Jason Reitman Quotes

I always wanted to be a doctor and go to art school, but I thought I'd regret it if I didn't act.

I mean, I would have loved to have kept on being a big television star. If that's the way things would have broke, I would have loved to have done that. I just didn't really want to continue and be someone who took whatever was offered.

I've said no to shows that have been on the air for six years because they weren't what I wanted to do.

There's a few movies I wanted to do, and I didn't get to do them partly because they wanted me to be part of the horse and pony show, getting the money, and I'm just not doing that. There's a few movies that people wanted me to do, but they were too safe.

If you're fortunate enough, you get to a position where you can be a little pickier about your roles.

When I did make the decision to focus on acting, I think my mother was just relieved for me that I had finally started to focus.

Sometimes I wonder why I'm not working at McDonald's and how come I have the life I have. I don't know. But I'm happy that I have these choices. That's kinda sappy, huh? But whatever, acting beats pumping gas.

There were times when I wondered if I was doing the right thing, studying when I could have been going to auditions.

I always appreciate people's opinions, but sometimes I have to take a step back and remember why I'm writing and what I want to do with it. Shutting out the voices is difficult but it's been good for me.

If it was really successful, it was a life calling, a career I was excited about doing, so I didn't think the overall risk was anywhere near as high as what the reward was.

Well, I made an announcement to my family at 8 that I wanted to be an actor, and I focused like a laser beam on it. I never had a fallback plan.

I was watching TV at age 9 or 10, and my mom said that I came from the front room and I told her that I want to act. And she said if you want to do this at 18, then you can. It was a very simple story, yet, I do not even remember the conversation that I had with my mother. Until she reminded me of the story many years later.

If I hadn't had a childhood career, I probably would've signed a contract with the first person I came across.

I had managers approaching me in high school asking me if I wanted to act professionally, but to me, having to miss school to do that meant missing time with my friends, which was completely unacceptable.

I only went a year to high school. I should have been in high school, but I was in a band, and when you're successful doing that - well, you aren't too likely to go back.

I wanted to be a mechanic. When I was 14 I wanted to quit school and go work on my car. But my dad said Son, you shouldn't do that. You should stay in school until your education is finished, and when you're done, don't make your hobby your job.

I would have happily done 'Bourne Legacy,' but a lot of decisions are made for you.

You earn very little money on independent films and I'm the provider for my home, so I do have to think of taking one for the accountant time and again and that means studio pictures.

I've had wonderfully lucrative offers to do another network series. I could do that again and have a very luscious retirement.

I would hear stories about Steve Jobs and feel like he was at 100 percent exactly what he wanted to do, but I'm sure even a Steve Jobs has compromised. Even a Rick Owens has compromised. You know, even a Kanye West has compromised. Sometimes you don't even know when you're being compromised till after the fact, and that's what you regret.

I have to do what I have to do, and you have to go where the opportunities are.

I don't have regrets. I've never sat here and thought, 'Gee, if only I'd done 'The Man Who Came to Dinner' on Broadway, I would have been happier.'

Early on, you don't have the luxury of a lot of choices. Sometimes you're forced to do things that will advance your career and not necessarily things that fulfill you artistically, but I've been fortunate to do a lot of both.

To pay attention to flattery or criticism is a waste of time for artists.

I had to decide between doing 'Issaq' and continuing school and I chose 'Issaq.'