Christopher Nolan Quotes

Mass-market movies have become about one thing. They kind of declare themselves right off the bat. . . . But when I go to see (a film), I want to be surprised. I want to see something I never expected. And when you get that, it should be celebrated.

I feel so much more comfortable when I'm working on material which makes other people scratch their heads and ask, 'You're going to make a musical out of that?'

When I brought 'Sex and the City' to HBO, I wanted to do something independent, where I could be like, 'I don't care if anybody watches this thing. Just let me do something that I would love to see.' Honestly, the success of 'Sex and the City' was what was most surprising to me. It was sort of like the anti-TV-show in my mind.

What might the world look like if we took some chances on the film-makers we might be afraid of?

The nice thing about movies is that you can sort of steer your audience toward seeing that there's discomfort, but there's also this sense of, 'Well, we'll tolerate this weirdness because maybe it'll be interesting.'

I feel like movies should stick to a genre and give the audience what they want, and then surprise them with the unexpected, and not just do the same thing you've always seen.

I always want to confuse people in terms of any kind of image and be unpredictable in any kind of movie I make.

If all you're doing is playing it safe - trying to make the same movie over and over again - that's when the audiences say, 'Oh, this is just a moneymaking machine.' But if it's genuinely in service to the art form, then the franchise concept is being used in a way that's exciting.

I look for projects with filmmakers who want to make things that give the audience a fresh experience.

I really appreciate Barry Jenkins as a filmmaker and the fact that he's always wanting to push the envelope and challenge perspective and make people uncomfortable in a way that doesn't seem like it's allowed anymore.

Most of the best writing, the most creative writing, the most interesting, the most out-of-the-box kind of stuff, is being done on cable, you know, and on the computer. I mean, whatever it is, Amazon or Netflix or something. Because they're just willing to take chances, you know, and there's a market for it.

There are so many rules about how you make a film and so many conventions that you can and can't do. I think people have forgotten that they are just rules that were invented for convenience - sometimes it is more convenient not to obey the rules.

Breaking expectations, even as an audience member, is something that I have enjoyed.

That's one of the things I really respect and admire about 'Doctor Who', is that they're always thinking out of the box with the characters they write and the actor they employ to portray them. They're always challenging the stereotypes and peoples' way of thinking.

I am definitely going to continue directing, but I am always going to try to explore new ways of making films. It really is possible to make films in different ways.

People are fed up of formula films, and we are getting new space to experiment.

I suppose that I'm excited by exciting theater. It takes a risk to show us the world in a new way.

'2.0' is an entirely new thing in Indian cinema, a movie to watch out for.

As an actor, I have always believed that content is the king, and I have always put my neck on the line to choose cinema that is off the beaten track.

I do feel if we underestimate the viewer, it's at our own peril.

I want to be part of movies which set benchmarks for a new kind of cinema.

Defying genre conventions is instantly a risky move.

'Purampokku' was one of those rare films made just like it was narrated.

I think that the attraction to camp is its irreverence, it's strange, it in no way reflects reality while using real characters.

What was so lovely about 'O.J.' and 'This Is Us' to a certain extent is that I got a chance to surprise people.