Jonathan Mostow Quotes

I think you should make movies as long as the story dictates.

As a director, you have to go in with a really, really, really clear picture of what you want.

I like to produce my own movies.

I just don't see where I could possibly fit in directing a feature.

Movie making is not like other art forms, like painting, or writing a novel, because that can be digested or interpreted... It takes two years to make each one of these, and it's always judged on money.

What's important in the filmmaking process has stayed the same. Keep it small, keep it personal, keep it authentic, work with people you like and trust. That process is much longer than the filmmaking process. The development process is a long one, so try and say something of importance.

When you make your first film, there is a hell of a lot to think about, and you've got to have a gut understanding of your material.

After directing movies, I respect any director in this world, because making a movie as a director is tons and tons of work.

I grew up on film sets but more around the process of making films. I saw a lot of the editing process and the writing process, which takes years. That really affected me growing up, that side of it.

Writer/directors are, for me, the most inspiring people to work for because they are the person on set that knows the answer to all the questions. They have the most invested in the project because they've been with it from conception.

I've been doing a bit of screenwriting and producing, and even a bit of directing.

I've learned that I really want to shoot short films on a short schedule. There can be very good films that run 110 minutes, but 90 minutes is beautiful.

As for direction, I definitely do not have the patience or the resilience to make a film. Directing a film is very, very hard.

I think that people should really understand what it takes to make a film.

I'm gonna direct, like, a real movie. At least an hour and some change.

I started my production house with the idea of directing one day.

When you're a filmmaker or a scriptwriter, you face a lot of challenges while making a film. And when you produce it, you have to put in an extra effort.

I really wish it would only take two hours to make a two-hour movie.

Making movies is really hard. It's a very complex process, with many, many variables.

I make movies on the subjects that excite me.

I really enjoy being behind the camera. A ton of projects I've done that are my most favorite projects would be where I actually executive produce and I'm behind the camera.

I was never interested in being powerful or famous. But once I got to film school and learned about movies, I just fell in love with it. I didn't care what kind of movies I made.

Making a movie like 'Felony' is hard work because you're really putting your own ideas on the screen. You can't hide behind some other person's script; you're saying, 'This is my brain, and I want you to know what I think'.'

The hardest thing for me about making movies, and that included 'M*A*S*H' because it was made like a movie, was starting and stopping.

The reason I wanted to start directing is that as an actor I felt I came into a job late. There's a whole team of people who have been working on it for months before you start. You have this really intense period of filming and then you leave it, knowing that the director will work on it for another few months.