Jennifer Coolidge Quotes

I don't like it when filmmakers say, 'Just come like this, sir.' I like to experiment with my makeup. I wish more filmmakers let me do that.

It's madness to hand in a script to a director, leave them alone, and for the director not to want the writer there with rehearsals and the shoot.

I think every actor wants a certain amount of control. Maybe not control, as such, but just to be part of the process. But it's not necessary, I guess.

I've been on so many movies. Generally, I haven't gotten to be on the ground level. As of two years ago, in 'Dear John,' I got to really be on the ground floor. I wasn't a producer. I felt like I put the work in, and I did have a lot of sway on what got fixed, reshoots, so on and so forth. It felt really good.

Movies are a team sport now, and I want to play singles.

When you're making a movie, you feel like a very small part of something that you really don't have much influence upon. You roll in, you do your thing, and then you're gone.

Unfortunately, when you're working in film, it's this huge machine, and you've got to get everyone right there, so you get kind of locked into things. I'm not sure where the artistry in film making is. It's usually that moment when you're on set and you're working with the actors. That's the time to play around, the moment of theater. And then you can shape things. But a lot of it is just managing stuff. It's upsetting because you get away from the core.

Once a film gets into production, the actors sometimes begin to have more input than a writer does.

People have a different idea of how movies are made than they really are. On a certain level, everyone throws ideas into the hopper. It's not like the actors are wind-up dolls that you push out onto the floor, play with, then put back in the box. You get people around you who you trust; the writer, the producer, the director and all the actors all contribute.

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.

If I start a film of my own, then what I eliminate is acting in other people's movies. Because once I start, and I go raise the money, it's about two and a half or three years, and I can't stop. I have people hired. I can't say, 'Ooh there's a good part called 'Drive'; I'll see you in three months.'

You can take your life into your own hands in terms of directing. There are ways for you to finance yourself and to write and make a film.

I've always loved improvised movies like Christopher Guest and the 'Spinal Tap' era of comedy.

I've heard directing talked about as being a benign dictatorship, and I think that's probably the best way a director should be. They're open to collaboration and feedback from people, but ultimately, it's got to be that one person's vision. That's what I think makes a film really stand out.

I think that, again, filmmaking is the director's medium in the end, and the best thing a producer can do is stay out of the way and support the director one hundred percent.

I like hearing from everybody and not just my co-screenwriters or producers. For example, while on set, I find it valuable to turn to my PA and ask, 'What do you think? Is this scene working? Do you like what you see? You got any ideas for that line there because that idea isn't working for me.'

All great directors or anyone who has a strong vision like Scorsese needs to have a lot of support around them. I think from the very beginning - when we met each other - he realised he could trust me to do what was right for his movies.

Every big-budget film is powered by a director's vision. I blindly follow the instructions of my director, believe in him, and deliver what he exactly wants from me.

I always take part in the creative process of every film of mine. Gone are the days where an actor would walk into the sets, finish his portions, take the money, and leave. In fact, I've been accused of being interfering - but that's the way I am. It is important for every actor to get involved with the script.

I've never gone to a singer with a song and said 'why don't you try this?' or tried to get a record like that. My head just wasn't there.

Let film-makers take a call about what films they want to do.

I don't get to make many features. It's not like that's something I can just snap my fingers and make happen.

To be an actor, you have to be self-obsessed, but when you are a filmmaker, you get a macro view. Every aspect of making the film is under your purview. And for me, that is a bigger turn-on than just being an actress.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who has produced my earlier films, is still a part of 'PK' and is presenting it. He is not a hands-on producer - he used to put a certain amount in the bank and give me the cheque book.

I do a film only when I feel I will be comfortable with the set-up and other members of the team.