Philip Glass once told me, "They can always copy what you've done, but they can't copy what you're going to do." Errol Morris More Quotes by Errol Morris More Quotes From Errol Morris I remember on page one of The New York Times the article about Fred Leuchter. The heading was "Can Capital Punishment Be Humane" and it was the story about an electric chair repairman and execution machine designer. And then buried in the back of the paper was the fact that Fred Leuchter had also been involved in holocaust denial. Errol Morris punishment holocaust new-york You know, anything more negative, anything more disparaging, anything more adversarial than what [Donald Trump] does already. The mystery is how he's gotten as far as he's gotten. Errol Morris mystery doe negative I used to work as a private detective years and years ago. And my boss gave me this one very simple piece of advice about trying to figure out who to interview first in any investigation. His recommendation: Always pick the people who were fired. Pick the people who are pissed off. Errol Morris boss simple people I asked [Donald Trump] if he had any advice for Charles Foster Kane and he said, "Yeah, get yourself a different woman." Errol Morris yeah different advice In the case of The Thin Blue Line, I was surprised actually by many things. I was shooting down in Texas where the actual killer David Harris lived and I interviewed the town cop. He described these guys as being David Harris' partners in crime and even though they had criminal records and had committed crimes, they sued me! More often than not, the insurance company that protects you against this type of lawsuit will settle it with cash and contest it in a court of law. Errol Morris texas law blue Long, long before I became a filmmaker I was talking to killers. Filmmaking was an after thought. Errol Morris killers talking long I'm asked unendingly to become involved in series involving true crime and as it so happens the Netflix series that I'm working on is about a true crime. Errol Morris netflix crime happens If you told me thirty years ago that people would be parodying documentary films, I never would have believed it. It wasn't clear that the films themselves even had an audience, let alone an audience for parodies of them. Errol Morris would-be people years It's a kind of honour when I see how many people are imitating the style of how I make films. Errol Morris style kind people I probably wouldn't have done [ Fred Leuchter story] if it was just a story about an executioner or a holocaust denier, but the combination of the two elements was irresistible. So yeah, I find it strange that there are so many people out there now. Errol Morris holocaust two people Appearing on the front page of the New York Times even given the state of papers today is still something that's seen by a lot of people. Errol Morris paper new-york people I'm one simple way I think I've succeeded was capturing Elsa [Dorfman]. There's something about Elsa, her personality, and her work that I believe is there. Errol Morris simple believe thinking I've always loved [Elsa Dorfman] work. I've loved her and her work is so much an expression of her. One of the reasons to make the film is to expose Elsa, hopefully, to a wider audience. Errol Morris elsa film expression There are artists who are very well known and many of us feel they should be less well known, while there are others who aren't well known and many feel deserve more attention. Errol Morris deserve-more artist attention It's pretty clear that fame isn't inextricably connected with merit . Errol Morris merit clear fame It's really hard to know why certain artists become famous and others don't. Errol Morris certain artist knows I like to think that one of things I've done with non-fiction since the very beginning is to find new ways of telling true stories. Errol Morris stories fiction thinking [Elsa Dorfman]was well known. Certainly in the Boston area, she's well known as a portrait photographer. My wife always wanted to meet her and then there was some benefit where she was taking pictures. Errol Morris portraits boston wife I actually wanted to publish [ interview with Donald Trump about Citizen Kane] in the New York Times, but the circumstances under which I did that movie made me vulnerable to a lawsuit and at this point in my career, I don't want to go there. But it's amazing. Errol Morris citizens careers new-york I used to say that interviewing others was perhaps the way I could stop talking and start listening. It's a kind of enforced silence. Errol Morris silence listening talking
