Film-making looks playful from the outside, but the work is real. As Bill Murray says: “It’s a lot of work to read a crummy script.”

When you’re making a movie, you can’t think anybody will ever see it. You’ve got to make it for the values it has. ~ Clint Eastwood

The close-up says everything. ~ Marlon Brando

I’ve never worked with an actor that I did not like. ~ James Gandolfini, New Jersey, 10/01/04

You have to discipline yourself and not carry the character with you. You need to switch it off and take time to re-energize. ~ Charlize Theron

Of all the things I’ve done in life, directing a motion picture is the most beautiful. It’s the nearest an actor can get to being a creator. ~ Laurence Olivier

You never know what’s going to happen. That’s why I like acting. It’s precious to be able to live more than one life. ~ Bai Ling

Work, do plays, learn your craft, and go to school. Keep working. Nobody is going to give you jobs for going to parties. ~ James Gandolfini, New Jersey, 3/04

A lot of what acting is is paying attention. ~ Robert Redford

Your own ego is the only trap that I think you can fall into. ~ Robert Altman

The picture is in your head, in your imagination, everything. ~ Fredrico Fellini

I’ve really only had one dream since I got into this business at 13 years old, which was to be in this business forever. I want to be a part of pieces of art, as far as cinema is concerned, that people will want to see for generations to come. ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

I tried directing and decided I had better stick to acting. ~ James Earl Jones