Schrader Quotes & Sayings

I firmly believe that if members of Congress fail to perform their most basic duty in passing a budget, then they do not deserve to be paid. — Kurt Schrader

The only economic paradigm that movies have ever known is capitalism. There were no church sponsors or state patronage. The idea was that if you'd pay to see it, we'll make it for you. — Paul Schrader

In the ever-evolving society we live in, it is the responsibility of all of us, as individuals and as Americans, to rid ourselves of this culture of violence. — Kurt Schrader

I'm gonna drive until my buddies can't lift me in the car, and I'll get some younger buddies if I need to. — Ken Schrader

The clock is impotent; mechanical time does not affect those living in an eternal present. — Paul Schrader

Screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art. — Paul Schrader

You know, when you're in your twenties you use a great deal of symbolism. You somehow think that a character standing beneath a cross is more interesting than a character standing underneath a billboard, but when you get a little older you realize that there's not much difference. — Paul Schrader

Once you have a situation that is fresh, then you sort of believe in it and it becomes normal. So you do end up with protagonists that haven't been in other movies before. — Paul Schrader

'Taxi Driver' wasn't autobiographical in terms of the actual events, but I did draw on my own mental state. — Paul Schrader

Now I see it clearly. My whole life has pointed in one direction. I see that now. There never has been any choice for me. — Paul Schrader

You can't take contradiction away. Part of the fun of it is that the contradiction never really quite goes away. — Paul Schrader

All the animals come out at night. — Paul Schrader

I still think like a critic, and I still analyze films like a critic. However, it's not possible to write criticism if you're making films. — Paul Schrader

There's no escape. I'm God's only man. — Paul Schrader

I play Father Francis in 'The Exorcist Prequel.' It's fantastic. We are shooting in Morrocco and Rome. Paul Schrader is directing; Stellan Skarsgard plays the younger Max Von Sydow character. It's just a fantastic script. It's a very eerie, very scary script. It encomposes a growing dread that I think is really appropriate for the film. — Gabriel Mann

I did a film called The Jesuit, which was an independent film. I did that shortly after Mistresses. I was still feeling soft and I was nursing, but it was a character I'd never played before. That was a Paul Schrader script, with an up-and-coming Mexican director, named Alfonso Ulloa. That has Tim Roth and Paz Vega in it, and I enjoyed that, as well. — Shannyn Sossamon

Those artists who say that somehow therapy or analysis will thwart their creativity are completely misinformed. It's absolutely the opposite: it opens closed doors. — Paul Schrader

Contradiction is the heart and soul of character and drama. You're always looking for it. I loved her so much I hit her; that's character. I loved her so much I hit her again; that's even more character. — Paul Schrader

The racing is no different if it is day or night except you see the lights and the sparks. You run the race the same. The day or night doesn't really affect the race. — Ken Schrader

I teach a course in screenwriting at Columbia, but I've never taken a course and I've never read a book about it! — Paul Schrader

Jarrell was not so much a father ... as an affectionate encyclopedia. — Mary Von Schrader Jarrell

I can't blame the drivers for making the move, and I can't blame the owners for being upset. Keep in mind, this ain't like the real world where you work somewhere and you can stay 40 years. Being able to see where you are going just a few years ahead is a pretty cool deal, and it doesn't happen too often in any sport, much less stock car racing. — Ken Schrader

At the end of the day, if it looks like you're not going to get paid, you might be willing to compromise to make sure that budget actually comes out. It's not all about your extreme point of view. — Kurt Schrader

As screenwriters, we struggle with our own success. We have wallpapered our world and now we can't get anyone to notice the picture we just hung. — Paul Schrader

I was Paul Schrader's assistant for six months before I went to film school, and he's very much about knowing what's going to happen on every page before you even start writing dialogue - the entire plot and character arcs are mapped out. — Jonathan Levine

You think it's a blessing to know what God wants? — Paul Schrader

I'm big on this 'no budget, no pay.' I think that's important. Let's get right at the heart of the issue. Even when I was in the state legislature, the most important function we had was to pass the bloody budget. — Kurt Schrader

I was raised as a Calvinist, which is doctrine-driven. And though there are many things wrong with Calvinism, you are at least encouraged to argue about things. — Paul Schrader

All men are sinners, Eleanor. The greater the man, the greater the sins. — Helena P. Schrader

Film noir is not a genre. It is not defined, as are the western and gangster genres, by conventions of setting and conflict, but rather by the more subtle qualities of tone and mood. It is a film 'noir', as opposed to the possible variants of film gray or film off-white. — Paul Schrader

The secret of the creative life is to feel at ease with your own embarrassment. — Paul Schrader

The secret of the creative life is how to feel at ease with your own embarrassment. We're all in the dirty laundry business and we're being paid to take risks and look silly. Race car drivers get paid to risk their lives in a more concrete way; we get paid to risk our lives in an emotional way. — Paul Schrader

I'm basically depressive, cynical, prone to intellectualization. — Paul Schrader

Ultimately, it's an illusion that you can understand yourself. — Paul Schrader

I would not have made any of my films or written scripts such as Taxi Driver had it not been for Ingmar Bergman, What he has left is a legacy greater than any other director ... I think the extraordinary thing that Bergman will be remembered for, other than his body of work, was that he probably did more than anyone to make cinema a medium of personal and introspective value. — Paul Schrader

I am open and willing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a variety of appropriate measures we can take to prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands and mitigate future tragedies. — Kurt Schrader

I've worked with Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks. I've worked with some really good directors: Woody Allen, Paul Schrader ... I've really worked with a lot of people. But I'm intimidated by them, and I'm always thinking, "Oh, my God, he's not going to like me, and I'm going to get fired,". — Kurt Fuller

I want to be happy; why do I do things that make me unhappy? — Paul Schrader

Because many of the films I've made have had an intellectualedge, it's harder for me to lie. It's harder for me to go to peoplewith money and say I don't care about art, all I care about iscommerce; all I really want to do is make money. — Paul Schrader

People who act against their own best interests are interesting characters. — Paul Schrader

Twelve hours of work and I still can't sleep.Days go on and on... They don't end. — Paul Schrader

I get bored very easily. I find most movies boring. I go to movies and ask, "How do they stay awake making this?" — Paul Schrader

Anything that doesn't bore me I think is doable because it's keeping me awake. — Paul Schrader

If you write interesting roles, you get interesting people to play them. If you write roles that are full of nuance and contradiction and have interesting dialog, actors are drawn to that. — Paul Schrader

I don't think it's very useful to open wide the door for young artists; the ones who break down the door are more interesting. — Paul Schrader

All these teachers and [screenwriting] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality and authorship is lost. That's why you're seeing superstars like Brad Pitt in THE FIGHT CLUB and Tom Cruise in MAGNOLIA. They're desperately searching for people writing and directing off-formula movies. — Paul Schrader

I'm for fighting a war on terrorism, not a war in Southwest Asia that Alexander the Great couldn't win, the British Empire couldn't win, the Soviet Union couldn't win. That's stupid. It's a waste of resources; a waste of America's best and brightest. — Kurt Schrader