Michael Haneke Quotes

Making a film, every film, is a big gamble, large or small. The more that you do it, the more you're aware of that.

To make great movies, there is an element of risk. You have to say, 'Well, I am going to make this film, and it is not really a sure thing.'

When we were filming 'The Darkest Hour,' we didn't even know what the aliens were going to look like, we didn't even have a graphic reference. So it was definitely a big challenge to sell those kind of extreme moments when you're just generating them from your own imagination.

When I started making movies, I was pretty young, and at the time I felt like there needed to be more confrontation in cinema - or I needed to make something more disruptive - so in the beginning, those movies were me wanting to play with the rules.

The more educated you get, the better shot you have to get it right, but if you're really trying something different, it's a challenge every time.

I never want to repeat the same thing. I always want it to be different from what I've done, and to be not quite sure whether or not I can pull it off, until I hopefully do.

Every time that I'm challenged with a film I think that I haven't learned anything, that every film is different and that every thing that I have learned is useless in this new adventure.

I really do enjoy making movies and I try to test myself on occasion with some different stuff.

Once you've started a film you don't become a wet noodle. You must have that conflictual interface because you don't know, and they don't know. It's through conflict that you come out with something that might be different, better than either of you thought to begin with.

Instead of standing on the shore and proving to ourselves that the ocean cannot carry us, let us venture on its waters just to see.

The way I go about making a movie... even the ones that are interview-driven, I go into them not knowing what's going to happen, and feeling my way through.

I think quite often, being on the new set is not what you expect. The most serious film can be the most fun. The one that's supposed to be fun can be the most serious. I don't think there are any hard-and-fast rules. I just think it really depends on your director and what the general vibe is.

I enjoy directing. I don't know whether it's improving or not, but it's certainly evolving in different directions.

If I knew what the picture was going to be like I wouldn’t make it. It was almost like it was made already – the challenge is more about trying to make what you can’t think of.

Life seemed even more of a guessing game than usual.

I always felt that if you're not trying something different each time out of the gate, you're being safe, and you don't ever want to find that place of safety. I like that, each time, before I even go in front of the cameras, the studio's reaction will be fear.

I'm very conscious of the idea of trying to each time present something that I haven't presented before. It's a challenge to me to find something new, to find something innovative, but it's also very exciting.

When you're doing a movie, you're in a vacuum, just going, "Well, that's done. Let's see what happens."

What is life, but one long risk?

If you're not having doubt, you're not pushing the boundaries far enough.

Being able to just stick to our instincts and honor the [Hunger Games] books and find a way to stay the course of trying to make the best possible decisions that you would make creatively on any movie, without having your head turned too much by all of the interest, has been a great challenge. It's the best challenge you could ask for, but that was a big challenge.

I didn't give any instruction to the video, because it was a new medium. I didn't know what to tell him; it was so young. I did the piece and immediately after the piece, I wanted to see the material.

Making art is nothing but risk, always. If it's not risk, it's no good.

What I've never wanted to do was allow myself to be put in a box, so I've tried to do a lot of different things so this is a step in trying to do something different so we'll see how it goes. I'm under no illusions that this is slam-dunk. I did the best I could and that's all I can rely on.

Filmmaking is exploring. Why would I want to make a film about something I already understand?