AMERICAN COMEDY

"The American comedies of the 1950s are some of the most impeccably-constructed films ever made; the American comedies of the late 1990s through the mid-to-late 2000s are some of the ugliest, sloppiest and most bloated. It used to be that if you wanted to learn about pacing and construction in cinema, you looked at American screen comedy. Nowadays, it's where you look if you want to learn about lopsidedness and missed opportunities."
-"In the Margin: All Solos", Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

DIRECTOR PRODUCER

Since I've produced some 40 of my own films, I know the value of money. For Bad Lieutenant, I demanded access to the budget on a daily basis. And each night after shooting I checked our cash flow, where we overspent, where we were precarious, where we had some cushion. In 60 films, I've never delivered one picture over budget. Five came in under budget and Bad Lieutenant was $2.6 million under. I do not shoot all sorts of angles and reversals and coverage. I shoot only what I need for the screen. - herzog

BALENCIAGA

"Cristobal Balenciaga is the couturier of couturiers. He is the master of us all."
-Christian Dior

THE LAST TYCOON

“There is no shortage of talent in Hollywood. There is only a shortage of talent that can recognize talent.” — Jerry Wald

BRATZ VS MATTEL

"It's the principle. I'm going to show that big, multi-national corporations can't bully or streamroll self-made entrepreneurs and get away with it."
-Isaac Larian, MGA Entertainment

OTTO PREMINGER

"There were giants in the industry. Now it is an era of midgets and conglomerates."

AMADOU & MARIAM

"Inside of us is the source our happiness. When it’s chaotic and noisy, then the world can be troublesome. That’s why we meditate. …That’s what we’re working on."
Russel Simmons, at the Ideal Academy

"“We wish Muslims to be free and happy in Canada but we insist they are reasonable. Driving in a burka is not reasonable to us. It is dangerous. Asking for a thumbprint instead of a photograph on a driver's license or passport is not considered reasonable here."
-Congressional hearing on the radicalization of Muslim Americans

JOHN HUSTON

Everything must serve the idea- I must say this again and again. The means used to convey the idea should be the simplest and most direct and clear. I don't believe in overdressing anything. Just what is required. No extra words, no extra images, no extra music. But it seems to me that this is a universal principal of art. To say as much as possible with a minimum of means. And to be always clear about what you are trying to say. That means, of course, that you must know what you are trying to say. So I guess my first principle is to understand myself, and then to find the simplest way to make others understand it, too.

EGYPT

"We can fulfill the people's demands in a civilized way. We will not receive instruction from anyone. No one makes this decision for us."

"You have gained your liberty. You have gained your right to catch up with the rest of the world. Make the best of it."
-Hosni Mubarak, departing words