I think reviewers have become particularly venomous because, in a way, the power has been sucked from them. A 15-year-old can write a review on the Internet and it means as much as Roger Ebert's review, and that just makes Roger Ebert mad, so he comes out harder and stronger.

Todd Phillips

Categorized in : Thinking Mean Writing

I find I like to work with a lot of the same actors, because I find that there's sort of shorthand there, and there is this unspoken trust, both ways. They trust me and I trust them. And I know what I'm going to get from them, to an extent. It's just fun, kind of creating this little family.

Todd Phillips

creating actors fun

I was taught that you didn't want to be part of the group - that it was better to do your own thing.

Todd Phillips

taught groups want

I really got into filmmaking through photography.

Todd Phillips

filmmaking photography

When you work on a movie or a TV show, you're a family, so if something that's a two-minute thing in the movie is causing a rift in the family, you also have to think about at what point do you fight this, and at what point is this rift worth having in this very small, very tight group of people who are just there to make something great and funny.

Todd Phillips

fighting people thinking

I think that 'Hangover II' is as funny as 'The Hangover I,' honest to God, but I think that it's a little bit darker, and the stakes are a little bit higher.

Todd Phillips

hangover littles thinking

My dog's a gentleman.

Todd Phillips

my-dog gentleman dog

John Goodman's pretty dark - I love John Goodman.

Todd Phillips

goodman dark

I was raised by my mom. She taught me how to be a gentleman; nobody in the movies taught me. I think people are raised by their parents. If you're raised by movies, it's a whole other set of problems. I don't think it's as simple as me saying movies are meant to entertain, but I certainly don't feel moral responsibility in putting this out in the world and being like, "OK, this is going to affect how guys make decisions because they see some of my films or whatever." I just don't.

Todd Phillips

mom responsibility simple

It's all about escapism. That's essentially what all movies are about. It's a vicarious thrill.

Todd Phillips

escapism vicarious thrill

I just love the look of film. But I have nothing against HD.

Todd Phillips

film looks

I don't have a horror film in me just because I don't like to be scared. But I definitely have a documentary in me, and I certainly have dramas.

Todd Phillips

documentaries scared drama

What it boils down to is that when you say the word Las Vegas it means something. You could say New York City and it doesn't really mean anything. When you say a word like Bangkok, in my mind it means something. There's not a lot of cities where the world literally brings a picture to your mind.

Todd Phillips

vegas new-york mean

Directors tend to be more underrated than overrated because it's a quiet job and people don't really understand it.

Todd Phillips

jobs directors people

Bangkok, like Las Vegas, sounds like a place where you make bad decisions.

Todd Phillips

vegas decision sound

Well, it's so cheesy to say but you can't find a comedy director who makes movies for critics. When a movie does $580 million worldwide, I'm not saying that proves anything except people were enjoying the experience.

Todd Phillips

cheesy directors people

To me, the script is a living, breathing organism. Comedy is something that is ever-changing and ever-flowing with the vibe and the mood of the movie.

Todd Phillips

comedy mood

I think people like comedies and I think concept driven comedies seem to be working when it's a clear concept and you deliver funny stuff.

Todd Phillips

stuff people thinking

I never had a ton of male friends and it's always been something that's really interesting to me, what brings guys together? The bonding. 'Old School' is a good example of that. And even 'Starsky' and even 'Road Trip.'

Todd Phillips

guy interesting school

There's a darkness under 'The Hangover' because ultimately there's a missing person and it's not really that funny. There's a sort of darkness under it that I love, and still people are laughing as hard if not harder than they did in 'Old School.'

Todd Phillips

hangover people school

I make decisions to do movies based on the cast. I'd just been working with Zach Galifianakis on 'The Hangover', and I was thinking, I've got to find something to do with this guy immediately.

Todd Phillips

hangover guy thinking