Films are made all over the world all the time and only a thin slice of that product is Hollywood. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
It creeps up on you and becomes an obsession. It comes out of watching a million movies. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
The problem with the British film industry is the nervousness and insecurity about - and genuflection toward - Los Angeles. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
But actually I make films that I think are extremely sophisticated and cinematic. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
But films should be voyeuristic. What else is a film if you're not snooping into somebody else's lives? — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
The reason my films work is because every actor on set is very secure. They're able to fly. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
Independent filmmaking has always been there and it's not to be forgotten. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
One of the reasons the whole Hollywood way of making films wouldn't work for me is because the way I operate would… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
The whole thing about making films in an organic film on location is that it's not all about characters, relationships and themes,… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
If a film or any piece of work doesn't entertain, it fails - and that is using the word entertain literally, meaning… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I don't know what the character is going to be. We sit down and we create a character, and all of the… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
Film-makers should remain true to their principles and never compromise, there is a real revival in the British film industry but there… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
My job apart from anything else is to build an ensemble composed of actors who all come from a secure place so… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
When I was young I used to sit in the cinema thinking wouldn't it be great if you could have a film… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
A lot of the reasons that I'm resistant to making films in the U.S. have nothing to do with not doing a… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I grew up looking at... going to the movies a lot, as much as they'd let you. I grew up in Manchester… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
For me the journey of making a film is a journey of discovery as to what that film is. I mean what… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I really think people are greatly stimulated and enriched by experiencing in film just as we can from novels and other art,… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I make films because I am endlessly fascinated by people. I'm fascinated immediately to know about the lives that are going on… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
If I'm ever working on a set and anyone talks about a master shot, I say there is no master shot. Before… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I do not make films which are prescriptive, and I do not make films that are conclusive. You do not walk out… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I hate period films - and there are plenty of them - where they say, "Let's not do contemporary language because the… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I did sit in cinemas as a kid looking at English and American movies thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if the characters… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I know, that trends and all of those things and formulae that calculate what audiences want to see and what audiences don't… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I'm developing the stuff all the time. There's a film in my head. I'm imagining a film. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I feel very much ideologically, politically if you like, and emotionally part of the European cinema. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I think Michael Caine is a perfectly good actor but it's obvious he's not going to be in one of my films. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I've walked out of films. But for every film I've ever walked out of, I've probably walked out of 500 plays. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
The main problem is that the Hollywood system has already made the film before the director shoots a single frame. — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
You will find hardly any improvising on camera anywhere in my films. It's very structured, but it's all worked out from elaborate… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
People have been very resistant to giving me more than the standard amount of money. So I keep making films on a… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
There is a great tradition of independent filmmaking in the U.S. that I absolutely respect. There's some wonderful stuff that comes out… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
I hope I make films where you walk away . . . with work to do, arguments to have, things to worry… — Mike Leigh Copy Share Image
The main problem is that the Hollywood system has already made the film before the director shoots a single frame. — Mike Leigh Copy Share
The delineation between the actor and his part is a practical matter. When the camera runs, you want the actor to be the character. — Mike Leigh Copy Share
Films are made all over the world all the time and only a thin slice of that product is Hollywood. — Mike Leigh Copy Share
I think it's important that nobody forgets that although Hollywood commercially dominates the world cinema, in fact what comes out of the filmmaking here… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
Life is about luck and it's about circumstances and socioeconomic conditions and all the rest of it, but you know, you can also make… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
I hope I make films where you walk away . . . with work to do, arguments to have, things to worry about, things… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
It's an unhealthy habit to say that life is what you make of it, and if you want to be happy, then you can… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
You will find hardly any improvising on camera anywhere in my films. It's very structured, but it's all worked out from elaborate improvisations over… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
I take no notice of the trends. It has never concerned me at all. My job is to deal with what I want to… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
A lot of the reasons that I'm resistant to making films in the U.S. have nothing to do with not doing a film in… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
But films should be voyeuristic. What else is a film if you're not snooping into somebody else's lives? — Mike Leigh Copy Share
I try and create for the audience something that relates to real-life experience. When you're meeting somebody for the first time, all you have… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
People have been very resistant to giving me more than the standard amount of money. So I keep making films on a similar scale.… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
But actually I make films that I think are extremely sophisticated and cinematic. — Mike Leigh Copy Share
My work requires acting at its most committed - it demands actors of enormous resilience, but also intelligence and wit. It doesn't work for… — Mike Leigh Copy Share
