Michael Lehmann Quotes

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 you produce and direct, your movies are different to you. They're not just something you act in.

I'm always making movies for my audiences, but I'm not trying to meet their expectations.

I don't make movies for the same reason that a lot of people do. I make films because I need to see them exist in a very specific way.

When you direct a movie, you're basically looking at a story, the way you want to look at it. You bring that director's vision, and I'm totally open for that.

The director is the only person who knows what the film is about.

I just want to make good films on my own wherever I can.

I wanted to make a film as an artist, and it's going to have to find an audience, you know. I don't know how big the audience will be.

I make movies I want to see.

Directing is creating a whole. You're able to combine different elements and create a film that is unique and true to your vision.

The best films come about through experimentation.

You have to make films you feel strongly about. And then hope you can find the audience.

Anyone who thinks Peter Jackson would fall for market forces around him rather than artistic integrity doesn't know the guy or the body of his work.

All these directors, and I would include the Coen brothers and Quentin, have a very unique vision of what they want. They listen to ideas and make people feel like everyone is making the film.

I honestly never wanted to direct. It was only when I started to work on 'Alexander the Great' that I realized I had to direct. I saw something so specifically in my mind, I could not leave it to someone else.

Directing is really exciting. In the end, it's more fun to be the painter than the paint.

I want to write and direct and kind of do my own thing.

The kind of work I do and the films I believe in, I had to take charge of making that kind of cinema.

It doesn't really matter what someone's hair looks like or if the sound is perfect. Every director who's made a couple of movies knows that, because you can replace the sound. Or, like, any one shot is not that important, because they all add up together.

I always say that I'm a filmmaker, not a factory. I don't have to churn out films every six months.

All my films are statements, especially when I write them.

It is difficult to make movies on your own terms and also to make a film and convince somebody to have faith in it.

Persistence is half the battle. That's what I love about independent movies. They don't have to be made. There's no studio with an agenda to set up a franchise like 'Batman' or to make a vehicle for a celebrity actor. My films are made because I love the process.

When you direct is the only time you get to have the world exactly how you want it. My movies are very close to what I set out to do. And I'm super-opinionated about what I do and don't like.

The thing is, as a film director, you're essentially alone: You have to tell a story primarily through pictures, and only you know the film you see in your head.