Jennifer Yuh Nelson Quotes

What impresses me is the young actors with terrific talent arriving on the scene. They'd have blown us all away in the old days. Guys like Brad Pitt.

These are extremely talented actors who are all putting their talents into the Lost in Space movie.

I think Tim Matheson is amazing and I think he's amazing in this - I haven't seen the film [Killing Reagan] since we shot it, but I think he's just incredible.

A million pounds sounds like a lot of money now that I'm saying it. But in terms of moviemaking, it's not a lot of money. And yet you can see what can be done with that, with the talent of a great cinematographer and great director and actors.

I always think of Meryl [Streep] for everything now. There really aren't many actresses around who are truly lucid the way she is.

I think that is the secret of great acting. You have to bring your imagination to the party. You've got to have a great imagination.

I have the greatest respect for Mr. Rishi Kapoor - he's simply amazing and also Sridevi. I personally think that is what acting IS about! If you have tapped into your talent, you should be trained enough to access it easily!

Every time I see Anthony Hopkins I think that, to some extent, he has just been getting away with it all these years.

You can be as beautiful and charming as you'd like, but if you're not terrific at acting, it will mean nothing on the screen.

I don't dabble, I'm good at acting.

I remember saying to my agent, "Listen, everybody's going out to Hollywood and making movies. I think I ought to go out there." And his advice to me was, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If they want you in Hollywood, they'll send you." And sure enough, they did.

You watch him playing Jack Sparrow, and he's loving it, and he's loving being in that world. He's still excited by it. Sometimes, he'll even say, 'Was that OK?' And I'm thinking, 'You're Johnny Depp man, you know that's OK!' But he doesn't. He's still going to [director] Gore [Verbinski] and asking for help. It's a privilege to see the human side of Johnny. It's really exciting.

I hope I never have to stop acting. I love it. But, I think the coolest thing about acting is working with these amazing people all the time, and writing represented a new way to meet those people and to tell stories, at the same time, which I've always wanted to do, and to tell jokes. I love comedy, so writing was a way of getting these jokes that I had down on the page.

Norman Mailer thinks William Burroughs is a genius, which I think is ludicrous beyond words. I don't think William Burroughs has an ounce of talent.

My favorite thing in moviemaking is to shoot in chronological order if at all possible, because it just helps for continuity and all the logistical purposes. It also helps with performance and the journey of each character, but I also think it's good for the director and everyone [else] involved.

If you make a film, that magic is not there, because you were there while shooting it. After writing a film and shooting it and being in the editing room every day, you can never see it clearly. I think other people's perception of your film is more valid than your own, because they have that ability to see it for the first time.

To be honest, I don't necessarily think you have to be an actor to act. You don't have to be a musician to make great music. If it comes along and you put your all into it, the outcome is what's important.

Any asshole can make a good movie for $100 million. I think it's way harder to make a movie with no money, and to start with no contacts and work your way up to international productions.

Hong Kong people, they treat me more like a director, like a producer, like a filmmaker. If they recognize me, they treat me as a producer more than a star. And also, I make one movie in three years. I think they already forget who I am, because I've been away too long!

We always try to make the very best movie when we're working on and we can only think one at a time. We want to make this a perfect jewel, and then we'll see what happens after that.

I think talent is like a water table under the earth—you tap it with your effort and it comes through you.

The older I get I am more and more in awe of people in the military, and I am just indescribably in awe of the founding of America and the miracle for everything that happened just to take place at the right time when it did. I think it is a miracle and I think we're blessed.

I think one thing for sure that you learn the more films that you make is how important it is to choose your collaborators.

I prefer to think of film making - you know, um, the sweat is supposed to be invisible. But a lot of sweat can go into making a film. But of course, if you enjoy doing it, you enjoy doing it.

Any time you're making a movie, all you want to do is reduce the variables of things that could possibly go wrong. I think that's why we work with the same people over and over again.