A Quote by Francis Ford Coppola

I don't go on set with an army of people because the most expensive elements of a movie production are the plane tickets, the hotel rooms, food and gasoline. If you're willing to discover new colleagues in the place that you are, you can save a ton of money.
Because movies have gotten so expensive, and they're so expensive to market, that means that for a movie to break even or to make its money back, everybody has to go see the movie, and if everybody has to go see the movie, then it can't be about anything.
There are not a ton of people buying cars - cars are expensive. So people usually go for the cheapest car they can get. And if the price of gasoline falls again, it makes the savings that you get with an electric car harder to realize.
I spend most of my money in Prada or plane tickets.
When you work with an actor and then you discover new things that are better, I think you gotta be free to be able to go with the new things that you're finding. I think that's very important. I have a strong idea when I go to shoot a movie but I also love to discover things when I'm on set as well.
Mulan represents honour and bravery, but, for me, it's also that she's willing to discover herself and willing to go forward. I think that's important to audiences too. Not many people would be willing to do that in the first place.
If you really want to break it down, on a small movie everybody knows that they're there for artistic reasons to do something special to make something amazing, and they're not going to get their normal hotel and they're not going to get their trailer, but they're willing to forgo that - and of course the salary - because they want to do something really special. On a big movie, most people are getting paid a lot of money, and so they're there to do the work.
For me, the best places to write are on planes, trains and at airports. Not hotel rooms but hotel lobbies. I'm really happy when I'm waiting for a plane and the message comes that it's three hours late. Great, I'll get to write!
I don't save money. Save is a four letter word! I like to borrow money because I can get richer faster on borrowed money. I have what is called retained earnings, so I don't have to save money. If I need money, I will go out and borrow it.
Parisians overwhelmingly buy small cars. And it's not because people are petite, but because fuel is drop-dead expensive. Gasoline costs more than twice as much in Paris as in New York.
The first prize for any production is, if you can find a location that means you don't have to build sets, that will serve, and is not excessively expensive to hire, then it can save you a lot of money.
My new favorite thing is to wake up in hotel rooms, and write on the hotel pads. Usually, it's nothing. I leave it in a hotel and get really embarrassed about the maid picking it up, wondering what in the hell I'm talking about.
I often compare putting a hotel together to old-time movie production. You come up with a story line, you hire the writer, the director, the stars, the set designer.
People have different goals, when you start out making a movie. If the goal is darkness and destruction and despair, it's not like, "Hey, let's go to set, and then let's hit the bar afterwards. Let's jaunt into London and pick up some Chinese food." No, you go home from set and you go fight at the gym, and then you go to sleep. You stay in it. You never excuse yourself, you never take it easy on yourself, you never eat good food.
I'm in hotel rooms most of the time, and it can be hard to find a hotel with a nice gym. It was important for me to have a workout I could do in my room.
It's not uncommon to hear people say that the re-entry into their lives is very hard. A lot of actors say that the hardest thing about working is not working, because you go from one of the most structured environments in the world to a place of no structure. Maybe that's why you see someone go from movie to movie to movie.
The director makes the movie. The director has to have the story in their head, has to know the style of the piece, has to answer questions from actors, design, set, lighting, every department throughout the pre-production, production, and post-production, because they've got it in their mind. They've got to know exactly what they want and what the style and story of the movie is. It's them. They make it.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!