Sometimes, you know, the president is a father-like figure in American society, to most Americans, even today, no matter how cynical we've become. And people don't want to think that daddy's a bum all the time. They don't want to think that Daddy's a liar, a cheat and a fraud. |
There are people who would rather choke than go see my movies. They write me letters all the time. |
There's less critical thinking going on in this country on a Main Street level - forget about the media - than ever before. We've never needed people to think more critically than now, and they've taken a big nap. |
They're willing to suck in all this crap that comes over the television. |
To be in this business and have tremendous integrity and only make distinguished choices is very tough. |
To be in this business and have tremendous integrity and only make distinguished choices is very tough. Denzel Washington's career is an enormous luxury. Compare him to Wesley Snipes. Do you think that they set out for it to be that way? All actors set out for the same thing: to make both entertaining films and important films. |
weed out the worst abuses. |
Well, actors get very frustrated with giving control to other people. They have their own ideas and wants for their characters. Warren Beatty once told me that he thought actors ended up directing out of frustration. If you have a strong sense of how to communicate a film, you should direct. The problem is that it is a huge commitment. I'd rather direct a play than a film due to the time. A movie can tie you up for a year or more. |
You have actors who begin at a certain young age and there's very little change in their technique and the depth of their performances; they're the same 30 years later. |