Quotes by

Mike Mills

Shooting a film is like a kismet quest. You have thirty days and you need magic to happen. So thats why I wear suits. Im praying to the gods, and Im doing everything I can to respect the powers of the world. – Mike Mills

I think I make films to help bolster and feed the part of me that wants to remain in a positive relationship with the world and to engage in it. So hopefully in non-sentimental ways, Im trying to make something that helps make me happy. – Mike Mills

Theres some movies I watch, theyre kind of like my anti-anxiety pill, my anti-depressant pill. I watch them at least once or twice a month probably. And I never stop learning from them as a filmmaker. – Mike Mills

To me, sadness and humor arent disrelated and humor is the best tool Ive had against the sadness in my life. – Mike Mills

I am intrigued by inanimate objects. Theyre a piece of history, someones statement and ideas of life. – Mike Mills

Life doesnt just happen its constructed through the history of power. And thats something I am interested in and so is the art world: a world thats trying to engage socially, with a leftist slant, to work out how we got here. – Mike Mills

People ask How does doing a film compare to doing an ad? Well, when youre doing a commercial you dont have to sell tickets. You have a captured audience. Which is actually completely rare and great it gives you a lot of freedom. When you make a film, you have to do advertisements for the film. – Mike Mills

Sadness is a super important thing not to be ashamed about but to include in our lives. One of the bigger problems with sadness or depression is theres so much shame around it. If you have it youre a failure. You are felt as being very unattractive. – Mike Mills

Its funny now how much we look at – whatever you want to call it: art, design, culture stuff, film – online, and how in the online world, youre instantly global. – Mike Mills

My dads gay experiences really had a very positive influence on me and my straight relationships – how to better accept all the weirdness and ambiguity and ups and downs and paradoxes. I knew from the beginning I was writing about love. – Mike Mills

Being a good Hans Haacke student, part of his influence on me is that theres no difference between a gallery show and a film – or even an ad and a T-shirt-in terms of cultural legitimacy. Theyre just different contexts in which to have some sort of communication. – Mike Mills

Theres great sadness and life doesnt work out like you would want, on a lot of levels, but theres no need to feel all alone. This happens to everybody, so theres no self-pity. This is the ride that humans are on, and all of it is essential for our natural part of it. – Mike Mills

I guess I watch movies to make myself happier a lot. – Mike Mills