Anytime you cast a movie and you need someone famous in the lead part, youre a prisoner of whoever happens to be famous in the six-month window in which youre trying to get a film financed. – Alexander Payne
Marketing has supplanted story as the primary force behind the worthiness of making a film, and thats a very sad thing. Its film only as a function of consumerism rather than as an important component of our culture, and thats everywhere around the world. – Alexander Payne
When youre a houseguest and you leave, its nice to straighten something up or send your hosts a useful gift. And when you leave the planet, its nice to have made a positive contribution. – Alexander Payne
The novel succeeds on terms exclusive to literature. A good film succeeds on terms exclusive to the cinema. Thats why so many bad novels can become good movies, like Jaws or The Godfather. – Alexander Payne
I was in a karaoke video in 1991, for a song called Sukiyaki, which is a very famous Japanese song, and Ive actually heard from people that theyve been in bars in Asia where theyve seen me come up in the Sukiyaki video that they play behind you. Im in that. Im in a karaoke video. – Michael Weatherly