Danny Boyle Quotes

In older science fiction stories, they had to rely on storytelling as opposed to spectacle. The old run of the 'Twilight Zone,' the star was the writing and the storytelling, and the characters and the twists and the cleverness in the setup and payoff and execution.

It was unpredictable, good storytelling that brought you back each week.

As a storyteller, when you're writing a movie and when you're directing, you want to keep people entertained. That's the whole point, right? It has to be entertaining.

At the premieres, I always watch the audience. If a child asks to go to the bathroom, I know I've failed.

If you create a good story that has a lot of story value... I think audiences like that. It's why they stick with the same TV show over and over.

There's this thing in TV that I find hysterical where the writers and creators will ask us if you want to know what happens to your character or if you want to experience it episode by episode. In the theatre, we always know the ending; we always know where the character is going.

An action movie should, like any other, follow the narrative traditions of literature. That means there should be subtlety, a slow build and a gradual bringing together of all the separate threads of the plot. To see all of it coming together slowly is very rewarding for the audience.

There's a crazy, false notion that audiences are not patient or will not watch a story, that you have to put in a scare every ten minutes. But I always thought that was insane.

I think with any movie, the more you know, it loses some of its power.

From my own internal fanboy perspective, there's nothing that I hate more than seeing a three minute trailer for a movie where I feel like it's shown me the entire movie.

The success of the storytellers - we're only as good as what we can withhold from the audience. Aspects of surprise and letting things play out for the audience - it's so much a part of their enjoyment. It's one of the great things about working in the movies and being a great storyteller.

People love storylines. They love them because at some point, the talent will get people emotionally invested.

One of my favorite Tarantino films is 'Jackie Brown,' and 'Jackie Brown' does it so well, where I'm watching the back half of that movie, and I don't know which side Jackie Brown is playing. I think it's really ingenious for Tarantino to keep us in the dark on that.

Hollywood thrillers give away almost 70 percent of the story in promos but still the film remains interesting. In India we do a lot of cuts and put in songs in promos to create an impact.

Personally, as a filmmaker, I think you should prepare your audience as to what they can expect.

When I listen to a basic thought, I try to visualise the cinema in it. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes boyish, sometimes amateurish. It is a trial and error method. But the bottom line is that I want to entertain the audience.

I think the audience will be pleasantly surprised to see what I have attempted with 'Dolly Ki Doli.' I am confident that this movie will be accepted.

Dialogues and emotion based movies don't always work.

My job is not to make you happy. As a filmmaker and as an actor, my job is not to make you feel happy. If you're used to those kind of films, don't come and watch my films.

We go to movies to be taken away to another place, to be dazzled, to dream, to hopefully be filled with wonder. The design of the world and the look of the film is all in service of trying to create that feeling of wonder in the audience.

What I have learned from working on those great shows is what is the DNA that makes them so deeply involving and interesting for an audience over a long period of time. So much has to do with character, complexity, and sophistication.

There is no safe zone now: whether it's commercial or experimental films, the audience wants content. Otherwise, they reject the film.

A film sells feelings.

I try to mix the characters up and not be second guessed by the audience.

I have to make sure, when you start seeing a film, you are going to see it until the end. I have to, of course, entertain you a little bit. The real question is how far do I go?