It gets harder and harder to make movies about human…

“It gets harder and harder to make movies about human beings. These movies are like an endangered species. Everything is 'simplify, simplify' now. How many movies have sub-plots anymore?”

Barry Levinson

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Modern cinema increasingly simplifies narratives, making human‑focused stories rare.

In simple terms: Films are becoming less complex.

Key Takeaway

Support nuanced storytelling.

Themes

film culture complexity

Mood

concerned analytical

Type

cinematic observational

When to use this quote

screenwriting
indie film festivals
film criticism

Key Concepts

simplification humanism

Questions to Reflect On

Why are deep human stories fading?
How can filmmakers resist simplification?

A Different Perspective

Market pressures favor easy plots.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Barry Levinson

It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…

Barry Levinson

Now, a lot of people didn't know him at all - it went through feeder funds, so they wouldn't even have known anything about…

Barry Levinson

You don't always have to have the ending, but you want to have a satisfactory conclusion.

Barry Levinson

At the end of the day, you can't do a copy of somebody.

Barry Levinson

I'm interested in the relationships of people. I'm interested in the darker moments within us. All those aspects of human behavior, I'm fascinated by.…

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…

Barry Levinson

You have a movie and it proves itself and then certain things happen.

Barry Levinson

I think certain movies work and that is part of the magic of it all. We can't truly define why something succeeds.

Barry Levinson

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…

Barry Levinson

Apparently nobody really read it, it was a cheap movie, it fit their schedule in terms of things so fine, let the guy make…

Barry Levinson

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

You have to do a version of somebody that's the essence of Paterno. I think that's what Al is so great at. You have…

Barry Levinson

How do I make the son, daughter, wife of Paterno interesting? Then you just have to start seeing people.

Barry Levinson

Studios just sometimes make decisions on their own that you're always flabbergasted by. It just happens that way for whatever reason - not even…

Barry Levinson

We excuse movies like 'Independence Day' that really lack logic and say, 'It doesn't make any sense, but it's a ride.' I thought a…

Barry Levinson

Explore all 81 Barry Levinson quotes

More Endangered species quotes

If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we…

Gaylord Nelson

Listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act could harm bear conservation efforts by eliminating revenues from the carefully-regulated sport hunting of polar…

Amy Ridenour

Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species.

Prince Philip

I firmly believe that contemporary spiritual use of entheogenic drugs is one of humankind's brightest hopes for overcoming the ecological crisis from which we…

Jonathan Ott

Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…

Lynda Obst

If education really educates, there will, in time, be more and more citizens who understand that relics of the old West add meaning and…

Aldo Leopold

“In every remote corner of the world there are people like Carl Jones and Don Merton who have devoted their lives to saving threatened…

Mark Carwardine

I often laugh and say I should go down to the Department of the Interior and register as an endangered species. I'm a gay…

David Mixner

“Aunt Jayne asks if we'd like to stop somewhere for dessert, and since nodding and smiling is easier than shaking our heads and inventing…

Sarah Ockler

To be a painter now is to be part of a very small, endangered species.

Howard Hodgkin

Endangered Species: Girls with gentle attitude ='P

Kand3n

My biggest concern and main engagement with UNEP is focused on endangered species and illegal wildlife trade - mostly elephants, rhinos, etc.

Yaya Toure

“Some people are straightforward. What you see is indeed what you get. Their words have no subtext and their hearts are open. Such individuals…

John Dolan

I like L.A., but I think whats changed is that the kinds of films I do, the mid-range dramatic film, has become an endangered…

Christopher Hampton

Karan Thapar is an endangered species. They don't make them like him anymore. True, thousands have gone to the Doon Valley School after him,…

Sanjaya Baru

Browse all 131 Endangered species quotes

It gets harder and harder to make movies about human…

About This Quote

Related quotes

More by Barry Levinson

More Endangered species quotes