The Best Things Said to Indiewire in 2014

“The glib version is don’t fuck the talent.” — Gordon Quinn, Documentary Filmmaker

“You better have your shit in one sock or the train’s gonna roll over you.” — William H. Macy, Actor/Director

“I wouldn’t mind just being directed by women for the rest of my life.” — Peter Sarsgaard, Actor

“The way Hollywood presents itself is gross.” — Zach Galifianakis, Actor

“Well my entire sexual life, even when it was with women, has always been shrouded in this fear of death.” — Matt Bomer, Actor

“The fact that there are more films doesn’t necessarily mean there are more good films.” — Tabitha Jackson, Producer

“A lot of filmmakers do think it’s a bad thing for their films to be called a horror film….All films are horror films. Every film is about facing a fear, including ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ [Horror] gives us an opportunity to practice facing things that scare us in an environment that’s safe, sort of akin to being on a roller coaster. You know you’ll get knocked around, but that nothing bad will actually come of it.” — Daniel Noah, Director/Writer/Producer

“…the high heels and all that crap. I’ve had enough of that.” — Asia Argento, Actor/Writer/Director

“I am getting all kinds of tired with the word deadpan.” — Aubrey Plaza, Actor

 “Every frame that you watch Jake Gyllenhaal in this film, he’s literally starving. Literally. He would ride his bike 15 miles to the set or run ten miles to the set and then he would have a kale salad. I think he was on one third of the caloric intake so when we’re watching him, he’s got this weird energy. I feel sometimes when he’s in the car with [co-star] Riz [Ahmed] that he’s going to like eat him.” — Dan Gilroy, Director/Writer

“It’s our job as artists to continually push ourselves to try new things and try things that are scary and feel overwhelming and daunting…and just do it anyway! I think part of thriving and reinventing yourself is just about jumping two feet into a cold pool. And not knowing!” — Reese Witherspoon, Actor/Producer

“Film is amazing. The alchemy is so amazing when you shoot something and you don’t know what you have until 24 hours later or sometimes if you’re shooting in a really weird location, sometimes much longer. There’s something almost like gambling. There’s this adrenaline where you’re waiting for the magic of the chemicals to unleash the image.” — Darren Aronofsky, Director/Writer

“Every project is brand new and every project puts the fear of God in you. No matter how much you’ve done before you wonder if there will be a light at the end of this particular tunnel. It’s the nature of the beast and it’s a part of what compels us. Every movie is a new lesson you learn making your way through it.” — R.J. Cutler, Director/Writer

“Ideas are cheap. Ideas are easy. Ideas are common. Everybody has ideas. Ideas are highly, highly overvalued. Execution is all that matters.” — Casey Neistat, YouTube Filmmaker

“The indie film community is working in TV.” — Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actor

“I think that’s nonsense that one generation would be dumber than another generation.” — Woody Allen, Director/Writer

“For people who really get attached to the show it’s a big deal, but for the people making the show it’s your life.” — Jason Katims, Writer/Producer

“This year again, I feel like people are always talking about the business and how hard it is. But, [David] Fincher’s got a terrific movie. Alejandro’s got this movie. Wes [Anderson] has made one of his best movies ever. Richard Linklater made another great movie. Paul Thomas Anderson has made another great movie. Bennett Miller’s movie is incredible. You can’t get cynical.” — Edward Norton, Actor

“Wait grounded? How do I seem grounded? I feel like a loopy cloud.” — Emma Stone, Actor

“You only a few great loves in your life. But you don’t lay down and die in between.” — Patricia Arquette, Actor

“I believe that a creative’s job is to, before they die, somehow cut off the top of their head and take a piece of paper and push firmly on the paper with their brain and leave behind this unique pattern that’s like, ‘This is how I see the universe. This is how I feel. This is what it was like to be here. I was never born before, I will never be born again. My name is so-and-so, this is what I owe. This is my homework. This is my end of the bargain for being born.'” — Dan Harmon, Writer

“Books are never fun. Fun is drinking on Friday night when you’ve written all week. If it’s fun, it’s bad.” — John Waters, Director/Writer

“The more specific you can get, the more universal your work becomes.” — Sarah Treem, Writer/Producer

“I don’t know how you arrive at distribution. It’s luck.” — Robert Downey Sr., Director/Actor/Writer

“The only currency you can create in Hollywood is a hot script.” — Peter Sattler, Director/Writer

“I suppose there are good actors somewhere who have had a happy childhood. I just haven’t met them yet.” — Ellen Burstyn, Actor

 
“If cinema was a painting, time would be the paint itself.” — Richard Linklater, Director/Writer

“I’m a worrier and a try-hard. I hate the word try-hard, but I really am a try-hard. It’s annoying.” — Amy Adams, Actor

“We really need more dynamic female characters.” — Jessica Chastain, Actor

“…size doesn’t matter.” — Michael Fassbender, Actor