Jason Reitman Quotes

I've always wanted to be a director; it's just how my mind has always worked. If I hear music, I see music videos and all the shots and setups to edit it all together. If I interact with a person, I'm seeing a whole scene come to life.

When I write a screenplay, and when I direct, I always pull lines out.

Most screenplays depend primarily on the vision of a director.

I have considered the directing, actually. Not so much the writing. That is not really interesting, but the directing is really interesting to me.

Directing was easy for me because I was a writer director and did all my directing when I wrote the screenplay.

It's sort of one ongoing process where writing ends and directing starts.

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

I started out my career as a screenwriter and quickly discovered that adhering to a script isn't always the best way to make a film. You have to take into consideration the nuances of the characters and what the actors bring to their roles.

Eventually, I would love to direct, but not anytime soon. I just love the storytelling aspect.

My job is to kind of nudge them. Who said it, where, like, '90% of the job is casting,' so all I do is try to come to set and focus on getting all the best shots to cover the story; that's really it.

You never have any idea where your movie's going to go when you're shooting - you're in this little bubble. Everything you care about is getting the next step right: getting the script right, finding the right actors, shooting it. Then you spend half a year in a dark room editing your film, and you don't talk to anybody.

I am eternally impressed and amazed by what directors do.

Working with George Miller was an education. It was eight college degrees in character development and directing all at once.

Shooting a movie can be so tedious. You're trying to get 20 different angles on the same swing. You never get into a rhythm. But I took it very seriously.

Whenever I'm doing any film, there's always three different things. There's the script, which is really just a blueprint. And then, you shoot the movie and it's an entirely different experience than you would expect from reading the script. And then, there's the whole post process and the editing, and it becomes something else entirely.

There are many ingredients that go into making a film. It baffles me, what works and what doesn't.

With film, so much is in the director's hands. Once something is cut together - unless you're in the editing room - you don't really remember what the alternatives are.

The thing is, as a film director, you're essentially alone: You have to tell a story primarily through pictures, and only you know the film you see in your head.

Directing is a tremendous art.

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

I have stories that I'd like to maybe one day consider directing, but you need a lot of time to write and put it together.

I think that's the key to being a director: to be able to get the shot and move on quickly.

The only way you can learn about making films is by making them, by putting your stamp on the thing.

Film is a collaborative art form. I don't know why you wouldn't recognize the stunt performers.

I discovered that, in order to write a magnificent piece, you should shoot the images because once you are filming, you are writing the script in your mind.