Steven Shainberg Quotes

After 'Secretary,' I was wanting very badly to find something to make that I really cared about.

I'm basically drawn to defeated, injured, hurt, barely walking characters.

If somebody sent me a good script, I would do it, and I mean that, but it never happens. Not once. I can't even point to an exception.

Who could be more desperate than filmmakers?

You hear this said about actors sometimes, that they're fearless, but she [ Maggie Gyllenhaal] really is.

The problem with most love stories in my opinion is that they're too simplistic.

There's a kind of dream that movies sell to people: You can start as the lowliest person and rise to the top. 'Hit Me' doesn't sell this fantasy.

The movie that made me want to make movies was "Blue Velvet."

I love moving through long spaces and being enclosed.

I'm almost exclusively interested in what happens behind closed doors, between people. The removal of their public face.

Basically, independent film doesn't exist anymore. It does if you have two or three stars in your film, but it's just very difficult.

Like all independent movies, the first thing you're looking for is a name actor who will justify your financing.