Favorite Director Quote Relay Race

David of Taste of Cinema has created a relay race known as Favorite Director Quotes that features quotes from 10 filmmakers about cinema. It's a simple concept that is passed on from one blogger to another by taking one quote out and putting a new one in. Here's what he has to say:

“People love wisdom words from great minds. As a cinephile, I prefer director quotes than words from any other group of people in the world.Their thoughts on cinema not only provide insights into deep understanding of cinema, but also open the window to their own films, their genres, their filmmaking methods, thus they need to receive more exposure as their films did.”

Here are the participants who have contributed to this relay race:

David of Taste of Cinema
Chris of movieandsongs365
Alex of And So it Begins...
Josh of The Cinematic Spectacle
Stephanie of On Page and Screen
Britanni Burnham of Rambling Film
John of John Likes Movies
Ruth of Flix Chatter
Keith of Keith & the Movies
Mark of Marked Movies
Tyson of Head in a Vice
Eric of The IPC
S1ngal of S1ngal
Steven of Surrender to the Void
 
And now, the 10 great filmmakers and their quotes:

“I steal from every single movie ever made. I love it – if my work has anything it’s that I’m taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together. If people don’t like that, then tough titty, don’t go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal; they don’t do homages.” – Quentin Tarantino

“Why make a movie about something one understands completely? I make movies about things I do not understand, but wish to.” – Seijun Suzuki

“When I make a film, I never stop uncovering mysteries, making discoveries. When I’m writing, filming, editing, even doing promotional work, I discover new things about the film, about myself, and about others. That is what I’m subconsciously looking for when shooting a film: to glimpse the enigmas of life, even if I don’t resolve them, but at least to uncover them. Cinema is curiosity in the most intense meaning of the word.” – Pedro Almodovar

“You make films to give people something, to transport them somewhere else, and it doesn’t matter if you transport them to a world of intuition or a world of intellect…The realm of superstitions, fortune-telling, presentiments, intuition, dreams, all this is the inner life of a human being, and all this is the hardest thing to film… I’ve been trying to get there from the beginning. I’m somebody who doesn’t know, somebody who’s searching.” – Krzysztof Kieslowski

“Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.” – Christopher Nolan

“I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film’s abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y’know, that’s great. But I hope it involves an audience. If not, that’s my fuck-up.” – Paul Thomas Anderson

“I think when you’re young and have that first burst of energy and make five or six pictures in a row that tell the stories of all the things in life you want to say . . . well, maybe those are the films that should have won me the Oscar. When Taxi Driver (1976) was up for Best Picture, it got three other nominations: Best Actor [Robert De Niro], Best Supporting Actress [Jodie Foster] and Best Music. But the director and writer were overlooked. I was so disappointed, I said, “You know what? That’s the way it’s going to be”. What was I going to do, go home and cry?” – Martin Scorsese

“In England, I’m a horror movie director. In Germany, I’m a filmmaker. In the US, I’m a bum. ” – John Carpenter

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of waters, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable: originality is nonexistent. And don't bother concealing your thievery--celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: It's not where you take things--it's where you take them to." - Jim Jarmush

Who I'm taking out: Kathryn Bigelow

“If there is resistance to women making movies, I choose to ignore it. That is because I cannot change my gender and I refuse to stop making movies.” – Kathryn Bigelow

I don't like her movies and I don't think she has any business being among such great directors.

Who I'm putting in: Darren Aronofsky
If you want to be a filmmaker, the best thing you can bring to the world is your own story. And there is something that is very personal to you and something that you have your own singular connection to that if it really is important to you, there are people all over the planet that will relate to it. So, the mistakes happens when you try to figure out what everyone likes because the only thing you can be sure of is what you like. And the reality is what you like ends up being what a lot of people like because we are all going through a very similar story.

I consider Aronofsky to be a visionary and he is currently my favorite director. It's amazing how much thought and depth he puts in his movies.

I pass the blogathon to Diana of Aziza's Picks