Allan Dwan Quotes

Going into a shoot not fully knowing what I want to do - that excitement, that thing that happens, is just so powerful and makes such great pictures.

People go, 'What do you want to do?' What do you want to do? What are you feeling? Going into a shoot not fully knowing what I want to do—that excitement, that thing that happens, is just so powerful and makes such great pictures.

If it were all in the script, why make the film?

Either the camera will dance, or I will.

If you want to make pictures and enjoy making them, you better go out and make something that a lot of people want to see. And then they'll turn you lose and let you make what you want. And then maybe you can do some of the things that you want to do. But as a beginner, you haven't got a chance.

One longs for a director with a sense of imagination.

Just as Renaissance artists provided narratives for the era they lived in, so do I. I'm always looking beyond the surface. I've done that ever since I first picked up a camera.

I allow an area for improvisation because the chemical things actors bring to stories make it not work.

A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.

I want to make movies that I want to see, and what I miss and I'm not seeing.

I learned that the best way to work is to allow the scene to live on its own before making major adjustments, whether in rehearsal or on film.

I'm much happier behind the camera.

Hollywood's a mecca, but it's not the final answer. You pick up a camera anyplace in the world, you can make a movie.

The magic of movie-making is that you get to fulfill your own dreams.

I enjoy doing my more intimate and less commercial pictures and also I enjoy directing.

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them.

But short films are not inferior, just different. I think the short gives a freedom to film-makers. What's appealing is that you don't have as much responsibility for storytelling and plot. They can be more like a portrait, or a poem.

See, a painting is much cheaper than making a film. And photography is, you know, way cheap. So if I get an idea for a film, there are many ways to get it together and go realise that film. There's really nothing to be afraid of.

My heart is in independent film-making. For me, it's where the fun, gritty storytelling is being told.

When you make a movie, you can only make the movie that you would want to see.

I think films are bigger than structure.

I don't approach films purely in context of genre.

My principal job is to make interesting and entertaining films, and I'm not proud of which format or which particular technique I use. I just wanted the film to look good.

All these directors, and I would include the Coen brothers and Quentin, have a very unique vision of what they want. They listen to ideas and make people feel like everyone is making the film.

I've been a big fan always of getting my camera in different places and trying to seek the unusual vantage point.