I had this whole issue of doing a crime film in the 2010s. The genre's been mined very, very heavily. Post-Scorsese, post-Tarantino, post-Guy Ritchie, what do you do? I wasn't attracted to pulp so much as all of a sudden… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
Film noir is not a genre. It is not defined, as are the western and gangster genres, by conventions of setting and conflict, but rather by the more subtle qualities of tone and mood. It is a film 'noir', as… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
“Twelve hours of work and I still can't sleep.Days go on and on... They don't end.” — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
The secret of the creative life is to feel at ease with your own embarrassment. — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
People who act against their own best interests are interesting characters. — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
All these teachers and [screenwriting] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
Because many of the films I've made have had an intellectualedge, it's harder for me to lie. It's harder for me to go to… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
Those artists who say that somehow therapy or analysis will thwart their creativity are completely misinformed. It's absolutely the opposite: it opens closed doors. — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
Contradiction is the heart and soul of character and drama. You're always looking for it. I loved her so much I hit her; that's… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
You can't take contradiction away. Part of the fun of it is that the contradiction never really quite goes away. — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
I still think like a critic, and I still analyze films like a critic. However, it's not possible to write criticism if you're making… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
There's something wrong - the performance, the weather, the set design, the lighting. Something is not working. And so you say, "Give me 10… — Paul Schrader Copy Share Image
![“All these teachers and [screenwriting] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality and authorship is lost. That's why you're seeing superstars like Brad Pitt in THE FIGHT CLUB and Tom Cruise in MAGNOLIA. They're desperately…” quote by Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e40/paul-schrader-14587_authorship_all-these-teachers-and-screenwriting-boo_176880.jpg)
