Neil Jordan Quotes

You can't have cinema by committee if you're trying to do it well.

When I came out to Hollywood, I discovered the perfect place for my creative madness - Cannon Pictures.

I'm not prejudiced about what type of movies I'm in, what form they take or whether they're studio or independent. I just want to make films that are going to be good.

When it comes to turning out movies, I'm for Hollywood.

Honestly, when you're making a movie, you never say, 'Oh, this one's going to suck and go straight to video.' When you're in it, you think you're doing the best work you can do. You're surrounded by people who are working hard. Everybody's hopeful.

With directing, you always have three or four things constantly on the go. It's a tough industry and a tough time, particularly if you're doing things a little outside the box or independent features.

I think what Hollywood has done for so long, is make movies for themselves.

See, a painting is much cheaper than making a film. And photography is, you know, way cheap. So if I get an idea for a film, there are many ways to get it together and go realise that film. There's really nothing to be afraid of.

I don't want to make movies for kids, and I don't want to make movies for adults either.

I'm an actor first and foremost. My producing credentials are just to say, 'Yeah, I love this story and now let's bring the people, the ensemble together,' and I get out of the way. I have no desire to check on schedules and shooting schedules and money and stuff like that.

Not all of our movies work, but we take shots, and we're able to do that because we really stick to low budgets.

I think that, again, filmmaking is the director's medium in the end, and the best thing a producer can do is stay out of the way and support the director one hundred percent.

I think of all my movies as home movies! It's just that some are more expensive than others.

In India, film sets are like a family atmosphere.

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 I did 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', I had the idea on Monday and the following Tuesday it was in budget at Paramount. I couldn't walk.

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

I'm trying to work only with established, respected directors. I took a lot of bad scripts and worked for a lot of lazy directors, and it was discouraging to go to the screenings and see that the director had added nothing, the editor had added nothing, there was nothing to see.

A great movie evolves when everybody has the same vision in their heads.

If I start thinking, 'Is this movie going to open? Is this movie going to do well?' I'm not focusing on the job. The job is to make a good movie.

Anyone who has an imagination can write a book - it's cheap to do - but movies are big money.

Filmmaking is a huge privilege; it's not brain surgery. It's art, and art is supposed to be an enjoyable process, and it is an enjoyable experience for me.

Hollywood is a special place; a place filled with creative geniuses - actors, screenwriters, directors, sound engineers, computer graphics specialists, lighting experts and so on. Working together, great art happens. But in the end, all artists depend on diverse audiences who can enjoy, be inspired by and support their work.

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.

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