The last Christmas movie I really liked was 'It's a Wonderful Life,' probably. It's sort of a schmaltzy movie, but it's not without its dark moments. It still gets to me every year.
I befriended a homeless man five years ago, bought him a new set of teeth, helped him get his life on track. A writer for 'Elle' spent two hours talking to this guy and discarded almost everything he said. When the story came out, we both were weeping while reading it on the street!
'Freaky Ali' is not a heavy film. It's a simple but inspiring film. It will inspire those who want to go from zero to hundred. People who have made an effort to achieve success from nothing will be able to connect to the character.
Through the potent example of his own life, President Obama enabled us to believe the best about America, and, therefore, about ourselves. That uplifting narrative - essentially equating the promise of America with his extraordinary life story - swept candidate Obama into the presidency.
I think I would say 'The King's Speech' is surprisingly funny, in fact the audiences in London, Toronto, LA, New York commented there's more laughter in this film than in most comedies, while it is also a moving tear-jerker with an uplifting ending.
I grew up believing that one person could make a difference. In Indiana, you saw that with basketball. The small town could beat the big town, like in the movie 'Hoosiers.' That is one of the things that attracts me to entrepreneurs.
I think there is definitely a message behind Cyborg that is needed for people to hear and what he represents and the resilience of the human spirit. I hope it means as much to people watching it as it meant to me to do it.
It takes a Bobby White to make a tired 90-year-old composer write a song about love.
'Red Band Society' is inspiring, funny, and an uplifting story that makes you want to make the most of your life, love and live to the fullest, and that's a great message.
Frank Capra, Hollywood's Horatio Alger, lights with more cinematic know-how and zeal than any other director to convince movie audiences that American life is exactly like the 'Saturday Evening Post' covers of Norman Rockwell. 'It's A Wonderful Life,' the latest example of Capracorn, shows his art at a hysterical pitch.
My father was raised in an orphanage, and my mother was an immigrant from Poland whose first childhood memory was of hunger. Somehow, despite all of that, I am called a member of the 'elite.' If so, I damned well earned it.
I think as a human being, as a mother, as someone who works internationally, I needed desperately to know a man like Louis Zamperini in my life, to know that there is hope.
Ultimately, 'Cinderella' is the story of the underdog. You root for her in this fairytale; the girl who has nothing, deserves so much more, and gets it.
The time frame and how people treated each other was upsetting, but what's great about this story is that they really focus on the strengths of these people and the strengths of the culture, of who these Americans were. That, actually, is uplifting.
I think every time I can find a story that touches that human nerve, and even sometimes makes you cry, I think that I've found something that I'll like very much.
If you think of a work of fiction as a kind of scale model of the world, then the positive valences - where things turn out better than you thought they would - ought to be in there somewhere, too.
Man. I've been through a lot as a kid. But at the same time that upbringing just made me stronger and made me more determined to make it out of where I made it out from and just fight extra hard to not go back.
My favorite movie is 'Coach Carter' so I would definitely tell anyone who hasn't seen that to check that out.
Wu-Tang was going through it. They didn't come from great homes or families. They really came from hard beginnings so it just made me reflect on my own situation. If Wu-Tang was able to make it, why can't I?
Mystery Men you can take grandma, you can take everyone to see this film.
I love 'The Princess Bride.' That is a movie that, no matter how I'm feeling, I can turn it on and it makes me feel good.
'Breaking Away' was a great experience. It's the kind of movie that engenders a lot of goodwill from people. It's a movie that they cherish. and I feel very welcomed and accepted by people because of that.
Any film is about heroism: the triumph of good over evil. If you look back at my films, you will see that as a recurring theme.
If evil wins in a Bollywood film, it is bound to flop. A lot of people here want to change society, so they like to read about it being changed. And that means good usually triumphs.
Every novel presents a slice of life. A noir policier for example presents one slice, one that perhaps addresses social dysfunction or some sort of pathology, while mine present a slice that is more upbeat and affirmative.
