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But it's just that the whole country is making generally lousy films these days and has been for quite a while. That's the big problem that we all have to think about.

Alexander Payne

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Alexander Payne
Age: 63
Born: 1961
Born: February 10
Film Director
Film Producer
Screenwriter
Writer
Omaha
Nebraska
Film
Problem
Lousy
Whole
Generally
Country
Films
Think
Days
Thinking
Quite
Bigs
Making

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A book suggests a whole world and story that I could have never thought of in a million years.
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My flag is always flying. My shingle is always out. I'm always looking for movie ideas. The hardest part of this whole movie-making endeavor is finding ideas. That's the real goal.
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What is filmmaking but groping in the dark?
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I'm attracted to short screenplays. Nobody really wants a film to be over two hours, or at least I don't.
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As the years go by and I make more films, I am increasingly interested in capturing place as a vivid backdrop for my films.
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I think if you watch most of my films with the sound off, you could still tell what's going on.
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What science-fiction premises do is it gives you a what-if prism to look at the contemporary world with a wack on the side of the head.
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If you were falling in love and you could go back in time and relive a day and see the banal things you did that you'd forgotten about, you'd weep, looking at that day.
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Forgiving yourself may be for many people, at least for myself, extremely difficult. And then in a larger context, I will say that I'm constantly astonished by those who pray daily, Forgive me my sins as I forgive those who sin against me, and beat very loudly the war drum.
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Just because I make films doesn't mean I think they're great. I just make them and then when I'm done with them I'm just a filmgoer like I always am. They're all lessons. I'm still in film school, honestly. And this one is just a dry run for whatever the next one is.
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I always wanted 'Sideways' to be like a great 1960s Italian film.
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I like to think of film-making not just as an act of personal self-aggrandisement but rather as an act of public service.
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When you're a houseguest and you leave, it's nice to straighten something up or send your hosts a useful gift. And when you leave the planet, it's nice to have made a positive contribution.
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The kindest thing a director can do is look with open eyes at everything.
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I think about what movie I would like to see. I don't think of them as a correction or palliative. I certainly am irritated by anything that's shot in the Midwest and filled with these noble people. Oh, they're so good, and they're so honest... I'm not interested in that. I just think of what's right for a movie.
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The actors are the greatest executors of tone in a film. They're the most important cinematic component.
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Adult movies with any artistic credit are released in the last quarter of the year and expected to gird for battle for Globes and Oscars. So the films aren't being seen just for themselves, but rather in a competitive context.
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If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level, I think you're wasting a great potential of cinema.
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I spend a long time casting, but once I've cast a film there's a reason why I selected those people. So I'm hands-on in selecting the cast, hands-off to see what they do with their characters, and hands-on again to offer suggestions.
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It seems that our politicians see the world in black and white, so why not our artists? Did Woody Allen's 'Manhattan' have to be in black and white? No. But is it fantastic that it was? To see New York like that? Yes!
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