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As a director, just to be able to jump in to do something that's different, and to explore comedy and be challenged by that, is great. Some directors never get that opportunity.
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As a second unit director, you're entrusted to shoot the action sequences. On every movie, it's slightly different.
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You have to make bold choices to be noticed.
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In the stunt world, fights and vehicles are often two different disciplines.
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As a filmmaker, I'm a collaborator first.
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It's called 'John Wick' - it's really about this guy's very simple journey. We just didn't want to clutter it. It's gratifying it in its own right, in its simplicity.
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People have given their lives to this industry to make movies compelling.
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The way you present a stunt is tied in to the way you photograph it, so you're hanging out with the cinematographer.
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I think what's really important is to challenge yourself. You can very easily fall into the rut of, 'We know it works! We'll use that old chestnut.'
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People want to be empowered to the point where they can thwart their enemies physically.
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'Atomic Blonde' is about the characters' bigger existential crisis and their world. It's not so much the conceit of the spy game; it's more that being a spy sucks. But we're going to make it fun to watch.
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I've been really fortunate in my career to do budgets at all different levels.
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There's an arc to an action sequence, and you need to come out the other end knowing your character better, and maybe the story has moved forward in a compelling way.
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The completely irreverent tone was the thing that won me over about the first 'Deadpool' movie.
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We don't want John Wick to retire again; we're glad he's back in the game. We want a sequel or a prequel. There's a lot of fertile ground to cover.
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You know, the 'Atomic Blonde' universe is its own universe. There's influences obviously of Bond and Bourne and 'Wick,' all the things I've been exposed to, but it is its own universe.
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As a stunt guy, you become a mini-director. You're talking to actors about performance.
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You learn tricks to make action look more dynamic - having the fight come toward you or shooting on a longer lens to compress the speed.
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I've been doing second unit for years, which is sort of like directing mini movies. Now that I'm directing entire films, it's really just more of everything. There are a lot more questions that need answers.
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Music emotionally and psychologically transports you immediately.
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Great actors can transform, but sometimes there's just this person who speaks right to the role. When they walk in the room, you know they're that character. That is something you can't teach an actor; that's something that's luck and chance.
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Coming from an action background, I always approach the action sequences in any script as kind of placeholders.
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Shooting a fight is like shooting any other scene. You have to tell a story using a very specific choreography.
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You can sometimes break rules in comics that you can't necessarily break in cinema. It's fun to find something cool in a comic and then try and find a way to break the same rule in another medium.