James Gray Quotes

Original movies of any size are an endangered species.

In Hollywood, the system is so streamlined, the administration is in place. That's why every six months Spielberg is able to make a film.

For every film that I have believed in - from 'Tanu Weds Manu' to 'Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein' - it was very difficult to find producers.

What I learned from my go-round with 'In the Heights' is that it's tough to make a movie. In Hollywood, even the people in charge have people in charge.

It's just hard to get an independent film made.

I don't think the idea of working in Hollywood really exists anymore. I think you work in films, and where the film is shot is where it's shot. The studio system doesn't really exist.

It's nice when you're working in Hollywood and there's a movie you'd like to see that no one is making anymore. You make it yourself.

I think, honestly, that the word 'indie' is a false gimmick. 'Independent' used to mean a movie that was financed outside corporate Hollywood, but a lot of what gets called independent these days is totally produced within that system. And there's nothing wrong with that.

The long and short of it is that I am now in a position in England to green light movies, and that's really excellent - not high-budget movies, but movies none the less.

The difficulty of getting a movie made through a major studio is so extreme that when a movie comes out, everyone should give it four stars because it was accomplished.

There are different reasons to make movies.

For the most part, studio movies have huge budgets. They don't do anything under 30 to 40 million. When you have that much money at stake, you have so many people breathing down your neck.

I don't know if there aren't any films like 'E.T.' anymore. I just feel that the industry has changed so much. There are so many outlets now.

I don't make movies because I think audiences will want to go see them.

The core of the movie business remains intact and it's not descending in scope. Studios want movies that are bigger than ever.

Unfortunately my career began in Hollywood, doing a negative pickup for Universal pictures.

I am one day going to be working openly in the motion picture industry. When that day comes, I swear to you that I will never sign a term contract with any major studio.

Any movie I've ever made, the minute you walk on the set they tell you who's the person to buy it from.

I'll still make movies for studios, but my editing process will be much further removed from the studio system. Because I don't understand it. I don't understand the whole testing-numbers thing. It is not how I want to make movies. So if that's how they do it, then I don't think I want to do it.

I've been in enough films where the studio wanted that extra little cuteness to make it sellable.

It's a good time to be making movies, despite the cynicism people have about Hollywood.

The major studios don't differ very much from one another as they all operate under essentially the same principles and pressure.

I've been in this business 31 years. I've never had a movie deal.

Amazon may be the only studio that's run by people who come out of making independent movies, real hands-on moviemaking.

It used to be the case that studio executives like Robert Evans, Darryl Zanuck, and David Selznick would put aside money for what they wanted to be great movies regardless of whether they would perform well with the box office.