William Friedkin famous quotes

Last updated: Sep 5, 2024

Ive never seen a more terrifying film than THE BABADOOK.It will scare the hell out of you as it did me.
-- William Friedkin

#Scare #Film #Hell
I had absolutely no focus as a kid. I never paid attention at school, I never went to college. Not because we were too poor; we were. But if I wanted to go to college, I would have found a way.
-- William Friedkin

#School #Kids #College
But the audience is right. They're always, always right. You hear directors complain that the advertising was lousy, the distribution is no good, the date was wrong to open the film. I don't believe that. The audience is never wrong. Never.
-- William Friedkin

#Believe #Complaining #Directors
There are many untalented people making millions of dollars in the film business.
-- William Friedkin

#People #Dollars #Film
I tend to be attracted to characters who are up against a wall with very few alternatives. And the film then becomes an examination of how they cope with very few options. And that's, I guess, what interests me in terms of human behavior.
-- William Friedkin

#Wall #Character #Examination
Style is something that's extremely important, but it must grow naturally out of who and what you are and what the material calls for. It cannot be superimposed.
-- William Friedkin

#Halloween #Style #Important
Violence is not funny.
-- William Friedkin

#Violence
Sam Jackson is a director's dream. Some actors hope to find their character during shooting. He knows his character before shooting. Sam's old-school. I just got out of his way. I never did more than two takes with Sam.-william friedkin
-- William Friedkin

#Dream #School #Character
Edgar Allan Poe is considered the great writer of horror stories, perhaps the greatest - I will say the greatest
-- William Friedkin

#Stories #Horror #Allan Poe
Technique is of less interest than character and story.
-- William Friedkin

#Character #Technique #Stories
Directing is a nice job. It's the best job for me. If I had to pay money to do it, I would do it... Directing is playing. Acting.
-- William Friedkin

#Jobs #Nice #Acting
The informing idea of what you want to say and do, that's what will take you from film school to professional - the idea. That's what is original to you.
-- William Friedkin

#School #Ideas #Want
The first work of the director is to set a mood so that the actor's work can take place, so that the actor can create. And in order to do that, you have to communicate, communicate with the actors. And direction is about communication on all levels.
-- William Friedkin

#Communication #Order #Actors
And it was only a week later that I realized a close up of Steve McQueen was worth the greatest landscape you could find.
-- William Friedkin

#Landscape #Week #I Realized
One of my themes is that there is good and evil in everyone. I was not out to make these guys heroes. I really don't believe in heroes. The best of people have a dark side and it's a constant struggle for the better side to survive and to thrive.
-- William Friedkin

#Believe #Struggle #Hero
Directing is a nice job. It's the best job for me. If i had to pay money to do it, I would do itIt's problematical. It's disapointing often. It's very challenging. It's frustrating as hell. It's extremely demanding and totally satisfying work. And if I wasn't doing this, I would have to do legitimate work for a living. There are guys out there really working for a living, cleaning streets or coal mining, teaching. Directing is playing. Acting.
-- William Friedkin

#Jobs #Nice #Teaching
I really think that sex always looks kind of funny in a movie.
-- William Friedkin

#Sex #Thinking #Looks

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