Max Joseph Quotes

Movies, to a large extent, stand or fall on the strength of their scripts. But a documentary is a collection of found objects: fragments you've collected, accidents of interview and happenstance, pieces of stock footage that surface in the course of six to nine months of research and production.

I would love to direct a documentary film if any good subject comes my way.

Every stage of filmmaking's important while you're doing it, so I spend most of my time figuring out how to tell the story. I have all these stories and ideas, but it's how to tell the story.

My first narrative films developed out of a documentary process - finding someone who was willing to be filmed, watching, listening, taking copious notes and many hours of video footage.

I definitely in filmmaking more and more find writing and directing a means to harvest material for editing. It's all about editing.

As a director, you try to find what is creative.

I never know going in if I've even got a movie to make. Once you start making a film, you hope there's going to be enough material! My job as a director is always to push for more.

I want to venture into film more, and I think that a nice way to transition into doing that would be a documentary. I think it would be interesting to find one person that really fascinated me or maybe a band and travel with them, but I don't think I could do it like I used to do it.

Film-makers must decide what story to tell and how to tell it.

When you're making a television show, it's about the story and arc of the show rather than any particular episode or director.

To make films, it always begins with two words: what and how. First of all, you have to find a story, or what are you going to tell? And you have to find a way to tell it visually.

I always thought the writing process for movies and TV shows was just a blueprint. The making of it was the thing.

Whatever storytelling muscles you've developed as a documentary filmmaker will be extremely helpful as a narrative filmmaker.

Because I found myself telling the story of his family to people without the visual aids that I was able to employ by filming them eventually. But I very much knew exactly what I was going to do.

I haven't thought about getting into production. I'm interested in the creative aspect of storytelling.

When I'm making a film, I'm the audience.

I think I might want to get into development, as in developing my own sort of piece, whether it be for the stage or the big screen or for television.

I'm a filmmaker, so I always think: When is the breaking point? Sometimes you've got to go beyond the breaking point, and then you catch it. When is long enough? It's one of those things you have to look at, walk away, and go home and find out what it is.

When I go into making a movie, personally, I don't try to bring other pieces of movies with me.

I enjoy looking at words on paper and visualizing how to make them come to life. As a director, the creative process is really amazing.

Simple stories... emerge as lovely films or television pieces.

Everybody is always trying to make the best movie they can. It's a process.

I give as much as I can, and it's up to someone else to turn it into a movie. Good luck to you!

I'm a documentary filmmaker by training. You got to start with the real people and the real place.

A film is different than a script. The text of the script is what it is.