Stars work because of familiarity. They fill theatres because audiences know who they are. There is a brand equity. But there are films strong enough to not need stars, or films that should not be made with stars at all, where only fresh faces will do. So I make the decisions accordingly.
I love Sam Raimi. 'Evil Dead 2' is one of my favorite films. It's one of the best cheaper horror films I've ever seen. Horror films and suspense films can be made on a low budget without big stars and be very effective.
Reality TV has blown away the need for a roster of familiar faces in films. Plus, films became franchise and didn't need stars. But the real difference between stars and celebrities is that stars have training and talent, and celebrities just have exposure.
Films of stars as well non stars are working at the box office. People look out for content driven films.
If you have a career like mine, which is so identified with Hollywood, with big studios and stars, you wonder if maybe you shouldn't go off and do what the world thinks of as more personal films with lesser-known people. But I think I've fooled everybody. I've made personal films all along. I just made them in another form.
Unknowingly, we plow the dust of stars,
blown about us by the wind, and drink the
universe in a glass of rain.
If you work with big stars, then they become the lead actors. It's not that I don't want to do films with big stars, but I would rather do the films where I get the title roles.
I do believe that there are some films that cannot be made without stars.
I made mistakes in drama. I thought drama was when actors cried. But drama is when the audience cries.
Each form of the acting is different. I think it keeps your mind active. TV, film and theater are different disciplines, as are independent films, opposed to studio films. There are differences in the size and the genre, or a period drama as opposed to a contemporary drama, or the types of characters.
I'm not particularly interested in working with movie stars. It depends on where you come from, I suppose. Why are you making films? The reason I want make films is because they convey ideas. I think some directors make films because they want to hang out with movie stars and be part of Hollywood. They want to be a star themselves.
I enjoy making films. I have made all kinds of films, including action films, romantic films, period films like 'Kala Pani.'
I love gritty drama. I'm passionate about films and drama that make you think - hard-hitting, gravelly characters.
China is very entrepreneurial but has no rule of law. Europe has rule of law but isn't entrepreneurial. Combine rule of law, entrepreneurialism and a generally pro-business policy, and you have Apple.
Before we made films about gangsters, everything was about the royal families. They contain so much drama.
I personally just want to do as many different things as I can do, whether it's comedy, drama, science fiction, horror, narrator... You've got a documentary, I've got a voice. Animated films. Big films, small films.