David Heyman Quotes

Sometimes directors will hire you and say, 'Oh, we love your work.' And then they start to tell you how to do it. I say, 'Hey, man, back off. You hired me to do it. Let me do it.'

I've produced my own films for twenty years now - it means I have to talk to less people.

I always find that the best collaborations are when you work with people that know what they're doing, and you leave them alone to do it.

No, United Artists was a very extraordinary organization, because once they had agreed on the director, they believed in letting him have his way. They trusted me, and that doesn't often happen.

When you write and direct your own film, you basically know exactly what you want. Or you hope to. For the studio, it actually can make life a little easier, because if you have a bunch of questions, they only need to call one person.

What you find with really good directors is that they kind of leave you alone. They've hired you because they know the kind of work you do and the sense of how you'd approach it. So usually, they'll just stand back and maybe give you a nudge once in a while in terms of something specific they might want in a particular scene.

I'm really lucky that my record companies have been patient with me and leave me alone and give me the time to make it right in my mind.

The best situation is where they cast you and then they trust you.

I've never had an issue with studios. I believe in them as true creative partners in the process.

I have a freedom that's incredibly valuable. Obviously my freedom is far smaller in scale than people like Zemeckis and Spielberg have here. But it's comparable. I can dream up a project, develop it, make it, control it, release it.

I love doing features, but it's a very different ballgame. Sometimes I yearn for short films again, working with a small team, getting my hands on the clay.

I have been blessed with working with the best in the business.

Director of any film is very important, and an actor has to leave himself in his hands to mould.

I'll work with a director if I think I'm going to get into a comfortable situation, and if it's someone I respect and who respects me, even if they're not so well known. Movies are hard to make, and you have to work toward a common ethic and do your best.

Directors tend to kind of let me do what I want to do.

The writing of 'The Ladykillers' was fun. But once it goes out of your hands it's not fun, 'especially for someone who is used to being hands-on like me.

It is none of anyone's business how I make my films or my creative partnerships.

I've worked really hard to build up a career on my own. I turned 30 recently and it took me a long time to get the chance to make a feature film and do it on my own terms.

Independent films are very hard to get made, but I'm lucky enough to get them made, so I'm going to keep doing it. I like my independence. I like being able to tell a story the way I want to tell a story. I don't like developing it with a team. I like coming to a story and deciding whether I want to do it or not.

We didn’t want to disrupt the creative process. We have the chance to make the films we want because the films are not expensive. It’s very rare to be able to do that. It’s completely pure.

I like the anonymity that directors can have about their films.

Movies are a collaboration, I feel, so I didn't think of myself as an authoritative figure as much.

I always believe that one can't interfere in another's work. Once I start work on any film, I surrender myself completely and blindly follow the director.

I've constantly done my best to get the best material I can get with the best directors I can get to direct me.

You can't have cinema by committee if you're trying to do it well.