Ann Dowd Quotes

'Birdman' came from a very beautiful side of me, from a part of honesty and surrender about things.

Being involved in movies is my passion. What's gotten me off the mat is the sense of the child in all of us. I feel like the same guy as I did back in the mail room, but with more wisdom, from the depths of experience to the heights.

I've always known that I love directing but I was really aware of it while making 'Beginners.' I am my happiest when I'm on set directing. I am also my kindest. When the actors get in front of the camera, it makes them very vulnerable. I am so in love with them for trying so hard.

The more I push myself to really live and really experience things and step outside of my comfort zone, the more the songs are allowed to flow.

I love working with young people and young filmmakers, and I love working on first films. I think it's cool. It's fun. I just take it as it comes.

The most important thing is to have a point of view and have something to say. That is important if you are filmmaker or artist. That means you have to experience the world.

I did many things in my life - I painted, and I'd play guitar, and wrote and did many things. But it all seemed to come together in making movies, and almost accidentally.

I really like working with different directors. It's really fun.

I think so much of a director's job is just to convince you that what you're doing is worthwhile. "Yes, this does mean something, we're not just messing around." Even though at the end of the day it's a film. But at the time it's something else. I don't feel like I'm making a film, I'm confronting things in myself. I don't know what it is. So if someone is enthusiastic enough to convince you that it's important it's kind of magical.

I've gotten to work with some wonderful directors and people who have been great teachers to me.

The more I see and know about life, the more ideas I have and the more I want to make art.

I like to be on set and see what the camera guys are up to. I like to see all the jobs that come together to make the thing you are also making.

It's only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you're not expressing the utmost of your human experience.

I like the feeling of making things. It's very very rewarding. And filmmaking is that type of experience, where you're forced to collaborate with so many people. You're involved in the beginning to end, you're involved with so many elements, and when it's done, you're like, 'I made this movie.'

I left Jamaica for a while, because as an artist I need to experience different things, see the world, have different energies. Living in one place is not good for me.

Songwriting is like going to church. I'm connecting to something, and it's rewarding in really important ways. I don't need to share it with anyone to feel good about it.

Risk is essential. There is not growth of inspiration in staying within what is safe and comfortable. Once you find out what you do best, why not try something else?

I want to liberate my imagination and my mind with every kind of movie. That is what I wanted to do all my life.

Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters.

I love going out of my comfort zone - I live to go out of my comfort zone.

I think what I would say to my younger self, and probably to younger, just starting-out writers is that a lot of times you're just afraid to put yourself out there, and it's uncomfortable because it's working up the courage to do something, to push yourself to do those things.

You can't write about stuff you don't know about. You have to live it. You have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Live life to be a good songwriter.

It's getting too late in my life to care about the small things. It's getting too late to not be brave, to not live my life fully, to not try to be an artist. Trivial things like how nice your hotel room is, or if you have to be naked for a while, they fade away.

I went to art school, I think it helped me a great deal because it taught me who I am.

I've learned that I'm most powerful when I'm doing my art.