Barry Jenkins Quotes

'Ragtime' was the most magical show that I've done. I had an incredible experience with that, with the show itself, with the cast, with the audience. The response to that show - my God, it really blew me away, the reactions to that show, the way it changed their lives and altered their thinking, their own self-discovery.

I could care less about ever having a No. 1 single. I would just like to be able to play and have people who grow old with you, and you stay with them through their life. We've got a few sentences, maybe, to say what life's about. Hopefully, we'll get a chapter later.

My ultimate search has been for a muse.

Some films are pure entertainment of course, but what interests me and what I want to do are projects that really make you think, that move you, that will bring you something that will stay with you for a while. I think films are essential to the intellectual awakening of people.

The artist needs no religion beyond his work.

The great thing about a painter is that he or she lives on - I mean, Andrew Wyeth is more in his paintings than he was walking around.

I like making movies that people feel inspired by, a film that they will think about a few days after seeing it, and not entertainment that is completely forgettable the moment you walk out of the theater.

I want to be inspired, and I want to hopefully do work that moves people as well.

It's really about the work - if you are doing it for the right reasons - really to illuminate the human condition.

Actors do all kinds of roles, but once in a while, we also want to do a meaningful film.

'Masaan' was a life-changing experience.

One of the great joys of a creative life is that your observations and loose moments aren't lost forever; they live in your work.

The things I do outside of playing the piano are done out of an inner necessity, not just because I want to try my hand at different things.

As an artist, it's incredible to see folks see you and then be able to give that back and to be able to send two girls to a Black Girls Empowerment camp.

Any good film you see gives you enough motivation and adrenaline rush to produce good content, while a bad film can get you so angry that you produce even better content.

I do big films just to experience personal satisfaction.

I'm hoping to have a ninth decade like Matisse's.

How can I stop acting? I don't think there is a full stop. Maybe the only time I will stop will be when acting stops fascinating me. I will have to find something that fascinates me more.

As someone whose music is connected to his personal growth, I feel an obligation to follow this muse wherever it leads.

My goal is for 'Heavy Rain' to leave an imprint in you and change a little bit of who you are and how you see things. Maybe the key characters and key moments will leave a trace in you. If you don't have this ambition as a video-game creator, then maybe you should do something else, because this is what creation and art is about.

It wasn't until I saw 'Rocky' that I realized movies could affect people beyond mere entertainment.

I love making music, but if you make something that inspires somebody else to make something, without getting too airy-fairy, you've contributed to the zeitgeist in some way, and that's just an amazing feeling.

When I was a kid, it was the attention I got from it, the immediate response from the audience, the thrill of being onstage. That's carried over into my adult life, I can't pretend I don't like the attention or whatever, but for me now, I've witnessed incredible performances that have changed the way I see the art form.

Musically I'm able to keep going, because it's not about money and it's not about success. It's a challenge.

I still hope that more people can create art, even though artistic genres may never be the most popular or money-making genres. But the thing is, I think art is more long-lasting. It stays in people, and it changes them.