded the opportunity, I think it would be something great. It would be really hard, but I think it would be a great privilege.

I'm proud of the way I rearrange and put things together, like a chef who makes a great meal, or a filmmaker who puts together a story - it's casting, editing, cinematography.

I'm working on a project called Lemons, produced by Killer Films. The director has a great perspective on character development.

Filmmaking is a creative process so there is a lot of collaboration that happens on set between an actor and director, but at the end of the day, we're there to actualize the director's vision and things happen organically.

I'm all about working with directors that are doing different techniques and I think everyone has their way of getting it to the place that they think is best.