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Quotes by

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

I mean, look, I love movies, not just the ones I make… In fact, I dont like the movies I make very much. – 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

Even if we die at 100, were still dying young. I want at least 700 years. Theres a lot of travelling and books to read and movies to see. Im not going to squeeze it all in in 85 years. – Alexander Payne

I dont feel despair because I am able to make the films I want to make, and that gives me hope. – Alexander Payne

Joe E. Lewis said, Money doesnt buy happiness but it calms the nerves. And that is how I feel about a film being well-received. – Alexander Payne

Hollywood films have become a cesspool of formula and its up to us to try to change it… I feel like a preacher! But its really true. I feel personally responsible for the future of American cinema. Me personally. – Alexander Payne

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

I get asked, How can you have such failures in your films? Well, what else is life about? Theres some sense of constant failure in something. Humor gives you a distance from it. – Alexander Payne

You just never know when youre living in a golden age. – Alexander Payne

Each one of my movies becomes easier to get off the ground. – Alexander Payne

I guess maybe I try to make movies that are closer to real life than are many Hollywood movies. But I still try to stay within a commercial narrative, a contemporary American vernacular. – Alexander Payne

The biggest fear I have is to die with regrets, and of course that will come true. – Alexander Payne