A Quote by Olivia Thirlby

Oh, I love making independent films, it's such a special, magical thing because you collaborate with a small group of people and everyone's pitching in. You'll see producers setting up the lunch table and the sound guy driving a van. We're all really there because we want to be.
The vampire or the bad guy, that's what people do remember. Lars von Trier, like Guy Maddin, their films are made for a group of exclusive people who like special films. And they are special films, they are art films. And I started with commercial films at the beginning, and later on, because you know, when you are an actor, you have the same cliché like everybody else, you want to be in big films, you want to be known and all that.
There is this thing called Actors Access, which is run by the breakdown services. What they do is they put up casting notices that are available to everyone. Because there's thousands and thousands of actors and there are student films and grad student films and, sometimes, some small independent projects that are on there.
The bigger the movie is, the more agendas everybody has. It becomes more of a job for everyone, but on these small movies, you're making them because you want to make them. You're there because you want to do it. When you make a small movie, the one thing you have is that everyone is unified. That's what you need. You want everybody to want to be there and be a part of the project. If you can cultivate that, everyone works hard for it.
A lot of people love Tarantino’s films because they’re spectacular, they’re beautiful, they’re wonderful. He hires the best group of artists - not only actors, but everyone around: best photographers, best set designers, best production designers, costume designers. A lot of people love his films because they’re bloody, they’re gory, they’re savage. But very few people see that he’s a very political director.
I love independent films. I love going to see them. I love being a part of them because it kind of feels like 'all for one and one for all.' It can be really challenging but also really rewarding because sometimes you have to do so much stuff in a day, but I like that challenge, and you make such amazing friends.
But, I love making independent films. I love it! You create a family, and you sweat, you bleed, you cry, you shout, you laugh and you hug. It's such an extraordinary experience, making independent films.
A lot of people want to collaborate with people because of their level and status, but really I want to create with Beyonce just because of her skill and because of the history we have together.
I want people to see my movies. My talent, my sensibilities are what people want to see in the movies... While I have the talent to make the kind of movies people want to see I want to continue to do that, keep making big pictures and make what I love. I’m really just making the films I want to see. There’s not a strategy.
I just don't think I'm special because I'm an actor and I never would. Of course I take what I do seriously because I love doing it, and I love being in films and making films, but I don't take myself seriously.
Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you? Am I making believe I see in you, a woman too perfect to be really true? Do I want you because you're wonderful, or are you wonderful because I want you? Are you the sweet invention of a lover's dream, or are you really as beautiful as you seem?
You grow up loving movies, and your first instinct is you want to be an actor, because those are the people you see in the movies. But when you actually become an actor, you're like, 'Oh, wait, this is actually only a small portion of the storytelling. If I want to really tell a story, I'd want to be a director.'
I'm so sick of independent films being co-opted by Hollywood. You're making a project that's small, really personal, and the first thing anyone asks in any meeting is, 'Who's in it?' I'm like, 'Are you kidding?'
I think for most actors, because we sort of have to tell ourselves this, we always say, 'Oh, it doesn't mean anything to win an Oscar!' It certainly isn't a goal that you want to set yourself up for, because then you're just setting yourself up for disaster. Because how many people actually win an Oscar?
I tell people all the time that producers, writers, and directors really don't know what they want until it walks into the room - you have to show them what they want. Everyone is rooting for you when you walk into the room. Everyone wants you to be good because it means their day is over!
I'm really interested in making movies that people see: I've made a lot of independent films and it's really depressing when no one sees them.
Going forward, I would love to work with directors like Rian Johnson and Joss Whedon; people like that who are doing big films but do have really independent voices. That's kind of what I want to focus on, is always working with people with at least an independent point of view, even if it's not an independent film.
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