James Cameron has always been one of my favorite filmmakers. The first 'Terminator' is such a phenomenal film. It's not just that, though - he's also a very interesting person, James Cameron. It's fascinating to talk to him about science and engineering.

Giovanni Ribisi

Categorized in : Always Talk Person Science

I grew up with Scientology - my parents at one point were clerical. It's a pragmatic philosophy, not merely a belief system. Yeah, it's had media exposure because certain luminaries do Scientology, but millions of people do it who are not celebrities. It's not a threat or some cult.

Giovanni Ribisi

media philosophy people

I don't think that many people today, understand the nature of what an improv does for an actor in a specific setting. What an improv does for an actor is help him find the life; it's the life that an actor's after.

Giovanni Ribisi

doe people thinking

Acting is ephemeral. It's not like making a painting that lasts forever. You're doing something, and the very action which comes and goes, is being demonstrated in front of you. Within that process, you're trying to go against the grain.

Giovanni Ribisi

acting forever trying

I'm definitely one of those people that what comes into my head falls out of my mouth. That's a way for me to be even more creative, to sort of get the ball rolling and start parlaying off of somebody and interacting. That charge or that friction sometimes - if it's positive or negative - is inspiring, and it gets people to be I think creative, maybe.

Giovanni Ribisi

people fall thinking

Dostoevski was on to something. You are the path you choose. You are what your vocation is

Giovanni Ribisi

you-choose vocation path

My mother told me I was begging her to be an actor when I was four. My father and my grandfather saw at least one or two movies a week; they were film buffs, so I guess it just rubbed off on me.

Giovanni Ribisi

mother two father

I love talking about Scientology.

Giovanni Ribisi

scientology talking

Without Scientology, I would be in an alley somewhere looking for dope.

Giovanni Ribisi

alleys dope would-be

What an actor says is much, much less important than a life, so that's the great use for improvisation; you go, you find the life and then you add the words.

Giovanni Ribisi

important use add

A lot of writers, because they don't understand actors, feel like, in order to be better at their performance, they have to change the words around a lot.

Giovanni Ribisi

actors feels order

If you do improvising, it can sometimes end up being a waste of time. And if you do that, it's more or less based on a writing process.

Giovanni Ribisi

wasting-time waste writing

Do what you're doing while you're doing it.

Giovanni Ribisi

It was extremely useful to grow up in front of the camera. It gives the camera no significance. I think it helped me have perspective on things. The attraction that Hollywood can have, I feel like I'm over that. Instead I just concentrate on acting.

Giovanni Ribisi

growing-up giving thinking

I'm really happy with where I am, the movies in my life. Not satisfied, necessarily. But I won't put it on somebody else, blame anybody else for my position in the business. It's the choices I have made.

Giovanni Ribisi

blame choices made

I just consider myself a committed actor. If a movie is a success, that's great; I'm happy for that. But I've learned just to concentrate on my job and do the best that I can.

Giovanni Ribisi

ive-learned actors jobs

You have to take into account it was the cell phone that became what the modern-day concept of a phone call is, and this is a device that's attached to your hip 24/7. Before that there was 'leave a message' and before that there was 'hopefully you're home.'

Giovanni Ribisi

phones cells home

We went to - I guess it was a legitimate boiler room, and I sat in front of this guy who literally was on the phone with two people at once. They call it double fisting.

Giovanni Ribisi

phones two people

I want to be a part of something that's good and intellectually challenging.

Giovanni Ribisi

criteria challenges want

I'm old fashioned with my cell phone. I like that human contact and I think it's important.

Giovanni Ribisi

phones cells thinking

I could almost say it is my religion. I guess that sounds pretentious, but I want to live and breathe cinema.

Giovanni Ribisi

cinema sound want