Amy Ryan Quotes

Fifty-percent of the director's job honestly is casting the movie well.

There's no shame in somebody who doesn't necessarily do that job knowing a little bit more in that instance than you might know about your own job, you know, and I think that is where movies are such a collaborative art form.

I've always appreciated directors but I have a newfound appreciation for them and producers and everyone who does what they do that actors don't see. When you have one job, that's all you care about, that's all you're supposed to focus on. But focusing on so many different things, I was introduced to how hard everyone else works too.

The actor shouldn't edit themselves or be anxious. And the actors that I admire are always the ones who are inventive and their imaginative life in free-willing. It's a director's job to go, "No here, don't do that, go there."

The normal routine is always the same thing whether it's on a new movie or a new job - there's always a process of getting to know one another. I think part of what makes movies special is that it is a relatively intimate environment and it's pretty short-lived - you get to know one another very quickly.

I think great directors really respect their actors and vice versa. That mutual respect makes the job fun instead of anything but.

If a director can find the exact combination between the written word as a guideline and improvisational input from his actors, I think that's where you'll find the most successful work being done.

I've always had good relationships with directors. I'm one of those people where, if there's a good idea coming from the sound guy, I'll take it. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort, whether it's a first-time director or it's Mike Nichols. I think that's the standard that the great ones set.

I think directing and writing are very different jobs. Obviously, directing is a more social and managerial job. The other thing about directing is that it's a very, very pragmatic job, and writing isn't.

I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to work with good directors and for me it's not really a plan each time I'm on a set with one of them; I think about what I can learn from them because I'm very aware that my filmmaking skills are very modest.

I think the writer's job is to paint the gray because no life is clearly defined.

As soon as something becomes art I think you get over the fear

I think I'm a better director than I ever was an actor. I'd love to go back to acting, but nobody seems to want me.

I'm sure there are directors who don't like to work with actors and don't know how to be sensitive to actors.

I think of a writer as a river: you reflect what passes before you.

A story, to me, has a particular sprite, like the angel of the spirit of that story - and it's my job to attend to what it wants to do.

Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the Dionysian ecstasy which carries away all.

I've worked with a lot of great directors and often times they solicit your ideas.

Over the long haul I'd say that most directors I've worked with have been pretty sensitive to the quality of the interpreted scenes.

It's impossible to put your finger on what that is exactly other than protecting the environment that the actors get to find the scenes and build the scenes and invest in them. I think that's key and that's what I've learned from all the great directors I've worked with.

I think television is doing a better job than films in terms of representing people, but television is still not diverse.

I thought that was a pretty stupid argument, really, because it's the final product that matters. The look of the film, however it's done, is still the cinematographer's vision in my mind. People said the same when color film came in, didn't they? The world evolves, and image-making evolves.

I love Brooke Shields. She's developed into a wonderful actress and a wonderful person. We were all babies then in Brenda Starr. That's why when people say, "What did you think of that film?" I can't do what people do and say, "I hated it." I can't speak ill of a film, because it's so hard to make a film. Everybody thinks we're sitting by a pool peeling grapes, and this is not the case. It's hard. It's hard to do this stuff - and getting harder!

Every director is different and they all have different styles. I've worked with directors who were very specific and they gave a lot of direction. The one thing about Michael [Haneke]that I think is interesting is that he really has a reason for everything he's asking you. If you challenge it, he is open for discussion but he has a clear idea of what he wants with reasons why.