Kevin Costner Quotes

Every piece of entertainment is made with the idea that 'This is going to be terrific' and 'This is the best thing I've ever done' and then it hits the public and then the public tells you whether it's good or bad.

Every time I make a picture the critics' estimate of American public taste goes down ten percent.

We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public.

I realized very quickly that the public has a perfect right to tell you what they want to see.

I'm not making films for critics, I'm making films for people to go out and enjoy.

The relationship between the public and the artist is complex and difficult to explain. There is a fine line between using this critical energy creatively and pandering to it.

Hollywood likes to boast that it can elevate the national conscience.

If people think of public art as something the public decides, it's impossible to make anything of substance.

When you're acting in a movie, you never consider the reception of it. It's impossible to predict how something will be received. Even if you think it's the greatest thing in the world, other people might not like it. Or agree with it.

Movies, as evidenced by a chorus of protesting and celebrating Americans, influence broader trends.

Artists like Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga have more sway over popular minds than a politician.

Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and trustees are created for the benefit of the public.

Give the public what it wants.

Very little is dependable in the politics of a going democracy except the people's conviction that one world-saver at a time is enough.

A man ain't got not right to be a public man, unless he meets the public views.

The public will vote if they have something important to vote for or against.

The business of serving the American people is a tough, and sometimes thankless task.

It seems to me that the surest way to remove from the stage really undesirable plays, is for the public to refuse to go to see them. Censorship by law has always seemed to me too difficult and complicated where art of any kind is concerned.

I do not represent public opinion. I represent the public. There is a wide difference between the two, between the real interests of the public and the public’s opinion of those interests.

Anyone who believes in the essential role government can play in improving people's lives must also be the toughest critics of those who abuse the public trust.

Whatever your political leaning, vote. This participation is vital. I feel the same way about issues like the space program, education, the military. The more the public focuses on these things, thinks and forms opinions, I think the better we are as a democracy.

I always used to tell others that 'we should make films to make the people happy.'

But I don't think as film-makers it is our responsibility that every time we make a film we should be saying something. If you are entertaining people, that's more than enough.

There's a stigma attached to being an actor. People from 'Big Brother' call themselves actors. There's so much crap. It's not about appreciating that we're here to service the public, that we're storytellers. It doesn't sit comfortably with me.

My films are as much for the people as they are for me. The reception affects me, but doesn't change me as a person. That's important.