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I Think '60s Are Appealing To Creative People, Because It Seemed To Be A Time Of Endless Possibilities, When The Boundaries Of What Could Be Considered Popular Culture Were Being Expanded Almost By The Week. It Doesn't Feel Like That Anymore. At Times, I Wish It Were So. Radio Is A Perfect Example; Good God, I Mean, Back Then The Most Interesting Songs Were Also Hits, And That's Just Not True Anymore. It Hasn't Been True In A Long Time.
-Steven Soderbergh
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I Think '60s Are

Steven Soderbergh
I Think '60s Are Appealing To Creative People, Because It Seemed To Be A Time Of Endless Possibilities, When The Boundaries Of What Could Be Considered Popular Culture Were Being Expanded Almost By The Week. It Doesn't Feel Like That Anymore. At Times, I Wish It Were So. Radio Is A Perfect Example; Good God, I Mean, Back Then The Most Interesting Songs Were Also Hits, And That's Just Not True Anymore. It Hasn't Been True In A Long Time.
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I Think That It's Fear. The Musicians Themselves Don't Seem To Know Enough About Why They're In The Positions They're In, So They're Afraid To Lose Those Positions. If You're 22 Years Old And You Can't Believe You're Even In The Position To Have A Career Making Music, The First Thing You're Going To Think Is: Maintain. Don't Lose It. And That's Precisely What Causes You To Lose Everything.
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I Have No Shame In Making Music That Maybe, If You Listen To It Long Enough, You'll Realize You've Heard This Or That Part Of It Before. I'm Still Very Excited By An Amazingly Written Song, So That's Really The Thing That I Work On When I Make Records With People.
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I Have A Friend Whose Theory Is That You're From Wherever You Went To High School. I Think That's Mostly True.
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It's Pretty Clear To Me That Working As A Director For Hire Agrees With Me. I Like It. The Films That Have Come Out Of That, I Personally Like Better Than The Ones That Didn't.
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Your Take On Things Is What Is Either Going To Make You Somebody People Talk About Or No.
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I Try To Use Other Songs Or Bands As Reference Points - It Seems Like The Easiest Way To Get Across What Are Really Differences Of Taste Or Opinion. If You Know What Kind Of Music Somebody Loves, Then You Can Kind Of Figure Out Why They Do What They Do.
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Nobody's Talking About Movies The Way They're Talking About Their Favorite Tv Shows.
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I Just Find It Annoying That In These Sequences [of The Fight Scenes], Traditionally, There's Music Trying To Pump You Up. I Don't Like That, Personally, As An Audience Member. This Just Reflects My Taste.
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I Tend To Be Drawn More To People Than Pure Story Ideas.
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What Are The Stories You Want People To Tell About You?
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There's Nothing Else Exactly Like It In Any Other Art Form, The Orchestration Of So Many Different Elements. It's Endlessly Fascinating What Can Be Done Editorially. You Can Create Meaning Where There Was None, You Can Create Feeling Where There Was None, You Can Create Narrative Where There Was None. Two Frames Can Be The Difference Between Something That Works And Something That Doesn't. It's Fascinating.
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Whenever You Experiment With Something, It's Very Easy To Take The Emotion Out Of It. And Going Back And Forth Between Wanting To Be Respected Artistically And Wanting To Move People Is Its Own Challenge.
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I've Begun To Believe More And More That Movies Are All About Transitions, That The Key To Making Good Movies Is To Pay Attention To The Transition Between Scenes. And Not Just How You Get From One Scene To The Next, But Where You Leave A Scene And Where You Come Into A New Scene. Those Are Some Of The Most Important Decisions That You Make. It Can Be The Difference Between A Movie That Works And A Movie That Doesn't.
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Traffic Is About Drugs. As Detailed A Portrait As I Can Muster About What Is Happening In The Drug World, From Top To Bottom, From Policy To How Things Move On The Street.
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I Can Make A Movie About Lee Harvey Oswald And Make You Feel What He Feels And Make You Understand Why He Believes What He Believes. That Doesn't Mean I Think You Should Go Out And Shoot Jfk.
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You Can't Change Who You Are, So I Think That The Only Thing You Can Do Is Just Never Talk To People About Stuff And Then Hope That Maybe Does Something.
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[i Watch] Fincher, Spielberg, Cameron, Mctiernan. Just People Who Are Good At Staging Action. I Like To Know Where I Am. I Don't Like The Kind Of Cutting Where You Don't Know Where You Are.
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I Grew Up Mostly In The South, And There's Definitely Something About The South That's Different From The North. When People Ask Me Where I'm From, I Say Louisiana. I Spent More Years There Than Anywhere Else.
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I Suppose I Could Try To Be Some Avant-garde Artist If I Wanted To, But That Doesn't Interest Me As Much.
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Once I Had A Potentially Heart Attack-inducing Eight Double Espressos In One Day. I Think My Assistant Secretly Swaps My Coffees For Decaf As She Doesn't Want Me To Die Of Caffeine Overdose.
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Never Had A Cup Of Coffee In My Life. Dr Pepper Is My Caffeine Delivery System Of Choice.
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You Got To Deal With Reviews The Same Way You Deal With Your Views, Which I A Long Time Ago Stopped Reading Because The Point Is If You Believe The Good Ones You Have To Believe The Bad Ones. It's Kind Of All Or Nothing.
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I Want To Thank Anyone Who Spends Part Of Their Day Creating...anybody Who Spends Part Of Their Day Sharing Their Experience With Us-i Think This World Would Be Unlivable Without Art And I Thank You.
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The Ought To Be A Worldwide Cultural Taskforce That Just Stops You When You Have Ideas Like Combining The Red Desert With An Armored Car Heist Movie.
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Ego Is Something That Everybody, Creative Especially, Has To Grapple With. You Need Enough Ego To Keep Going But Not So Much Ego That You're Deaf Or Blind, That You're Making A Mistake And Can't Fix The Course.
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Another Thing That Really Excites Me: I'd Like To Do Multiple Versions Of The Same Film.
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I Like To Know Where I Am. I Don't Like The Kind Of Cutting Where You Don't Know Where You Are.
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I Stopped Reading Reviews About My Own Movies. I Read Stuff About Other People's Movies.
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I'm In The Process Of Working Out An Arrangement To Make Some Very, Very, Very Small Films In The Midst Of All These Films And Maybe That Will Help. But You Get Tired Of Talking. You Just Want To Do It.
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The Muscle Memory Of Filtering Away All The Wrong Versions Of What You're Doing Improves The More Time You're On A Film Set. I Feel Like My Problem-solving Algorithm Got Kicked Up A Notch.
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Warner Bros. Has Talked About Going Out With Low-cost Dvds Simultaneously In China Because Piracy Is So Huge There. It Will Be A While Before Bigger Movies Go Out In All Formats; In Five Years, Everything Will.
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People Like Chris Nolan Are Shooting Isolated Sequences In Imax. Those Cameras Are The Size Of A Volkswagen.
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You're Being Mean To Someone Who's Helping You. What Is That? Everyone Knows Who The Assholes Are, And I Avoid Them.
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I Was Thinking That People Have To Believe You're Crazy In Order To Take You Seriously As An Artist. If You're Wandering The Streets, Talking In Gibberish, Nobody Ever Asks You To Change Anything About Your Art Because There's No Context For People To Look At What You Do.
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I'm Probably More Character-driven Than Plot-driven. It's Rare For Me To Attach Myself To An Idea For A Story.
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The Key Is, How Do You Feel With The One Asshole? They Cannot Be Talked To. That's Why They Are Assholes.
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There's A Big Difference Between A Movie About Relationships And A Movie In Which People Talk About Relationships. It Seems Like A Lot Of People Have Confused The Two.
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My Experience Over The Years With Working With People Who Are Not Actors Or Not Trained Actors Is That You Have To Get To Know Them Well Enough To See What They Have That's Translatable Onto The Screen.
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A Movie Is Something You See, Cinema Is Something That’s Made.
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A Lot Of People Go To The Movies Wanting The Movie To Be About Feelings, And It's Really Not About That. Or Rather It's About Feelings In The Abstract.
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I'm Still Very Affected And Moved By Their Music - Maybe In A Way That's Different From Someone Who Grew Up Around It.
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I've Never Been A Snob. It [movie] Is Just About Stories. And I've Never Felt Just Because It's A Big Screen And You Plop Down Your Eight Bucks That Gives It A Special Meaning. It's Just "are You Good At Telling A Story?"
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Giving
Special
But My Sense In Talking To People When I Travel Is That The Film Business Is Not That Dissimilar From A Lot Of Other Businesses.
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I Guess Why The Ocean's Films Are Hard For Me Is Because On The One Hand You Have To Make Sure The Performances Are There, But On The Other Hand It's A Film That Demands, To My Mind, A Very Layered And Complex Visual Scheme. That Takes A Lot Of Time To Figure Out.
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Hands
Mind
I'm Sure Some People Will Say, 'why Do This?' And My Response Is, 'why Wouldn't You?' The Film Business In General Is Using A Model That Is Outdated And, Worse Than That, Inefficient.
People
Film
Outdated
"a Meteor Hits Planet Earth" - That's A Story Idea But That Doesn't Give Me Any Indication Of What The Character Is.
Character
Ideas
Giving
You Can't Get Good At Anything Unless You Do It Day In And Day Out, Over And Over.
There Is Sadness Of When You're Watching Someone Enjoy Something That You Think Is Substandard. The Ineffable Sadness When Someone Is Happy And Something Is Not As Good As It Should Be.
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Thinking
Ineffable
I Was Lucky That I Was Getting Exposed To A Lot Of Different Kinds Of Films, And I Was Liking Them All. So It Seemed Logical To Me That You Could - As In The Style Of The Studio Directors Of The 30s And 40s - Jump From One Genre To The Next, With The Same Satisfaction.
Style
Satisfaction
Next
It's Become Absolutely Horrible The Way The People With The Money Decide They Can Fart In The Kitchen.
People
Kitchen
Way
In The Land Of Ideas, You Are Always Renting.
Land
Ideas
I'm Not Precious About Anything. The Effort It Took To Get Something Means Nothing To Me In Post.and It Means Nothing To The Audience. I'll Chop Limbs Off. I'll Put An Arm Where A Leg Should Be. I'll Do Anything.
Mean
Effort
Audience
It Takes One Asshole To Ruin The Whole Thing. That's It. One. The Problem With The World Is One Asshole Comes Up With A Really Bad Idea And Now We're All Taking Our Shoes Off At The Airport.
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Ideas
I Guess I Just Look At Talent As A Very Subjective Thing. I Mean, If You Never Tried Playing An Oboe, How Do You Know You're Not The Most Talented Oboe Player Ever? The Point Is That If You Don't Love It, Then It Doesn't Matter.
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We Have To Have A Version Of Our Own Story That We Keep Telling Ourselves That Allows Us To Get Up In The Morning. This Version Of Yourself Is What You Sell To Yourself. I Think It Necessarily Includes ... Not Looking At Certain Things. Everybody's Got Some Blind Spot.
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Thinking
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Anytime You've Got Something That Can Take You Into The Political Realm Then You've Opened Up The Conversation A Lot.
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Realms
Sometimes I Might Feel Like [a Movie] Is Kind Of A Weird Idea And If I'm Going To Get Enough Money To Execute It Properly I've Got To Get Somebody In It That Is Going To Justify The Expense.
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The Key Is, If Youre Not Monkeying Around With The Script, Then Everything Usually Goes Pretty Well.
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Wells
I Like To Make All Kinds Of Movies. I'd Do 'ocean's Thirteen' With The Right Script.
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My First Three Movies, I Didn't Start Editing Until We Were Finished Shooting. That's Unthinkable To Me Now.
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Three
Shooting
Everything Is The Director's Fault - You Can Quote Me On That. There Are No Excuses.
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Faults
No Excuses
I Know Why We Can't Have A Frank Discussion With Our Policymakers - If You're In The Government Or In Law Enforcement You Cannot Acknowledge That Drugs Are Anything But Inherently Evil And Morally Wrong.
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Law
Evil
There's A Difference Between Failures And Things That Are Bad.
Differences
If You Think That Because You're Che, When You Go Into Bolivia, When People Find Out It's You, That They're Going To Have The Same Kind Of Reaction That The Cubans Had To Castro, Then You're High.
Thinking
People
Bolivia
A Big Part Of Making An Album Is That You Want To Have Enough Material - You Want To Have Enough Stuff For People To Hear And Know That It Represents You. So It Does Sometimes Turn Into A Situation Where You're Saying To The Person You're Working With, "well, What Do You Want?" But Then There Are Other Times When I Work With People And They'll Turn To Me And Say, "how Do You Want To Do This?" And That's Actually When I Work Best.
People
Doe
Albums
American Movie Audiences Now Just Don’t Seem To Be Very Interested In Any Kind Of Ambiguity Or Any Kind Of Real Complexity Of Character Or Narrative - I’m Talking In Large Numbers, There Are Always Some, But Enough To Make Hits Out Of Movies That Have Those Qualities. I Think Those Qualities Are Now Being Seen On Television And That People Who Want To See Stories That Have Those Kinds Of Qualities Are Watching Television.
Real
Character
Thinking
If You're Not Flying People Around On Wires, And You're Only Allowing Them To Do Things That People Can Really Do, It Can't Go On For Very Long, Because Eventually Somebody Gets The Drop On The Other Person And Then It's Over.
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People
Flying
I Recently Decided That I'm Not An Originator. I'm A Synthesist.
Decided
I'm Not A Snob. If I Feel Like There's A Star That's The Best Person For That Role, Then That's Who I Get.
Stars
Roles
Snob
Usually I'm Thinking About The Palette. I'm Thinking About The Color For The Most Part, Then I'll Start Thinking About Composition And Movement.
Thinking
Color
Movement
I Look At Other Filmmakers And See Skills In Them That I Wish I Had But I Know That I Don't. I Feel Like I Have To Work Really Hard To Keep Myself Afloat, Doing What I Do. But I Find It Pleasurable.
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Wish
Looks
Everybody, Including Me, Has To Submit To What It Needs To Be. The Thing Is At The Top Of The Pyramid, The Best Version Of The Thing; We All Have To Serve That. You Forget That At Your Own Risk. And I Think Movies Are Too Long, In General.
Thinking
Long
Risk
I'm Not Going To Spend Two Years Of My Life On Something That I'm Not Excited About.
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Two
Excited
A Real Litmus Test For Me Is How People Treat Someone Who Is Waiting On Them. That's A Dealbreaker For Me.if I Were On The Verge Of Getting Into A Serious Relationship And I Saw That Person Be Mean To A Waiter... I'm Out.
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Mean
People
I Actually Didn't Find Out About A Lot Of Music Until I Was Older. Some People Have Been Listening To The Beatles Their Whole Lives; I Didn't Discover Them Until I Was 18 Years Old.
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People
Listening
I Think '60s Are Appealing To Creative People, Because It Seemed To Be A Time Of Endless Possibilities, When The Boundaries Of What Could Be Considered Popular Culture Were Being Expanded Almost By The Week. It Doesn't Feel Like That Anymore. At Times, I Wish It Were So. Radio Is A Perfect Example; Good God, I Mean, Back Then The Most Interesting Songs Were Also Hits, And That's Just Not True Anymore. It Hasn't Been True In A Long Time.
Song
Mean
Thinking
You Should Never Assume Anything Coming From A Critical Standpoint. You Should Go Into Everything Assuming You're Going To Get Crushed.
Assuming
Never Assume
Should
When We Look At What's Going On In The World And We See The Immense Level Of Conflict That Seems To Always Be Happening - You Can Always Trace It Back To Competing Narratives.
Looks
World
Levels
I'm Always A Little Unnerved When I See A Show That's Set In The Past That Implies In Any Way That Things Were Nicer Then.
Past
Littles
Way
I'm A Big Believer That If There's Something You Really Want To Do, Don't Walk Away Because Of The Deal.
Want
Bigs
Deals
I've Tried To Get Better About Weighing What I Think The Accessibility Of An Idea Is Against The Cost Of Executing It. I've Tried To Be Smarter About That, Because If You're Not Smart About That, You're Going To Be Unemployed. But I'm Still Mystified About What Works For People. And I'm Not Talking About My Movies, I'm Talking In General. I'm Mystified By The Stuff That Doesn't Work. I'm Mystified By What's Going On In The Critical Side, Too.
Smart
Thinking
Talking
Stuff I Like Is Getting Trashed And Stuff That Is Being Praised I Think Is Terrible. I Don't Really Feel In Sync With What's Happening, But At The Same Time, What I Think Keeps Me Afloat Is That I Try Not To Be, And Don't Want To Be, Very Indulgent. I Try To Make The Films As Lean As Possible, And To Not Spend A Lot Of Time Crawling Up My Own Ass Creatively.
Thinking
Stuff I Like
Trying
Reality Shows Are All The Rage On Tv At The Moment, But Thats Not Reality, Its Just Another Aesthetic Form Of Fiction.
Reality
Fiction
Tvs
We're All Standing On The Shoulders Of What Other People Have Done. But You're Supposed To Take That And Add Your Own Sauce. It Can Be Intimidating, Believe Me.
Believe
People
Add
When A Film Like Chris Nolan's Memento Cannot Get Picked Up, To Me Independent Film Is Over. It's Dead.
Independent
Film
Memento
I Want To Form A Political Party That's Based Entirely On What Music People Listen To. To Me, It's A Much Better Barometer Of What They Think And Feel Than Their Political Stance.
Party
Thinking
People
In Nature, If A Cell Gets Too Big, It Divides. You Can't Come Up With A Set Of Rules That's Going To Work For 350 Million People. You're Just Not.
Cells
People
Bigs
There's Definitely A Way Of Thinking And A Way Of Being In The South That Has Its Advantages And Disadvantages.
Thinking
Way
Advantage
A Real Explosion Is Not Only Much More Fun To Shoot, It Also Helps The Actors And Creates An Energy On Set And Ultimately In The Scene.
Fun
Real
Energy
I Think That Music Is A Very Difficult Art Form In Which To Be Avant-garde. When We Sit Down To Listen To A Piece Of Music, I Think Our Implicit Hope Is That We're Going To Find It Beautiful, Or At Least Emotional, On Some Level.
Beautiful
Art
Emotional
I Think I'm Good At Amplifying An Actor's Strengths, And Minimizing Their Weaknesses. And They All Have Strengths And Weaknesses.
Thinking
Weakness
Actors
Making A Film That's Supposed To Be Fun To Watch Is Really Hard - That's The Weird Irony Of It.
Fun
Watches
Irony
Every Time You Make Something That Somebody Likes, Your Impulse Is To Remind Them That If You Hadn't Made Some Of These Other Things That They Hated, You Wouldn't Have Been Able To Make The Thing That They Liked.
Able
Likes
Made
I Never Leave The Writer Behind, Because You Rewrite The Movie In Post, Or At Least I Do. I Always Do, And I Feel Like Anybody Who Doesn't At Least Explore That Possibility Is Short-changing Themselves. Editing Is The Most Fun And Most Exciting Part Of The Process.
Fun
Editing
Possibility
In Full Frontal And K Street, I Learned To Take Advantage Of The Mobility That Digital Provides.
Mobility
Digital
Advantage
My Father, Who Was The One Who Really Got Me Hooked On Movies, Liked All Kinds Of Films, And I Saw All Kinds Of Films At A Very Young Age.
Father
Age
Saws
I Don't Have Any Kind Of Ideology That Precludes Me From Moving In One Direction Or Another. I Just Want Creative Autonomy And I Want At Least An Opportunity That It's Going To Be Seen.
Moving
Opportunity
One Direction
Any Time I Think Out Loud, 'i Can't Believe This Is My Job,' And Remember I Am A Very Lucky Duck. Whether Marshalling Hundreds Of Zombies, Doing Crazy Stunts Or Shooting Big Music Numbers, I Just Feel Fortunate To Have Made My Passion My Vocation.
Jobs
Crazy
Believe
My Experience Over The Years With Working With People Who Are Not Actors Or Not Trained Actors Is That You Have To Get To Know Them Well Enough To See What They Have That's Translatable Onto The Screen. So You're Constantly Calibrating To Play To Their Strengths. And The Key Is To Never Ask Them To Do Things That Are Beyond Their Abilities Or Are Really Far Away From Who They Are At Their Core.
Keys
Years
Play
I Don't Consider Myself To Be Particularly Gifted In The Way That Other Filmmakers Are Gifted.
Way
Filmmaker
Gifted
I Think There Are Only Two Times That I've Ever Ended Up Paying Somebody Their Quote. Like What They Actually Were Worth In The Marketplace.
Thinking
Two
Marketplace
I'm Obviously Really Opinionated, But As A Producer, You Don't Necessarily Want The Person You're Working With To Try To Impress You - You Want Them To Just Be Themselves.
Trying
Want
Producers
When You Get A Certain Level Of Resources, And You Want Things A Certain Way, I Find It Difficult To Get Too Belligerent Because It's Not My Money.in This Case It Is. It’s A Lot Easier To Stand Your Ground And Say “i Want It Like This” When You Know It’s Your Money You’re Spending.
Difficult
If I'm A Director And I Read A Script And I Say Yeah I Really Want To Do This, I Would Never Walk Away Because The Deal Wasn't Very Good - That I Wasn't Getting Paid Very Much Or That The Chances That I Would See Anything On The Back End Were Remote Because Of The Financial Waterfall And The Way It's Structured. I Would Never Use That As A Reason Not To Do Something.
Directors
Use
Want
Maybe I'll Paint, Do Photography, Just Something Else. I Can See That.
Photography
Paint
I Can
I Guess I Didn't Feel Confident Enough To Be Searching In A Big Public Way. I Was Very Content At The Time To Toil In Obscurity On Things That I Thought Might Point Me In Certain Directions Or Teach Me Certain Things - Not Knowing What That Would Be.
Knowing
Toil
Would Be
It's A Weird Thing To Say, But It Would Appear To Me Axiomatic That If You Understood Fully What I Was Doing And Appreciated It, You Would Like It.
Appreciated
Weird Things
Understood
If You're Going To Make A Movie For Ten Thousand You Can Talk Everybody Into Doing It For Free. You Could Make A Really Good-looking Movie Right For Ten Grand, If You Have An Idea.
Ideas
Looking Good
Thousand
I Like A Lot Of Different Kinds Of Movies, I Like A Lot Of Different Kinds Of Paintings.
Different
Painting
Kind
The Brief Flashbacks Are Sun-kissed, Summery And Optimistic. It's The Only Place In The Movie You Will See Red, Yellow, Orange, Or Any Vibrant Colors.
Optimistic
Color
Yellow
People Are Sort Of Numb To Watching Violence, But Sexual Activity Is Still As Strong As It Ever Was In Terms Of Generating Response.
Strong
People
Violence
If You're Not Smart Enough To Know What Fidel Meant During The Cuban Revolution, That - When They Were On The Granma - Fidel Was Already A Rock Star In Cuba, And How Important That Was To The Indigenous Population, Then You're Not Paying Attention.
Stars
Smart
Rocks
I Always Have A Plan, But Then I'm Always Ready To Throw The Plan Out, And Everyone's Ready To Make A Radical Left Turn If Necessary.
Radical
Turns
Plans
The Art Model Of Problem Solving Is Incredibly Efficient Because Ideology Has No Place There.there's Only The Thing And What The Thing Needs To Be.
Art
Needs
Problem
I'm Not Precious About Anything. The Effort It Took To Get Something Means Nothing To Me In Post. It Means Nothing To The Audience. I'll Chop Limbs Off. I'll Put An Arm Where A Leg Should Be. I'll Do Anything.
Mean
Effort
Legs
I Make Every Movie Like It's The Last One. "if This Was The Last Movie, What Decision Would I Make?" That's How I Make My Decisions.
Decision
Lasts
Ifs
I Feel I Need To Really Think About Whether There's A Way To Use What Skill I Have To Address Things That Outrage Me, Like The 13 Year Old Girl Getting Stoned To Death. Because I Don't Think Making A Movie Is Going To Help That, Or Change That.
Girl
Thinking
Years
I Had More Fun Making Traffic Than Either Of The Ocean's Films.
Fun
Ocean
Film
I Come From A Generation That Was Surrounded By Popular Music, But I Don't Know If Anybody's Ever Going To Move The Ball Forward As Far And As Fast As The Beatles Did.
Moving
Generations
Balls
There's A Technical Reason Why I Think That Frame Rate Is Weird And It Has To With Your Brain's Ability To Scan Beyond A Certain Rate. The Point Is I Find It Looks Weird.
Thinking
Brain
Looks
Some Filmmakers, You Know, Have Their Style And Then They Kind Of Go Looking For The Movie. I'm Not Like That. I Don't Have One Style That I Want To Take From Movie To Movie.
Style
Want
Kind
Well, It's 15 Years Since Sex, Lies And Videotape, And If You Hang Around Long Enough You're Having The Same Arguments With Just A New Set Of People Every Few Years And It Gets Boring.
Sex
Lying
Years
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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