Barry Levinson Quotes - Page 2

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• When I began to think about the head of the family, the storyteller, the rise of television which became the new storyteller, the break-up of the American family as an idea and then Avalon came.

  Barry Levinson

  Break Up, Thinking, Ideas

  Interview with Adrian Wootton, www.theguardian.com. September 7, 2000.

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• All I try to do is create an atmosphere that seems comfortable enough, that it removes tension and everyone feels free. If they feel free then behaviour happens, small moments happen and that's what ultimately works the best for me.

  Barry Levinson

  Atmosphere, Trying, Behaviour

  Interview with Adrian Wootton, www.theguardian.com. September 7, 2000.

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• I play around with human things, human relationships and that, and allow that kind of talk to work in that way, on that level.

  Barry Levinson

  Kind, Human Relations, Human Relationships

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• Studios just sometimes make decisions on their own that you're always flabbergasted by. It just happens that way for whatever reason - not even pointing fingers, it just is.

  Barry Levinson

  Decision, Sometimes, Reason

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I think it's a promising time which will show a lot of diversification that we've seen in the past.

  Barry Levinson

  Past, Thinking, Shows

  Interview with Chris Yandek, www.cyinterview.com. March 16, 2007.

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• I thought a great line in the What Just Happened movie said, "We're just the mayonnaise."

  Barry Levinson

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I always think that there is the good and the bad of it all.

  Barry Levinson

  Thinking

  Interview with Chris Yandek, www.cyinterview.com. March 16, 2007.

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• I would give the cameras to the kids in the swimming pools and they would play with them, and then I would collect them and we would upload it. If you're in the process, you're there.

  Barry Levinson

  Kids, Swimming, Play

  "Barry Levinson on ‘Killing Fields’ and True Crime Storytelling". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. January 26, 2016.

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• Even back in the '90s, I shot certain things on something that wasn't digital then, but it was on VHS with a smaller camera and we would up it to film.

  Barry Levinson

  Cameras, Digital, Film

  "Barry Levinson on ‘Killing Fields’ and True Crime Storytelling". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. January 26, 2016.

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• I think when Sarah Palin opened her mouth and started talking, the more she talked, the less appealing she became.

  Barry Levinson

  Thinking, Palin

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• Producers - we always think, "Well, producers are very powerful," but producers don't really have the power. It's the appearance they might, but they don't. Even the actors don't. Even the studio heads don't, because they're beholden to this corporation and what the corporation wants. So no one really has the power, and everybody's trying to get through the day, and everybody's nervous and desperate.

  Barry Levinson

  Powerful, Thinking, Trying

  Source: film.avclub.com

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• There was a time when I said, "I'm going to go do a television thing," after doing all these theatrical films, and heard, "Television? Why are you going to go back to television?" It's an interesting place.

  Barry Levinson

  Interesting, Television, Film

  "Barry Levinson on ‘Killing Fields’ and True Crime Storytelling". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. January 26, 2016.

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• Creative differences are legendary in this movie business, so we're really not exploring the creative-difference aspect as opposed to the money aspect, or the fact that something can come up in a movie and literally put the whole movie on the line, and this is where producers have to earn their keep.

  Barry Levinson

  Creative, Legendary, Producers

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I'm fascinated by documentaries, to begin with. Because of the nature of television, as opposed to theatrical, documentaries can be in this long form and take you on a journey.

  Barry Levinson

  Journey, Long, Documentaries

  "Barry Levinson on ‘Killing Fields’ and True Crime Storytelling". Interview with Christina Radish, collider.com. January 26, 2016.

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• Everybody's trying to hold onto some shred of dignity in the process of it all, and, at the same time, never talking about how they don't have the power. No one has the power. So, you know, producers - we always think, "Well, producers are very powerful," but producers don't really have the power.

  Barry Levinson

  Powerful, Thinking, Trying

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• Different reactions while film test screening doesn't mean even the audience thinks ambiguity is a bad thing. But if you're asking them right away to start checking things off, they don't know what to do. I think at their best, it applies to when the audience knows what it is. Then, when they say, "Oh, well, I thought it was too boring in blah-blah-blah part," then you better pay attention to it. It's like going for the hamburger. Better be the good hamburger I went for.

  Barry Levinson

  Mean, Thinking, Different

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• Ronald Reagan was this actor who was going to be president, and he was very charming. What he had was, he talked about America in ways that got people all caught up in it. He was creating this America - it could even be the mythical "America" - that we subscribe to.

  Barry Levinson

  People, President, Charming

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I don't see Sarah Palin suddenly spilling over to a wider group where suddenly they go, "Wait a minute, I've heard her message, and now I'm beginning..." It's not expanding it. A politician that doesn't expand from the base is not a good politician. So I disagree with all the talking heads that go "Well, she's a very good politician." She's not! Good politicians expand, and she doesn't.

  Barry Levinson

  Waiting, Politician, Very Good

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• Sarah Palin kept talking and talking, and the more she talks, the less compelling she can be. People say, "She's a very good politician, very deft at what she does," and whatever. And I hear that sometimes and go, "I don't know much about this stuff, but I would say no." Because the really good politician expands the audience, not contracts it. She may be getting a very vocal crowd, but it's a very specific group.

  Barry Levinson

  People, Sometimes, Politician

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• You do understand that you can't force the situation, but in terms of how you edit, you can define that to take the audience along, whether it be a storyline or a character moment that we can play out. The more experience you've had, the more beneficial it is, period.

  Barry Levinson

  Character, Play, Moments

  "Barry Levinson on ‘Killing Fields’ and True Crime Storytelling". Interview with Hayden Cooper, collider.com. January 26, 2016.

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• A lot of people have done things over the years and made fun of people in one way or another. When I was a kid, Vaughn Meader used to do John F. Kennedy. I don't know if that makes John F. Kennedy less credible. He would do the voice, he'd have some silly situations or whatever. I don't know if it made him less presidential because of it.

  Barry Levinson

  Fun, Silly, Kids

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I don't know what Bruce Willis has done in real life. We know actors have certainly had tirades - that's for sure. I never had troubles with him, but the big issue is really less about what Bruce is, as opposed to - this behavior has taken place, and sometimes it came out at something that had credibility, as opposed to, "No, I want to be fat and have a beard." Other people say, "I don't give a damn about the credibility. I paid $20 million. I want to see a movie star."

  Barry Levinson

  Real, Taken, People

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• If you test Iron Man and that audience doesn't respond well, you can be damn sure that there is something wrong with the movie that you have to address. Because they're expecting a certain amount of action, right? They want a hero. There are certain things that have to be compatible with the way the audience is thinking about it. If you take some other film, like No Country for Old Men, you can end up with all kinds of crazy reactions.

  Barry Levinson

  Country, Crazy, Hero

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I've had a lot of movies that didn't get great numbers on test screening, but a lot of times the film was able to survive, or the studio still stayed and supported it.

  Barry Levinson

  Film

  Source: www.avclub.com

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• I don't know that you can do an absurdist film and just have everybody embrace it in terms of filling out cards. I just don't think it happens. So you have to prepare an audience.

  Barry Levinson

  Thinking, Film, Embrace

  Source: www.avclub.com

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