J. Michael Straczynski Quotes

We all went for roles as extras at my school because a lot of children's shows were filmed in Leeds near where I grew up. My Parents are Aliens was a big one we all did.

We shot 'Skateland' in the end of 2008, in Shreveport, Louisiana just between the border of East Texas and Louisiana - and we shot 'Battle: Los Angeles' at the end of 2009, also in Shreveport. So I know a lot about Shreveport.

The reason I chose the movies that I did was based on where they were being filmed.

Two years ago, I shot 'Pillars of the Earth' in Budapest - it was a big part, but I had a lot of time to sit around and visit cafes.

Often times people complain about the lack of time in television, but I have to say, you don't have any more time to film in feature films then you do in television. It's just a question of how many scenes you'll be doing in the course of a day.

A lot of a movie is locations, frankly.

I love the Warner Brothers lot. There is so much history there. They've done such a smart thing. They have signs outside of each stage which tell you what movies and TV shows were shot inside. So cool... you can almost feel the ghosts of actors past.

I lived in Vancouver, where they film so many things. So it gave me a good shot at it.

Sometimes you film in your hometown, sometimes you go halfway across the world.

I believe that shows should be shot where they take place.

As an actor, some of my favorite things to work on are night exterior scenes. Any time that we're on location and shooting at night, it's just magic. I got to do that so many times working on 'Vampire Diaries' that it filled my hat.

We shoot 'Hustle' for 12 to 16 weeks, so that's how long I'm here each year. I've always loved London. I lived here for three years back in the Seventies, when I did a TV series, 'The Protectors,' for Lew Grade.

I was in Nashville quite a bit when I shot 'Nashville,' and I was in Los Angeles when I shot in 'Supergirl'.

It's not unknown that Vancouver is a huge destination for television and film. It has been for many years. It just seems to be that I'm drawn to the show that shoots in Vancouver.

The pace is different on a film set. It's slightly slower, allowing for a little more wiggle room. Sometimes there is a bit more room to explore and work on the floor. On a TV set, you really have to be ultra-prepared and ready to deliver because time is so tight. Not that you don't have to be prepared for film.

We are able to create incredible set-pieces here in the US that TV shows often don't have the resources to create in the UK.

At least in films you will go, you shoot for four to five months and then you can take a break. But I know how TV works… the directors are mindblowing, they work non-stop.

Whenever you're working on a film or TV set, the hours are very, very long.

Well, we shoot for so long on 'Stranger Things' that I know Atlanta really well.

In Hawaii, they're happy to hear that you're filming a show. They love it that people actually come and make use of their beautiful landscapes.

TV and film are very different media with different requirements. In a TV show, you have actors and fellow writers and directors, who are interpreting your work. With a novel, you only have ink, words and your reader.

So many films end up being filmed in London or in the same places over and over again.

TV series, there's a lot of everybody talking to you and giving you input for the first couple episodes, and then they're on such a crazy schedule that you get another episode on a Monday, you have to have it done by Friday and it becomes very solitary work usually, TV shows.

We were able to shoot in a lot of the locations where the mission actually happened and these guys existed, so that was kind of very affecting. We had a Czech crew and a lot of Czech actors. There's a great deal of authenticity to the project [Anthropoid], and Sean [Ellis] was very anxious that that was the case from the beginning.

Being able to go on location and see the world was the greatest perk of all.