There's a bizarre insistence on how a story should be. 'The protagonist must be sympathetic!' they say. Whatever that means. I never engage in that discussion. I never use that word, 'sympathetic.' I just know 'interesting.' — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
They say you can do honest, sincere work for decades, but you're given in general a 10-year period when what you do touches the zeitgeist - when you're relevant. And I'm aware of that, and I don't want my time… — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
I spend a long time casting, but once I've cast a film there's a reason why I selected those people. So I'm hands-on in… — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
I don't feel despair because I am able to make the films I want to make, and that gives me hope. — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
Forgiving yourself may be for many people, at least for myself, extremely difficult. And then in a larger context, I will say that I'm… — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
In a general sense, to convert any short story, novel, play, or opera into a movie, you have to re-rig it. Even though they're… — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
If you have your movies so that everyone understands everything, I think that's probably not a very good movie. — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
I like actors who, when you see them on screen, you sense a person, not just an actor. — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
If you're trying to recreate life, the life that you best know is the one you grew up with. — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
I think about what movie I would like to see. I don't think of them as a correction or palliative. I certainly am irritated… — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
If you were falling in love and you could go back in time and relive a day and see the banal things you did… — Alexander Payne Copy Share Image
