Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payneis an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, known for the films Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, Sideways, The Descendants, and Nebraska. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne is a two time winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a three time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth10 February 1961
CityOmaha, NE
CountryUnited States of America
I think a badly crafted, great idea for a new film with a ton of spelling mistakes is just 100 times better than a well-crafted stale script.
The biggest fear I have is to die with regrets, and of course that will come true.
In the moment of making films, I want to share my observations of life, not of other films.
I think cynicism lasts. Sentimentality ages, dates quickly.
I like to think of film-making not just as an act of personal self-aggrandisement but rather as an act of public service.
I like voice-over in films, and most of my films have been voice-over films.
I mean, look, I love movies, not just the ones I make... In fact, I don't like the movies I make very much.
I'm attracted to short screenplays. Nobody really wants a film to be over two hours, or at least I don't.
I still have energy and some degree of youth, which is what a filmmaker needs.
Hollywood films have become a cesspool of formula and it's up to us to try to change it... I feel like a preacher! But it's really true. I feel personally responsible for the future of American cinema. Me personally.
Somewhat dramatic things happen, and you don't even always notice them — that's what life is.
Cinema really lends itself well to big, archetypal stories, you know, classic old stories and you need kind of a weird, big terrain like the Japanese plains for Samurai movies or the West. You need that for these giants to walk around.
I don't want all of American cinema to be big cartoons that are just made to be digested by the entire world.
Marketing has supplanted story as the primary force behind the worthiness of making a film, and that's a very sad thing. It's film only as a function of consumerism rather than as an important component of our culture, and that's everywhere around the world.