Robert Altman Quotes

All Shondaland shows have a level of intelligence, a level of humor, a level of pathos and human connection.

I love Nicole Holofcener's films for their constant duality of humor and emotion and their focus on very real, if flawed, dynamics between funny people.

I've been inspired for a long time by Nicole Holofcener. I admire her greatly as an auteur, examining the human condition in a funny, growing, spirited, honestly dark and human way.

I like a drama. And I think that's the basis of good films, or good plays, is to have a nice drama.

As a writer, I have to show complexities. Through my writings, I hope to bring out people in different situations and not just one-dimensional beings.

A lot of more modern films seem to just be out for violence or sex or what have you, without relating it to what's going within human beings. But every now and then one comes along that does that, and it's a joy.

Even the crudest, most derivative novel is an expression of the author's hopes and fears and ideas about good and evil.

I don't really approach stories to make them different from other stuff I've seen, I just try to get into the character, into his or her head. Try to make it as funny, as scary or as wild as I can so that I really like it.

Romcoms are challenging, but I'm hungry for drama.

I love gritty drama. I'm passionate about films and drama that make you think - hard-hitting, gravelly characters.

I prefer drama; I think character-driven drama is my favorite kind of stuff to go watch, and I like being challenged by that kind of stuff in that way.

The function of the novel is the exploration of the human condition. Really, that's what it's all about.

I think I'm interested in these kinds of character dramas, psychological dramas, domestic dramas, whatever you want to call them - comedy dramas.

You can channel a lot within a comic framework, and I think 'The Guard' had a lot going on outside of the comedy, which is satisfying.

It's a required part of your film history to know who Woody is. His movies are so wonderful, and not just funny but so insightful about human behavior.

I think films about men are often about characters who don't want to express their feelings. You're supposed to kind of admire them for not expressing their feelings. And I feel that's a bit dull. Women's stories often have stronger emotional content, which I enjoy doing. What I really love doing is mixing that with humor.

Dialogue is what a character's willing to share and reveal to another character, and the 90% they aren't willing to share is what I do for a living.

I think sometimes people can get lost in the bigger special effects, science fiction, robot stuff, and those are cool and fun to watch, too, but I think it's so important to sometimes step back and watch something that's about life and human interaction.

I think really good drama comes down to real human emotion. That's what makes us all tick, and that's what I've always been drawn to when it comes to scripts is real human emotion and dealing with that.

I have always been a fan of Mahesh Manjrekar's work. I like the way he tells his stories. He manages to focus on aspects of human beings and of society, which we don't often see in cinema.

Badlapur' is a drama, a character-driven story. It is not so much about plot.

I don't think that 'No Man's Land' is a comedy. I think that it's a serious film with a good sense of humour.

Every great movie is about the people, even if it's a great popular success like 'Gone With the Wind.' It's really not about the Civil War. It's about Scarlett and Rhett. That's who you go to see. You're not going to root for the North or pull for the South, or, you know, it's the people you remember.

The hardest thing for me to do, and the best thing I've done and learned as an actor is to sacrifice being funny in certain circumstances in order to do something that makes sense for the story or the character, or emotionally.

I'm more interested in plot than theme, but I hope my values find their way into my stories: kindness, sympathy, effort, and humor!