“There’s something inherently wrong with the human personality. There’s an evil side to it. One of the things that horror stories can do is to show us the archetypes of the unconscious: We can see the dark side without having to confront it directly. Also, ghost stories appeal to our craving for immortality. If you […]
“There is nothing in the dark that isn’t there when the lights are on.” ― Rod Serling “The new form is the no form. In terms of literature, in terms of the motion picture maker, the new form is to wing it. Get that formless piece of clay and do it anyway you want. […]
“Any good movie is filled with secrets. If a director doesn’t leave anything unsaid, it’s a lousy picture. If a picture’s unsaid, it’s a lousy picture. If a picture is good, it’s mysterious, with things unsaid.” — Ernst Lubitsch
“I come from a school where you work by implication rather than by direct display. Whether it’s violence or sex, I still believe you can show both of those quite well without going into explicit detail.” — Fred Zinneman Source: 1982
“There are so many things necessary for the making of good pictures, and so few people can qualify! They grasp the superficial points, fill in with a lot of ‘hokum’ and ‘get by,’ temporarily! But there is no sincerity, and it tells in the end. Whatever I do may be wrong, but while I am […]
“I felt the urge to direct, because I couldn’t stomach what was being done with what I wrote.” — Joseph Mankiewicz (1909-1993)
“It’s no wonder they say Wilder is out of touch with the times. Who the hell wants to be in touch with these times?” — Billy Wilder in 1975. Source: Robert Horton’s book, Billy Wilder: Interviews Photo: Annie Leibovitz (taken much later, of course)
“My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.” — Woody Allen Photographer: Irving Penn.
“Yep, this business is the biggest gamble. It’s very true here that prosperity is just around the corner. And there are a lot of corners in making pictures.” — W.S. Van Dyke Source: 1937 Posing with his wife, Ruth Mannix, after the birth of Jr., their second of three children together. The Van Dykes’ first […]
“This is the only industry that finances its own blackmail.” — Producer Walter Wanger on Hollywood’s gossip columnists.