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Portrait of James Gunn

James Gunn

(1966) Film Director

110 quotes in 528 categories

James Gunn describes the zombie as the perfect horror movie villain because it mixes fear of predators, disease, and the unknown. He explains that metafiction can break a story apart yet still feel more real to the audience. He also recalls how Blade Runner and Alien reshaped the look of later science‑fiction films.

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James Gunn is a film director, best known for The listeners.

Quick Facts About James Gunn

Born: August 5, 1966
Profession: Film Director
Notable works: The listeners

About James Gunn

He began his career at Troma Entertainment, writing the 1996 film Tromeo and Juliet. As a director he made the horror‑comedy Slither in 2006, the superhero movie Super in 2010, and the Guardians of the Galaxy series in 2014, 2017, 2021, and 2023.

Quotes by James Gunn

I'm in favor of anything that will give strong women more visibility in popular culture.

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Maybe it's the feminine side of me, but I like that AM radio pop.

Feminine

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In science fiction a fantastic event or development is considered rationally.

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It's definitely not the character who it is in the comics, I'll say that much.

Character

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I don't really think in terms of competing with myself.

Competing

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I would never want to take on a sequel of someone else's stuff unless I was totally reinventing it.

Film

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I've come to trust that what I like is what works.

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I saw 'Fifth Element' once when it first came out and never thought much of it.

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I like to plan everything out and know exactly what we're doing. It's always important to me to work with a cast…

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I like Jason Statham movies, like 'The Transporter' or whatever. I watch them all the time when they come on TV. Then…

Awesome

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In a way, metafiction breaks down the story and makes it less real. But in another respect, by that very breaking down,…

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I think that one of the things that drives me in telling stories, and art in general, is finding the beautiful in…

Art

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A lot of people die in my movies. So if you're in a few of my movies, you have a good chance…

Chance

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One of the things that we've tried to do with the 'Guardians' films is to allow the women to be full characters.

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The writer's genetic inheritance and her or his experiences shape the writer into a unique individual, and it is this uniqueness that…

Fiction writers

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I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I got to direct a movie involving three of my favorite things in the world:…

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When I was a kid, I was obsessed with different planets in the solar system, and I used to create, for every…

Aliens

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I don't know if there is any one secret to successful writing, but one important step is to move beyond imitation and…

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In hard-core science fiction in which characters are responding to a change in environment, caused by nature or the universe or technology,…

Books

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But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a "serious" filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than the Russo…

America

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It's great being a producer! Why am I wasting my career writing and directing? Those are actual jobs in which you work.…

Career

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I am loath to suggest 'Visitor Q' to anyone, because you've got to have a warped brain to even understand or appreciate…

Blessed

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I don't really like movies that are all one or the other. It's really about the play between both of them. Now…

Film

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I really like people who can do both drama and comedy and not some like middle of the road do both drama…

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I think whatever is going on with my brain, I'm very, very - and I'm not saying this as a positive thing,…

Brain

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Most of the complexity of the stories has developed as the stories came along (and may be a product of the principle…

Aliens

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I love 'Empire' - it's my favorite of the 'Star Wars' series.

Empire

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If I get a gig or I don't get a gig, I really have never, ever, ever cared.

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Movies aren't machines. They interact with our brains.

Brains

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Every movie I've ever made has just kind of come together.

Film

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I prefer to bring these to the service of story rather than to let them replace narrative.

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One rule of invention: before you can invent it, you have to imagine it.

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I hope I'm still alive to see an expedition set off for Mars.

Adventure

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“These things are never easy, and you take them to your grave.”

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It's impossible not to constantly adjust the way you look at yourself.

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The people who gave up their humanity to save their planet was always very interesting to me.

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Money doesn't buy happiness, but it does buy happier.

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Writing a comic book series, you're so reliant on whoever the artist is. It truly is collaboration.

Art

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I love the attention and I hate the attention, you know? It's not always good for your soul.

Attention

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My brain has always been wired in such a way that I'd rather communicate to a smaller audience who really get turned…

Audience

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James Gunn by topic

Film (18) Movie (16) People (14) Movies (14) Science fiction (12) Science (12) Comic (12) Time (11) Fiction (11) Cinema (11) Life (10)