Cinematic Authority Quotes

The only place where you can be a dictator and still be loved is on the movie set

The only person who has artistic control is the director, and 'director' is how you spell God in Hollywood.

I have always believed that when a film is being made, it has to be the director's vision.

I have a very clear vision, and I come from film, where director is God, so if there's a clash, it's painful.

Even though I studied in New York and I know the American system, I come from France where I learned that with movies in France where the director is king. There's no such thing as a studio edit. It's the director's cut, period.

I grew up with a concept of cinema as a directorial thing, meaning the director is allowed to sail the ship. Not a dictatorial thing.

I think people think of auteurs as being a dictator shouting over everyone about his vision. That's not the way I think of auteurs or the way I work.

I've heard directing talked about as being a benign dictatorship, and I think that's probably the best way a director should be. They're open to collaboration and feedback from people, but ultimately, it's got to be that one person's vision. That's what I think makes a film really stand out.

The dean of the American Film Institute has written that I'm one of the very few auteurs in America. I've had freedom for 40 years to create art that is totally personal and is what I believe in.

In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.