Curtis Hanson

“The characters in my movies are not caricatures. They're not stick figures. They have a past and a future.”

“The most important thing for a director is to be intelligent. It's not to be artistic, it's not to be a great visual stylist. It's to be intelligent.”

“In my movies, I'm not trying to erase reality; I'm trying to capture it. I'm trying to bring the audience into the world that I'm showing.”

“What interests me is the way people behave when they're under pressure.”

“When you're adapting a book, you're not just taking the words, you're taking the soul of the book.”

“The music is a character in '8 Mile.' It's not just a soundtrack.”

“I don't make movies to be topical. I make movies to be timeless.”

“I'm interested in characters who are in some kind of conflict, who are trying to make sense of their lives. I'm not interested in characters who have it all figured out.”

“The great thing about 'L.A. Confidential' is that it's a movie about a city, and it's a movie about a time. It's a very specific time, and a very specific place.”

“Good actors can make you believe anything. They can make you believe that they're a doctor, or a lawyer, or a cop. Or a rapper.”

“For me, the camera is a storyteller. It's not just a recording device.”

“I've always been a fan of the noir genre. It's a great way to explore the dark side of human nature.”