If you're a movie star, the studios don't want you to act. They just want you to show up and look good and chase girls and have a lot of laughs. William Friedkin More Quotes by William Friedkin More Quotes From William Friedkin Ive never seen a more terrifying film than 'The Bababook'. It will scare the hell out of you as it did me. William Friedkin hellscarefilm But the audience is right. They're always, always right. You hear directors complain that the advertising was lousy, the distribution is no good, the date was wrong to open the film. I don't believe that. The audience is never wrong. Never. William Friedkin complainingbelievedirectors All of the films I have made, that I have chosen to make, are all about the thin line between good and evil. And also the thin line that exists in each and every one of us. That's what my films are about. William Friedkin linesfilmevil When you go to a studio with something you want to make, or they come to you with something they want to make, more often than not, it's a tent pole. Not something one single person is really passionate about on a creative level. William Friedkin passionatelevelscreative One of my themes is that there is good and evil in everyone. I was not out to make these guys heroes. I really don't believe in heroes. The best of people have a dark side and it's a constant struggle for the better side to survive and to thrive. William Friedkin struggleherobelieve I believe it's true that there's good and evil in everyone and it's a constant struggle to have your better angels prevail. William Friedkin angelstrugglebelieve Style is something that's extremely important, but it must grow naturally out of who and what you are and what the material calls for. It cannot be superimposed. William Friedkin halloweenstyleimportant I don't look back or analyze my films. I just make them. It's for someone else to look at. William Friedkin filmlooks Directing is a nice job. It's the best job for me. If i had to pay money to do it, I would do itIt's problematical. It's disapointing often. It's very challenging. It's frustrating as hell. It's extremely demanding and totally satisfying work. And if I wasn't doing this, I would have to do legitimate work for a living. There are guys out there really working for a living, cleaning streets or coal mining, teaching. Directing is playing. Acting. William Friedkin niceteachingjobs Directing is a nice job. It's the best job for me. If I had to pay money to do it, I would do it... Directing is playing. Acting. William Friedkin best-jobnicejobs I tend to be attracted to characters who are up against a wall with very few alternatives. And the film then becomes an examination of how they cope with very few options. And that's, I guess, what interests me in terms of human behavior. William Friedkin wallalternativescharacter There are films that I've made that I like a little bit more than the others. But the films that I mostly watch, and see over and over again, are not my own. William Friedkin filmlittleswatches Violence is not funny. William Friedkin violence To me, the art of cinema is the same as the art of painting. The artist takes a 2D medium and gives you the illusion of depth. If you look at any of the great paintings, you have the illusion of depth. Which is part of the art. The same with the great movies. William Friedkin depthgivingart The only gay people who remain in the closet are those who choose to, who don't want to publicly declare their sexuality, which is true of heterosexual people as well. I don't walk around with a button or a T-shirt that says "I am a heterosexual." I don't think sexuality defines a person. It's one small part of who you are, in my view. You are many things, and I never felt that people were defined by their sexuality solely. Although God knows, as a minority, gay people have taken serious lumps for their sexual preferences. As has every minority. William Friedkin gaytakenthinking I had absolutely no focus as a kid. I never paid attention at school, I never went to college. Not because we were too poor; we were. But if I wanted to go to college, I would have found a way. William Friedkin collegekidsschool There are certain things that happen during the production of, I think, every film, that you didn't plan, and often it's better than what you did plan. There's the question of either going with it or not. William Friedkin filmthinking There is a thin line between the policeman and the criminal. The best cops are always crossed. The best cops are the ones who are able to think like criminals. But for a quirk of fate, they might have been criminals. William Friedkin fatelinesthinking None of the chase scenes that I did had any opticals. We had to do all of that physically. The first thing you have to do is see it in your mind's eye. You have to envision it. Imagine someone knitting a sweater or a scarf. They either have a pattern in front of them, or they see a pattern in their mind's eye. Then it's one stitch at a time. That's what shooting a chase is like. William Friedkin sweatersknittingeye I'm not a fan of 3D. But I am a huge fan of digital imagery. Because it allows a filmmaker much more latitude to appreciate their own visions and dreams. William Friedkin appreciatevisiondream
