There are certainly laws and elements that make a film more accessible to mainstream audiences. If you've got Tom Cruise as a strongman, I'm sure it would have larger audiences, but it wouldn't have the same substance.
The comics of course, help the movies, because all of the comic fans want to see the movies. And the most amazing thing about it is these movies seem to appeal to young people, to old people, and to people all over the world. They're as popular in China and Latin America as they are here. That's really amazing and gratifying.
In the first week of release, 'Beasts Of No Nation' was the most watched movie on Netflix, in every country we operate in.
Even in Haiti, I saw John Wayne movies. American cinema has always been the dominant cinema throughout the world, and people tend to forget that. People aren't just seeing these films in California or Florida. They're seeing them in Haiti, in Congo, in France, in Italy and in Asia. That is the power of Hollywood.
Apart from 'VIP' being a blockbuster movie, the various characters such as mine, the Luna bike I use in the movie, the lovable amma and appa, a pet dog named Harry Potter, the innocent brother, etc., had a huge reach among the audiences.
I want every movie to have a big audience. I'm always hopeful that it's going to be discovered, and audiences are fantastic that way because every once in a while they surprise you. I didn't think 'Beautiful Mind' was going to be that kind of global success.
Commercial books don't even get covered. The reason why so many book reviews go out of business is because they cover a lot of stuff that nobody cares about. Imagine if the movie pages covered none of the big movies and all they covered were movies that you couldn't even find in the theater?
I was always flattered, but I just want my movies to make money. I want to be commercial. I'm never the person who says, "I don't care if people don't see my movies." I always want people to see my movies.
No matter what people say, your fans are the ones that come to watch the movie or come to your shows and that's the most important thing.
I've had more people come up to me about 'Saving Silverman' than anything else. That and 'That Thing You Do!' But 'Saving Silverman' is the one I get most often. And I love that.
I would not want to be a part of any project that I feel would not work. An actor like me always wants to work to get appreciation of the audiences. And appreciation can only come if people will come to watch the film.
If military movies were automatically successful we'd make nothing but military movies. But seriously, patriotism is one thing that all Americans have in common.
'Ranjhana' and 'Shamitabh' really gave me a wider exposure to Hindi-speaking audience.
I like Telugu movies, then comes Bollywood and then English movies. In Tollywood, I like Mahesh Babu and Prabhas. But no, I don't watch all their movies. I first find out if the movie is nice. If it's a flop, I don't watch it.
Westerners are open to Indian films.
I have a film called 'A Lonely Place For Dying,' which is the most watched film on the Internet, over 3 million hits, more than any of Hollywood's films.
I want a lot of people to see my movies. More black people. More white people. I want to make that connection.
Hollywood movies are seen throughout the world.
But I'm more interested in why people are frightened by Jaws and why Jaws was such a hit than saying Spielberg's my main influence.
I saw 'The Grand Budapest Hotel.' I liked it. I saw 'The Fault in Our Stars,' and I could see why young girls like it. But it dropped off like crazy in the second weekend. I liked 'Fed Up' - I love documentaries. I go to a lot of documentaries.
What I'm realizing as I get older is that a movie's mainstream success is just as unpredictable as a movie's cult success. Plenty of movies that are truly odd and deserve cults, don't have cults. It's just as much of a crapshoot to be a cult hit as it is to be a mainstream success. Isn't that weird?
My favorite characters are the ones that are the most successful movies.
I always say the movie came out good if they want another one. That always tells me that people really liked the movie.
'The One I Love' came out in theaters for the enthusiasts and did a chunk of business on VOD. But when it started streaming on Netflix, it exploded. Same thing with 'Safety Not Guaranteed.'
I have heard of 'Green Street'-dedicated birthday parties, a website dedicated only to the clothing. It has no end. If you hashtag #greenstreet or #greenstreethooligans, you cannot go a day without people saying it's their favourite movie. It's frustrating because it's a massive hit, but nobody gives it credit.
