With Edward Norton you'd never say, "This is the one we're going with whether you like it or not." It has to be agreed upon. Edward Norton More Quotes by Edward Norton More Quotes From Edward Norton When I was very small, I had that first-time-you-see-a-play experience, which immediately made me want to act, because it seemed like this incredible outlet for something I was already doing fairly compulsively anyway, which was putting on hats and costumes and doing funny voices. It was a very natural compulsion for me. Edward Norton voice want play You know when somebody really knows what they're drawing from and you can feel it when you see the movie. Edward Norton drawing knows feels Most of what I know about environmental conservation I learned from my father, who has been a leader within the movement for over 30 years. Edward Norton leader father years There's a lot of romanticisation of the intuitive actor and method acting and all kinds of notions about getting inside a character and coming out from there. Edward Norton actors acting character You know, independent films have been institutionalized, practically. Every studio has got a boutique arthouse label. There's like, 18 different independent film-financing funds. In fact, I think the children of those films are getting made. A more interesting question is whether those films are going to get seen and appreciated. Edward Norton independent children thinking Suspension of disbelief and that whole question is part of the heart of the 'Leaves of Grass'movie. Edward Norton leaves-of-grass disbelief heart The "environmental movement" is becoming an economic movement, is joining the social justice movement, is becoming a sustainability movement. It's leaving behind the "People's Needs versus Nature's Needs" conflict in favor of making the case for environmental health as the essential underpinning of prosperous and stable human civilization. Edward Norton environmental-health justice civilization I wish I were more musically gifted, more intuitive in playing instruments. Edward Norton playing-instruments gifted wish I've never acted before in a movie I've directed. This felt like the time to do it just because the " Leaves of Grass" movie itself is so much of a platform for the lead actor. It's really written for an exciting performance and it really depends on the audience watching an extraordinary actor having a great time pulling off this feat. It makes sense to me as a director to act in support of that. Edward Norton leaves-of-grass support actors If you try to make interesting films, you're going to be disappointed most of the time. I choose just not to look at it that way. I don't look at American History X as a failure, or Fight Club as a failure, or 25th Hour as a failure, or Larry Flynt as a failure, or any of the movies that I care about that I've made that were not immediately successful. I'll stand with those movies any day over 90 percent of the movies that came out at the same time that made a hundred million dollars Edward Norton fighting successful interesting I had a huge advantage with Edward Norton because he's directed a movie before, so one thing he appreciates is how hard my job is, he's very sensitive to that. We actually ended up finishing "Leaves of Grass" a day early. Edward Norton leaves-of-grass appreciate jobs We must realize that nature is absolutely essential for our survival, and we must act on that premise now. Edward Norton realizing essentials survival Remarkably, there's no green screen in 'Leaves of Grass' movie. There is motion control. Technically, there were all sorts of challenges, but really the soul of it is Edward Norton talent. You write these characters when you write a movie, and all you can hope for or depend on is that your actors will elevate the material. Edward Norton challenges writing character I never even considered comedy genre as something to embrace or move away from. Edward Norton embrace comedy moving I think it's a total fallacy for people to say, "You couldn't make those old movies today." I think there's more ways to get a movie made today than ever in the history of the entertainment industry. It's a very exciting time to work in movies, if you're a creative person looking to make a very personal, weird vision. Edward Norton creative people thinking What we set out to do with this movie [Leaves of Grass] was to create something that was funny and serious and had large tonal ambitions. A movie that could be poignant and funny, and suddenly quite violent. To have a character utterly sideswiped, and to learn that life is about balance. Edward Norton balance ambition character I'm a Tulsa Jew and I have a religious upbringing. Edward Norton tulsa jew religious The Zionist Tulsa Jew who's pugnacious is a reality. I grew up around it. And I think it's really, really funny and surprising and unlikely. Edward Norton tulsa reality thinking Even my wife and two of my children are in "Leaves of Grass". Because I love the source material so much, it was really easy to write and an utter delight to get to direct because I had people like Edward [Norton] elevating the material and surprising me in their interpretations of all of this stuff that's so close to me. Edward Norton writing two children You're always choosing the start point and the end point. And almost by definition, the most interesting period is where something happens, as a result of which something is different at the end. And so to me, the idea that you know everything about a character at the beginning is sort of ridiculous. Something has to be revealed. I like it when the deeper you go with the character, the more you see the layers start to peel away. It's more challenging to me, but it's also just interesting. Those are the things I like to watch. I like to watch the evolutions of something. Edward Norton challenges character interesting
