Harry Kroto Quotes

Every ballet, whether or not successful artistically or with the public, has given me something important.

Giorgio Morandi's paintings make me think that artists may not totally choose, or even control, their subjects or style.

That dichotomy between the public consumption of the work and my intent and practice in making it is an uneasy one for me, on occasion.

It has nothing to do with commercial success. You cannot calculate in your head how to put the mosaic together to make a commercial film: that's out of the question.

Once you become a producer, you're really selling something. It is a control issue, because you don't really know how it's going to pan out, but the creative control makes it work it.

I only think in the following terms: writing, recording, releasing. That's what I have control of. What I don't have control is whether critics or the public like what I do.

Creativity should be balanced with commercial interests.

For me science is not different from art, except in the one small, crucial detail that experiments speak their own truths, not ours.

There's not like a science to it, necessarily, but I'm also the kind of person who spends a long time in the studio. I will spend my entire advance just getting it done, which is probably stupid, but I don't have extravagant taste. I mean, I paid for it, so there you go. Why not? The recording process is also very fun.

You have more and more people coming into the tent with the creative guys [on Hollywood films]. You have marketing and concept testers, advertising people. What you find gets the high numbers is easily appealing subjects: a baby, a big broad joke, a high concept. Everything is tested. The effect is to lessen the gamble, but in fact you destroy a writer's confidence and creativity once so many people are invited into the tent.

An exact science is one that admits loss.

Animation, by necessity, is a team sport, and the fewer people with input into my work, the better I like it.

I think now that I've tried directing, I'm not interested in doing adaptations anymore. I could do an adaptation of someone else's work that I would write, but the idea of taking someone else's material entirely doesn't interest me. One of the things that I found really helpful, at least in my mind - and I've never discussed this with the actors or with the people I work with - is that being a neophyte in directing, I feel like I have a kind of authority simply because I'm the writer as well.

If I'm collaborating with an artist I like to give them my point of view and if they don't want to take any of my recommendations it's fine, but it's hard otherwise.

The worst thing you can do to anybody trying to be creative is to demand participation in their vision.

Being in the studio, it's more of a controlled environment, where you can be Salvador Dali and sit back and look at the painting. And you can go, 'Ah, you know what? Maybe a little bit more red over here...maybe add some blue over here.' You can sit back and look at the painting.

In art, there is one thing which does not receive sufficient attention. The element which is left to the human will is not nearly so large as people think.

I don't listen to nothing while I'm in the studio, because I don't want to be influenced by anybody else.

I really love the experience of moving things around, in terms of being a director.

I don't think you need to be so result-oriented when you're trying to define the success of an art work. I think we can allow some unpredictability.

The images [of The Kite Runner grafic] were created in Fabio Celoni's mind. I chose to let him take the lead. Fabio and I did exchange an e-mail or two, but it was my intention to step out of the way and let his artistic instincts take over.

I can sit in the room with the other writers and just keep saying no until there's something I really like or until I come up with something. In that respect the proportion of what's mine and what's other people's is controlled by me. It isn't even fair to talk about.

The director is simply the audience. His job is to preside over accidents.

I prefer writing for myself to perform, I guess. But if I had to choose, I'd rather perform in someone's movie than write a movie for someone else.

I really love being in postproduction. First of all, it's all quite self-interested: You can protect things.