Philosophical Sayings

I'm never bothered that people say I don't make films 'from life' and that I have 'nothing to say.' I don't try to say anything but to create characters and to tell stories out of which meaning can appear. What's more, I think I make films about life…

My movies are very personal. I'm working in a genre, no doubt about it... but to me all the movies are very personal.

Anything that I'm not interested in, I can't even feign interest. I can't do just this little bit to just get by.

In real life there are no bad guys. Everybody just has their own perspective.

Failure brings great rewards - in the life of an artist.

Just because you are a character doesn't mean you have character.

I think every movie is a genre movie. A John Cassavetes movie is a genre movie—it's a John Cassavetes Movie. That's a genre in and of itself.

To me they're all living inside of this one universe. And it isn't [pointing out the window] out there. Well, it's a little bit out there, and it's also there, too [points at his TV], in the movies, and it's also in here [points to his head]. It's al…

I just realized that I need to be a director for two reasons. One, directors were already my heroes at this point. I wanted to - when I wanted to be an actor I wanted to work with this director. Not work with this actor, I wanted to work for this dir…

I didn't start a family until late in life. I've been -- I've always kind of equated -- if you're doing movies on, you know, on the level that I've been doing, actually at the level I've been allowed to do, it's -- I equate it to mountain climbing.

When I start writing I write these crazy novels. And I don't know what to do about it. Well, write a novel. That's what you can do, write a novel. And don't make a movie out of it.

I don't believe at all in test screenings or sneak previews where you hand out questionnaires to the viewers to get their reactions.

When a man of principle battles a scoundrel, the scoundrel always at first has the upper hand. Because there are some things the man of principle won't do.

There's one thing everyone should understand: I like my character.

Don't let what other people think decide who you are.

This life is like a swimming pool. You dive into the water, but you can't see how deep it is.

I'll be the judge of my own manliness.

You can love me or you can hate me.

Create havoc, create destruction.

Death has always had a prominent place in my mind. There are times when I think somebody might kill me.