Quotes for All
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
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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, … Read more
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
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
I think we are seeing a radical shift in the business in general. The studios are making much more of the real big extravaganzas and there are other kinds of films that are coming out. I think you are going to begin to see more diversification that we’ve seen in the past. Barry Levinson
It’s such a funny thing. Hollywood is terrible unless you happen to be a celebrity who’s a Republican. So Ronald Reagan can be a Hollywood celebrity, and he’s a Republican, and then he can become the president, and that’s okay. Fred Thomson, well, that’s okay. But the rest we need to demonize. There’s no consistency. … Read more
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 … Read more
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