Independent Movies Quotes & Sayings

[Hollywood] studios are handing out money to make independent films now, but they all want the same thing. They want the style and the deadpan delivery of RESERVOIR DOGS or FARGO and so they imitate those movies. They want PULP FICTION, but they get it all wrong! They get the detachment, but that's it. And then it's all about style, and in the end what do you learn about the characters? Nothing. You learn you wasted two hours. — Stanley Tucci

When you work on big commercial movies, of course there's more money involved and you can still do some good work. But with an independent, you get films that are really close to the writers' and directors' heart. Somehow it becomes a little deeper. A little more meat and not as much flash. — Dennis Haysbert

Most movies suck, even the independent ones. Hollywood is like baseball: Hit three good ones out of 10 and you're a Hall of Famer. — Denis Leary

The nice thing about piracy is, it allows the public to get independent art, to get a variety of music and movies. — Lloyd Kaufman

I couldn't survive just doing independent movies. And I'd rather do modelling than movies or TV I didn't like. — Chloe Sevigny

Now that I've established myself in a drama, I'm plugging away, trying to get the attention of people who do the independent movies and the features. — Shemar Moore

The scene of independent cinema is already a large scene in America, and not in a negative way, but it's cluttered. It's very populated with just American films, so the room left for foreign movies is not extremely vast. The American public also does not really read. They don't read subtitles. But we're like that in Canada, too. — Xavier Dolan

Some of the best roles are for women in these independent, smaller movies. — Kyra Sedgwick

I always went to see independent films, they're the movies I'm usually most excited to see. — Elizabeth Olsen

I haven't done a lot of studio movies, but studio movies and independent films are always just as fun as each other. — Kodi Smit-McPhee

My theory is, independent movies only work if you're willing to push the material and do something different. — Balthazar Getty

I've had some of the best craft services on independent movies, actually, because they get more creative, generally, with a smaller budget. The work is still the same. I didn't really notice the difference other than I was getting dressed behind a curtain, basically. — Jennifer Beals

I didn't know this about myself, but when 'Pirates of the Caribbean' came out I realised that I didn't enjoy a huge amount of recognition. I didn't react to it well, but I think life is about finding out who you are and what you like. So I started doing independent movies and art-house films instead. — Keira Knightley

Making movies, you're like an independent contractor - you come in, you have a specific job, and a lot of what you do is completely manipulated, which is good and bad. — Zooey Deschanel

I don't want to produce anymore small or independent movies because it's just too hard these days. — John Cusack

Sometimes the characters I find the most compelling are in independent movies. With independent scripts people can take more challenges. — Brittany Snow

My philosophy is to make movies with the biggest possible budget that will allow it to be made in an independent fashion. — M. Night Shyamalan

The thing about science-fiction fans and "Star Wars" fans is they're very independent-thinking people. They all think outside the box, but they all have very strong ideas about what should happen, and they think it should be their way. Which is fine, except I'm making the movies, so I should have it my way. — George Lucas

I would define independent film as a movie that is not financed by any of the smaller film companies. Because then, those are movies that in all likelihood are made without stars. And then they have to rely just on the material. — Steven Shainberg

People get together and go to the movies or on hikes, but everyone maintains their own independent domicile. — Frederick Lenz

I really love the independent movies and I just think that sometimes when they throw a lot of money into it and a lot of special effects and a lot of stunts that you lose the connection, the human connection and I personally love movies that are about the human connection. — Jane Seymour

We have a thriving subculture of 'independent' American movies that makes an impact on America as a whole roughly equivalent to that of a the modern literary novel. These are the films sincere viewers marry, whereas, once upon a time, movies were a lifetime of one night stands. — Edward Jay Epstein

I like working in both movies and television. Television is faster, not very much rehearsal and a lot of material is shot in a day. Big budget movies are luxurious in terms of the schedule. Independent films often shoot fast as well. — Juliet Landau

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. — Elizabeth Banks

I know there's a certain love and affection for the homemade on the Internet, and I'm all for that, too, and I appreciate it in alternative music, and I appreciate it in B-movies and in Sundance, independent films. — Robert Englund

In the '80s, I can't say that Amy and I were aware of an independent film community. We could only get a certain amount of money for our pictures, which made them low budget movies, but they were distributed through studios. — Griffin Dunne

To find a good story, you're generally going to find it in independent or lower budget movies ... I wouldn't mind doing a big budget movie if it had a great story. — Viggo Mortensen

Sometimes the independent movies can get a little too arty-farty. You watch the IFC Channel and you want to throw up. You don't always have to take things so serious, you know. — Mickey Rourke

Independent filmmakers already have their heads around people on their couches watching their movies. — Jill Soloway

I think independent movies are actually very challenging right now, because it was this huge scene and it was great for a few years. Then, it was totally co-opted by the studios. Now, it's become very corporate, the independent scene. — Bob Odenkirk

Coming from theater, and having been to acting school, and done little, small Australian independent movies, a lot of the time, it's always about character. — Jacqueline McKenzie

I make independent movies. I don't know how to do anything else. I don't know any other job that I could really get. — John Waters

Famous for his 'Maverick' Western series in the 1950s and 'The Rockford Files' in the '70s, and in movies like 'The Great Escape' and 'Grand Prix' in between, James Garner played amiable, independent characters for more than a half-century and never lost his comforting, enduring appeal. — Richard Corliss

I really don't know where the independent fits in anymore when twenty-five million dollar movies are considered straight-to-video fare. We're like penny postage stamps. — Kurt Voss

Sometimes you find that there is better material in small and more independent movies. There's more risk-taking. — Nick Stahl

Last year, when 'Black Swan,' 'True Grit' and 'King's Speech' all grossed over $100 million, it gave studios and independent financiers the confidence to make daring movies and not do the same old you-know-what. — Harvey Weinstein

A lot of times, mainstream critics are much tougher on small, independent movies because they can be. — John C. Reilly

Actors dread working with studios because they dictate what you do in a way that independent movies can't. — Jesse Eisenberg

The rise of video on demand will make it possible for small movies to earn back costs via $9.95 24-hour rentals and for people in cities without independent cinemas to see the kind of movies they never have before. That's great - but on the other hand, that's TV. — David Edelstein

It's a lonely world, being independent, and they can come away with the idea that if Lloyd Kaufman can make movies with people getting their heads squashed, with hard-bodied lesbians, women masturbating with pickles, graphic diarrhea, and singing and dancing chicken zombies - if he can do that for 40 years and put his kids through Yale, Columbia, and Duke - if that idiot can do it, anybody can do it. — Lloyd Kaufman

Like all independent movies, the first thing you're looking for is a name actor who will justify your financing. — Steven Shainberg

I've really enjoyed the independent film world. I've had a blast. But, the reality is that I really want to make bigger movies. If I could make movies that carry great characters and great performances and great pathos, and can have an explosion or two, that would be fine with me. — Matthew Lillard

I really like to work with theater actors. Theater actors tend to do lots of independent movies, and those are the actors that I like. — Jason Blum

Studio movies are looking more like independent movies and independent movies are looking more like studio movies, and I think cinema is better now because of it. — Mark Ruffalo

I love indie movies. I think that independent cinema is where it's at and where a lot of trends begin. It's where new filmmakers are breaking through. — Zooey Deschanel

Since Star Wars, that film's success led to bigger budgets, more hardware, that the great movies like the ones I did, which were studio movies, are now independent movies. They range from half a million to several million, and a lot of those have very interesting roles. — Faye Dunaway

For me, the movies I like are all independent. And getting an independent feature made, it's like you get down to the selling organs part, and it just loses some of its luster. — Callie Khouri

The so-called 'last golden age,' in the 1970s, most of those movies were independent films. — Michael Douglas

Now the cigarette companies claim that they don't do that [ pay to have their product advertised in movies ] anymore, although it certainly makes you wonder a bit when an independent production like "In The Bedroom", you know, seems to focus constantly on Marlboros and almost it turns into a Marlboro ad, whether there was any money exchanged. — Joe Eszterhas

Honestly, I guess if you looked at my CV, I've been doing independent movies since I started. I think that I kind of took a few steps back from Hollywood as soon as it all started to come my way because I wasn't quite ready for the attention. — Josh Hartnett

People always ask why I don't make independent movies. I do make independent movies - I just make them at Sony and Paramount. — David Fincher

I didn't know there were at least as many terrible independent movies as there are big-budget ones. Like, every single year. And bad in a worse way, too. They're just parodies of themselves sometimes. — Kyle Parker

The independent-minded movies - it's always an uphill battle to get them made and seen. You do what you can, and go out there after and try to tell people about it, but at the end of the day, that's all you can do. — Ray Liotta

I want to continue to make beautiful movies. The most important thing is to be a part of beautiful stories, that's all I want. So I don't care if it's a Hollywood movie or an independent movie or a Spanish or American movie. I care about telling stories. — Melanie Laurent

I've done a couple of movies for scale, and it's the only way to get a lot of these independent movies made. The actors negotiate deals where they're given just enough money to live on during the filming, but then they participate in the back-end. If the movie suddenly makes a gazillion dollars, we'll participate in that profit. — Kevin Kline

I like independent movies, documentaries. There's not a lot of movies that are commercially made that I dig. — Jeff Garlin

You could just do independent movies, but I like bigger kind of studio movies, at least some of them. — Ray Liotta

I used to do lots of independent films and for a while I was very content living in New York City and doing independent movies and off-Broadway theater. I loved it, I had a really good time doing that, and I worked on a lot of projects that are very dear to my heart, both plays and films. — Jared Harris

Most of my work has been independent movies outside the mainstream system. — Lenny Abrahamson

I feel like with actors wanting to direct, you really only have a shot or two. You can't just make a bunch of little independent movies, and then finally one gets noticed. You have to make a really good one right away. — Neil Patrick Harris

I love the art house, and when I say the art house, I don't just mean little, independent movies but movies that really aim to be about something and say something and I love those movies. — Justin Simien

I was still making movies so it wasnt as if I were working in a bar, but they were independent films that couldnt find distributors. — Linda Fiorentino

Where do babies come from? Don't bother asking adults. They lie like pigs. However, diligent independent research and hours of playground consultation have yielded fruitful, if tentative, results. There are several theories. Near as we can figure out, it has something to do with acting ridiculous in the dark. We believe it is similar to dogs when they act peculiar and ride each other. This is called "making love". Careful study of popular song lyrics, advertising catch-lines, TV sitcoms, movies, and T-Shirt inscriptions offers us significant clues as to its nature. Apparently it makes grown-ups insipid and insane. Some graffiti was once observed that said "sex is good". All available evidence, however, points to the contrary. — Matt Groening

A part of me is a liberal New Yorker involved in politics and certain attitudes about movies. I kind of lost my indie credibility over 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith.' I know I haven't lost it. I just have to go make an independent movie. I just have to do it. Just for me. — Doug Liman

It's very difficult to raise money, especially in the United States, for independent movies. — Gael Garcia Bernal

I just feel like with independent movies ... they're really free to do whatever they want. They're not afraid to make a statement about anything, and there's not a huge studio behind them making sure that everything is wholesome and politically correct and all that. — Emma Roberts

There are definitely strictly independent movies. 'Gummo' is one. Another is one I made, 'Fresh,' a $3 million movie which Boaz Yakin directed. — Lawrence Bender

Movies, far more than the traditional arts, are tied to big money. Without a few independent critics, there's nothing between the public and the advertisers. — Pauline Kael

There's always room out there for the hand-drawn image. I personally like the imperfection of hand drawing as opposed to the slick look of computer animation. But you can do good stuff either way. The Pixar movies are amazing in what they do, but there's plenty of independent animators who are doing really amazing things as well. — Matt Groening

There are lots of great movies coming out of the U.S. but it's not something I've ever really been interested in. They're great films but I much prefer the smaller independent films, which are more thought provoking and experimental. — Billie Piper

It'll be the Internet and piracy that will kill film. There's a philosophy that the Internet should be free, but the reality is that piracy will destroy the film industry and film as an art form because it's expensive to make a movie. Maybe you'll have funky little independent movies, and it'll go back and then start up again some other way. — Helen Mirren

I worked on three independent movies in close succession and ... I really learned from those directors how to stay on budget, make your days, get it done, keep everyone happy, which is a huge thing in a movie, and to steer the ship. — Michael Urie

I knew nothing about the independent film industry. I didn't know much about the industry itself. All I knew was how to watch movies, how to enjoy them, how to hate them, how not to like them. — Michelle Rodriguez

The reason I do small, independent movies is because I want to keep my soul intact and maintain some kind of integrity within this industry. — Jamie Bell

In a sense I feel very much a part of the cinema now in a way where when I come back to the theater now I feel like a visitor. The cinema is really what I enjoy. I want to do more independent movies. — Brian Cox

I didn't fill it up with movies every time because I was trying to just film one damn movie, but that's the heartache of independent films. — Shane West

I love making independent movies, and that's pretty much what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my years. — Milla Jovovich

I'm from that world where I feel so comfortable making small independent movies. — M. Night Shyamalan

Amy Rapp, my producing partner, and I are drawn to character-driven material. We're developing and producing movies and TV, fiction and non-fiction, studio and independent, broadcast and cable, theatre, and web so our slate is really diverse. — Meredith Vieira

I'm not prejudiced about what type of movies I'm in, what form they take or whether they're studio or independent. I just want to make films that are going to be good. — Michael Pitt

They make three types of movies, and if you don't make one of those three, you have to find independent financing: It's either big-action superhero tent-pole thing, or it's an animated film, or it's an R-rated, raunchy sex comedy. They don't make movies about real people. — Rob Reiner

Independent film is such a huge deal in the UK. There aren't many big budget studio movies that get greenlit at all. The indie film industy is a great opportunity that I'm trying to seize. — Aml Ameen

If you really spend time with movies, it's three years of your life from beginning to end. I started out planting the seed with 'Monster's Ball' about independent cinema and raising money and that whole thing as a producer, and then it becomes easier for me. — Lee Daniels

I was making a lot of independent movies before the independent movement. — Jason Patric

The good thing about the studio is that, when the movie comes out, they will put their marketing and their money behind it, which isn't necessarily true with indie movies, just by the nature of it being an independent film. — Jamie Linden

Mainstream Hollywood makes a few good movies a year. And in order to be in one of those, you have to be one of five people. Hollywood makes many bad movies too, which I'm not interested in being a part of. But there are only a few good independent movies a year, and many, many bad ones. I want to be in good movies, and I want people to see them. — Maggie Gyllenhaal

The way financing for independent movies goes is great. You get the money from the guy who's actually doing the distribution in France. You say, "Do you want a piece of this movie?" And he's got to sell this movie to get his money back. That's the brains of it; that's the genius of this financing. "You want Germany? Give us a million dollars and you've got Germany." — Bill Murray

People don't read any more. It's a sad state of affairs. Reading's the only thing that allows you to use your imagination. When you watch films it's someone else's vision, isn't it?
[Interview in The Independent, 15 October 2005] — Lemmy Kilmister

I was very happy with Vampire's Kiss, which in my opinion was almost like an independent laboratory to start realizing some of my more expressionistic dreams with film performance. Then using what I had learned in Vampire's Kiss and putting it into a very big action movie in the form of Face/Off with John Woo. If you look at those two movies back to back, you can see where I stole from my performance in Vampire's Kiss. — Nicolas Cage

I think that in America there is a new movement of underground movies that wants to kick the ass of independent films that they think whine too much. — John Waters

For me, to do a reality show is like sending myself to actor's graveyard. I feel like I should wait and create my own projects ... do independent movies before I would have to go and do reality shows. Or produce one and come up with one on my own! — Tamala Jones

I've love to do more movies. Just because I'm interested in the medium very much. I've done a lot of theatre at this point, and I've done a lot of TV. I've done a few independent films, but a lot of them have not seen the light of day. It'd be really nice to be in a film that gets out there. — Morena Baccarin

I don't want to just do independent movies and I don't want to just do adventure films. I enjoy both, and I think both are cogent. — Nicolas Cage

I've made three musical movies which is pretty good considering that not many are made but I was lucky in other ways. I came along when independent movies were starting to boom. — Christopher Walken

There could be great thrillers or great dramas or great comedies made in that world but everyone's afraid of it. So you have to do them as these crazy little independent movies. — George Ratliff

I've done so many independent movies I'm sure no one will ever see, but I've loved the work. — Julianna Margulies

Most of my movies are indies. The best scripts I can find are independent films. But I love big-budget movies, I love craft services! — Anthony Mackie

I've done all kinds of movies, but I wanna do some more independent films that are not your run-of-the-mill type movies like 'American Splendor', which I had a big part in, that are really trying to do something unique. — Judah Friedlander

I crave working on those small independent movies because I love going to see those myself. — Orlando Bloom

I sat with my toes buried in the warm yellow sand staring out towards the back door of The East. Pacific Ocean Blue was playing in the background and it had left me in a state of Bohemia as the waves crashed ashore; roaring as loud as lions. — David Louden