20 John Sayles Quotes for You to Enjoy

John Sayles

American Director

Born: Sep 28, 1950

Always Good Made People Time You

Related authors: David Lynch George Lucas Martin Scorsese Spike Lee Steven Spielberg Tim Burton Woody Allen

Basically, if you could get a good trailer out of the script, Roger had no objection to you making a really good movie. He liked it if you did. He liked the more cleverness and ingenuity you could bring to it. He just wasn't going to give you any more money. John Sayles

Good You Money Out Good Movie Objection Give More Could Had He Liked Cleverness Making Trailer Roger Get Did Any Going Just Movie Script Ingenuity Really Bring Basically

But compared to writing a novel, where you can be God, I did the Bay of Pigs invasion in six pages once, and there were 50,000 guys with boots that I didn't have to pay, and all those extras; we didn't have to pay them. John Sayles

God You Writing Pay Once Those Bay Boots Invasion Guys Pigs Were Did Six Where Them Pages Novel Compared

Fahrenheit 9/11 took public domain information that should have been on the news every night and put it in a film that a lot of people went to see. But still Bush has never had to answer those charges. John Sayles

I certainly grew up seeing more movies and television than I read books, but when it came time to do the thing itself you don't have to hire a lot of people to sit down and write a book, so that was the story-telling medium that was available to me. John Sayles

Time Me You Book People Sit Down Medium Books Television Seeing More Write Read Came Hire Lot Up Itself Than Grew Story-Telling Available Movies Certainly Thing

I figured somebody wrote a story who had a typewriter and I thought that movies were made by the cowboys and that they just said, 'Okay, you fall off the horse this time.' John Sayles

I figured, 'When is that ever going to happen again?'. So I basically set out the opposite way movies are made; I set out with a budget first. I said, 'What can I do well for $40,000?'. John Sayles

Made First Way Out Budget Well Said Opposite Going Happen Again Movies Figured Ever Basically Set

I like to act. I work for scale. I don't have an acting agent. I'm in the book. John Sayles

Work Book Scale Like Agent Act Acting

I made it about a three-day weekend so people wouldn't have to change their clothes a lot. We didn't have an art department; we didn't have a make-up department. John Sayles

Art Change People Made Clothes Three-Day About Weekend Lot Department

I probably wouldn't have done as many as I did in one year, which I did when I was trying to raise money. John Sayles

Money Year Trying Did Done Which Many Raise

I remember being out here at the Sunset Marquis, and whoever knocked on the door, I would take that picture that I was writing and I would put that in the typewriter, so when I had the meeting, they would say: 'Oh, you're working on it right now?' John Sayles

I take more jobs when I need more money, if I'm investing in films. I take fewer when I don't. Or if something really good comes along, I usually find a way to do a good job on it in the time that I've got. John Sayles

Time Good Money Good Job Job Films Way Jobs Find Something More Take Investing Along Got Fewer Really Need

I think I got spoiled and that writing a short story and getting it published, or writing a novel and getting it published, you pretty much get to do the first, second and third draft yourself without a whole lot of interference. John Sayles

You Yourself Writing First Think Pretty Spoiled Without Got Lot Get Getting Short Short Story Story Much Interference Whole Novel Published Second Draft Third

I've always felt like I was on the margins. Once upon a time that's what independent used to mean. John Sayles

Time Once Independent Like Felt Always Mean Used Margins

Not that I've always loved the movie when they finally come out, or if they ever come out-because many of them don't come out-but I've gotten to work with really good story editors and stuff like that. John Sayles

Work Good Finally Out Good Story Stuff Come Like Always Editors Gotten Movie Loved Story Them Really Many Ever

The hardest thing about movie acting is that if you're playing a character who changes within the movie, you've got to do that, but you've got to do it out of sequence, because we never have gotten to shoot in sequence, and that's really, really tough. John Sayles

There are genres I don't care for, and I've never worked in those genres, and then sometimes there are people that I haven't liked and I haven't worked for those people. But if I feel like there's a movie that I would like to go see, I'll jump into it. John Sayles

People Sometimes Care Those Would See Never Feel Like Liked Genres Go Jump dont Care Movie Then Worked

There was a widespread indignation in the American media. They were saying, 'How can you make a movie during an election that's about politics? What are you doing? Are you trying to influence people's lives?' To which my response was, 'Well, I hope so.' John Sayles

You get to say, 'Here's my philosophical idea about what the costume should like,' and the costume designer comes and gives you choices and sometimes they're all good, and I say, 'What do you think?' and they pick the right thing. John Sayles

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