Rod Lurie Quotes

I love shooting movies. I love the shots. That's the thing that I love doing, and I've just never been able to do it.

People who are good at film have a relationship with the camera.

When you shoot a movie, the camera is always taking, taking, taking and not giving anything back.

I originally went to school to be a filmmaker. And so it's a big part of how I think and how I write. And it inspires me a lot.

On film, you really have to focus on what you're looking at. You're imprinting a physical image.

Half of 'Mudbound' were shots I stole in between other scenes.

When I started, you didn't focus so much on production, certainly not - gosh - down to the finest little detail of how you shifted your eyes or how you turned to somebody. A lot of the shots were far away from a still camera. There weren't as many close-ups and intimacy.

I really enjoy being behind the camera. A ton of projects I've done that are my most favorite projects would be where I actually executive produce and I'm behind the camera.

The job is trying to create movie shots that have depth, that have the meanings you need them to have, and then good enough so that they will add something to the final picture. They will make the picture; they'll get into the picture, and give them what they need. It's an interesting job.

A movie that I'm involved with and have a lot of love for, which is 'On The Road,' does use a lot of handheld. It can be done beautifully. I'm proud of that. It's a very beautiful movie.

First of all, in the old days, if you wanted to show someone getting shot on film, all you could do was place an effect in the original take. And if you wanted to brighten somebody's face and leave the rest of the room dark, that was a very expensive process.

A lot of directors in my experience are very receptive. They see what you do first, and then they want to find a place to put the camera, and they tweak you here and there.

By the time I was 10 or 11, I knew I wanted to make films.

I started making 8mm films when I was 13, so I've been directing for 21 years.

Directing has completely changed the way I write and watch films.

I've been in enough movies to know that when you're on the set and you start shooting, you're looking at playback and you get a sense of what it's going to be like.

I think of myself more as a filmmaker or as a film person than as strictly just a writer. I don't come out of playwriting or anything like that.

I love having 30 shots of every scene.

I don't like to watch playback. But being on the set, watching the way the camera is being moved and the way the light is being used, you do get an idea of it.

I aspire to eventually be making my living by making movies.

I just don't see very many films. Because I make them.

In a movie, you're raw material, just a hue of some color and the director makes the painting.

I did direct two short movies. I learned many things, and one of the things I learned was that I am not a director. It has to be visceral, and it's not for me. I feel much more comfortable acting.

When I make a live-action movie, it's a very physical process. It's like running a marathon.

Most screenplays depend primarily on the vision of a director.