Latest John Landis Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• What's interesting as a director, and even studio executives don't understand this, is that if you're directing a $200 million movie with six million people, it's the same as directing a $25,000 movie with three people. The director's job is, "You stand there and do that," or "This is the shot I want." The logistics change, but the job remains the same. And I enjoy the job.

  John Landis

  People, Interesting, Enjoy

• Marketing does have a lot to do with the success of a film. But even more so, and especially since home video, I've learned that a movie has a life of its own. A movie goes out there, and it exists, and it continues. I'm always fascinated by what movie people bring up when they approach me.

  John Landis

  Home, People, Marketing

• People don't understand this: Ideas are important, but they're not essential. What's essential and important is the execution of the idea. Everyone has had the experience of seeing a movie and saying, "Hey! That was my idea!" Well, it doesn't mean anything that you had that idea. There's no such thing as an original concept. What's original is the way you re-use ancient concepts.

  John Landis

  Mean, People, Important

• The 1960s and 1970s were the real years for independent film, because they were really independent. Plus, there were hundreds of distributors. There were all these companies that basically did exploitation, but they were independent. Now, there are very few independent distributors.

  John Landis

  Real, Independent, Film

• Rock 'n' roll started to make so much money and generated so much income for the record companies that suddenly it was no longer evil.

  John Landis

  Rocks, Evil, Income

  Source: collider.com

• They sought out rap music to attack, but you don't hear that anymore because it made too much money. They use Che Guevara to sell soft drinks. If something comes out that is radical and it's successful, then it's no longer radical. It's co-opted.

  John Landis

  Rap, Successful, Soft Drinks

  Source: collider.com

• Anytime something makes money, no matter how outré, it's instantly mainstream. A good example is rock 'n' roll. When rock 'n' roll was first played to a wide audience it was considered the devil's music.

  John Landis

  Rocks, Devil, Example

  Source: collider.com

• Because of the cumbersome nature of filmmaking, it's only recently that it has become available to the masses, with digital equipment and laptop computers. You can now actually make a pretty serviceable movie for very little money by yourself.

  John Landis

  Littles, Laptops, Digital

  Source: collider.com

• You always want to do something different. I enjoy the process. I like making movies, and it's increasingly hard to find a movie you'd want to make.

  John Landis

  Different, Want, Process

  Source: collider.com

• I am very direct and I tend to treat everyone exactly the same, which sometimes gets me in trouble because some movie stars feel like they should be treated differently. But, when you're dealing with good actors, they really appreciate it.

  John Landis

  Stars, Appreciate, Actors

  Source: collider.com

• Movies are brand new. Film is less than 150 years old. It's brand new, compared to any other art form, all of which are thousands of years old.

  John Landis

  Art, Years, Film

  Source: collider.com

• Truthfully, most directors don't direct actors. Every actor is different, so when you're asked, "How do you approach an actor?," it depends on the actor. With some, you do nothing. With some, you're very specific.

  John Landis

  Directors, Different, Actors

  Source: collider.com

• One of the challenges of the movie is there are no apologies or excuses.

  John Landis

  Apology, Challenges, Excuse

  Source: www.avclub.com

• I'm very lucky to have worked in the '70s. It's a different industry and distribution is in a state of flux. It's all different platforms, they're doing this video-on-demand thing and also playing the film theatrically. It's funny to me: In the States it's an arthouse movie.

  John Landis

  Different, Lucky, Video

  Source: www.avclub.com