Todd Phillips Quotes

I like acting, but I like filmmaking better. I went to film school. I want to make films.

I think my passion for cinema really started when I was on the set of 'Mud' and my third film 'Joe.' That's when I really started to fall in love with the art of filmmaking.

I choose not to be in front of the camera. Sometimes I do get offered parts, but I really like just making movies and telling stories.

I have fun acting, and I want to do more of it, and I want to direct my own movie.

Film work can be very interesting, but it also can be awfully boring because who creates the film? The actors? No. It is the director. It's his piece of work.

After directing movies, I respect any director in this world, because making a movie as a director is tons and tons of work.

I'd grab the camera and tell people what to do, and when I was 14, someone told me that it was called directing.

I think what makes a good actor's director is the same thing that makes a good director. Acting is just one of the trades necessary to make a movie.

I want to continue to make beautiful movies. The most important thing is to be a part of beautiful stories, that's all I want. So I don't care if it's a Hollywood movie or an independent movie or a Spanish or American movie. I care about telling stories.

You could get in rehearsals, pre-production, anything that would actually contribute to the understanding of how a film gets made. I actually find those things increase people's interest in a movie and like that better than worrying about showing the tricks behind the curtain.

I'm not looking for a challenge, necessarily. I'm looking to make a really great film.

When you direct your first film, you always start by telling stories that you are familiar with.

I love making movies.

I started watching movies my grandpa did, and I saw what an impact they made on the world. That's when I said, 'Hey, I want to do that too.'

I produced and starred in 'Wake the Riderless Horse,' a short film that my buddy wrote and directed.

What I love most is the art, is making art, acting and being on set, and being a part of the process of making a movie.

I love the process of making a movie so much as an actor that I can only imagine I would love the process of being the director.

The reason why I wanted to direct is because there are personal stories that I want to tell, but also because I love every part of movie making - from the wardrobe to the set decoration to cinematography.

The idea of directing my own movie is definitely more challenging than choreography.

My first love was always direction; I had worked hard as a film-maker but not as an actor.

When I did 'Gilbert Grape,' Lasse Hallstrom let me be on the set with him and in the editing room and in the casting sessions and so on. And so I got a firsthand, rather intimate, high-pressure look at how to make a film.

Once you turn on the camera, making a movie is making a movie. I don't care if it's $9 million dollars or $50 million dollars. You have bigger toys, bigger set, actors who are better paid, but once you turn on the camera, it's director and performance, and I don't find a big difference.

There is so much that I love about all aspects of making a film or a TV show.

It's something I never dreamed I'd be doing, making movies.

I'd love to direct, I'd love to produce. I'd love to learn all about it, and being around it all the time certainly helps.