A Quote by Patton Oswalt

I would always rather shoot for something unique and fail than do a script because I feel like they're hitting all the right mainstream beats. — © Patton Oswalt
I would always rather shoot for something unique and fail than do a script because I feel like they're hitting all the right mainstream beats.
I always look for projects that are risky and ones that want to do something unique. If audiences don't like it, you feel good knowing that you were brave enough to do something original. If they do like it, you feel like everyone is rewarded, because we all got to see something new.
I don't think there is anybody who's watching television right now who wants to see something because it looks good rather than feel something because it feels right or familiar or new or whatever.
Ultimately, at the end of it, it's just trying to get into that space where you feel like you're hitting the right thing and you're making music. And it feels intuitive rather than being counterintuitive.
So something I've felt I've learned with The Cosmopolitans shoot is using some agility and changing things quickly. That's something I found really useful on this shoot too. The gestation of The Cosmopolitans and this are slightly different from my other films. The script would be done and I'd be cutting it, but I wasn't always writing new material.
I prefer to be subcultural rather than mass-cultural. I'm not interested in hitting the vein of the mainstream.
Whenever I'm doing any film, there's always three different things. There's the script, which is really just a blueprint. And then, you shoot the movie and it's an entirely different experience than you would expect from reading the script. And then, there's the whole post process and the editing, and it becomes something else entirely.
Shooting against greenscreen... my choice of filming is, like, I'd rather shoot on location than shoot on a set, and I'd rather shoot on a set than shoot against greenscreen. You start stripping away the layers of reality, and it becomes a lot less fun to actually film.
I always say people would rather be nice than right. I like to be nice too, but come on. People frequently ask me, what is my definition of politically correct. My answer is always the same: the elevation of sensitivity over truth. People would rather be nice than right, rather be sensitive than true. Well, being nice and sensitive are important, but they're not more important than being right; they're not more important than the truth.
Can you feel that there is something in you that is at war, something that feels threatened and wants to survive at all cost, that needs the drama in order to assert its identity as the victorious character within that theatrical production? Can you feel there is something in you that would rather be right than at peace?
I'd rather say no and have said no and do say no often. I walk away from projects if it doesn't feel right; if it's not the right team of people pulling in together or if the script isn't right. It could be a great idea but the script doesn't work.
If the script's good, everything you need is in there. I just try and feel it, and do it honestly. I also don't learn things for auditions, because I feel like it's just a test of memorizing rather than being real. Maybe every other actor would think that was terrible, I don't know. But it seems to have worked for me, so far.
[Photography] is always like a state of grace, like the appearance of something that I hadn't foreseen, that surprises me and stops me. If I only did what I had in mind, there would be no emotion. It would be like keeping one's eyes shut rather than open, like theorizing rather than seeing.
I've always wanted to call the shots because I would rather fail than not have a chance to figure it out on my own.
I don't think I'm unique or that I'm trying to do something unique, but I feel it is something I would like to hear. This kind of music I would like to listen to but I can't hear very often.
Don't be afraid to fail. For the love of God, don't be afraid to fail, because you're going to fail. So try to fail as hard as you can is what I would say, because you're always going to get up and you're going to learn something from it.
I don't like to be on a set and wait three hours, just to make some lighting adjustments. I like to shoot. That's what I want to do. I'd rather shoot something dumb than wait.
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