I think English film is very embarrassed by patriotism, generally. Tom Hooper More Quotes by Tom Hooper More Quotes From Tom Hooper I don't even like football. Tom Hooper football I began to think that if you're a stutterer, it's about inhabiting silence, emptiness, and nothingness. Tom Hooper emptiness silence thinking American movies are often very good at mining those great underlying myths that make films robustly travel across class, age, gender, culture. Tom Hooper age class travel Some of my most special shooting experiences have been at weekends. Tom Hooper shooting weekend special I decided to be a filmmaker when I was 12. I had utter clarity that this would be my life. Tom Hooper clarity filmmaker would-be 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. Tom Hooper uplifting kings new-york I appear to be drawn to iconic characters and what they reflect back to our cultures. Tom Hooper iconic character culture Nowadays filmmakers tend to recycle the same cliches over and over again. Tom Hooper cliche filmmaker Actors are programmed to see the worst. If you're talking about an actor's TV series, you say, "I loved you last night." And they go, "What about the week before?" They immediately worry. Tom Hooper worry talking night The thing that fascinates me is that the way I came to film and television is extinct. Then there were gatekeepers, it was prohibitively expensive to make a film, to be a director you had to be an entrepreneur to raise money. Tom Hooper entrepreneur directors way Thank you to my wonderful actors, the triangle of man-love which is Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and me. Tom Hooper triangles actors men Great acting is all about being in the moment, being in the present tense. Tom Hooper tense acting moments I think the thumb print on the throat of many people is childhood trauma that goes unprocessed and unrecognized. Tom Hooper childhood people thinking Well, I'm half Australian, half English and I live in London. That is the only reason I came upon this story. My Australian mother, Meredith Hooper, was invited in late 2007 by some Australian friends to make up a token Australian audience in a tiny fringe theater play reading of an unproduced, unrehearsed play called 'The King's Speech. Tom Hooper reading kings mother Actors enjoy being treated as ordinary people. Tom Hooper actors ordinary people The irony of a director going to film festivals is you never get to see any of the films. Tom Hooper irony festivals directors American cinema tends to express a patriotic relationship to national identity on a regular basis. Tom Hooper patriotic cinema identity The more uncompromisingly specific you are the more you end up touching the bigger universal truths. Tom Hooper bigger touching ends I think this film is about inclusion, but it's about the inclusion that's made possible by love, we live in a deeply divided world. I mean what's happening on the shores of Europe at the moment, the extraordinary refugee crisis that reaches out to us at the moment, is an appeal to our hearts. Tom Hooper entertainment My dad said, 'The thing that I was told that was really helpful was that I mustn't be afraid of the things I was afraid of when I was five years old'. The shock of his childhood had put him in this defensive crouch against the world, and he needed to know that he had a nice wife and kids and it wasn't the same any more. Tom Hooper childhood dad wife world