James Ponsoldt Quotes

#1. I don't think in terms of what's going to be successful. I have plenty of friends who make very small movies and friends who make giant, $150 million blockbusters, and the thing that I really admire is, the ones who do it well do it very sincerely.

James Ponsoldt

#2. It's hard to look at anything with an objective eye. I think people bring themselves into the equation when they watch a movie. They bring their own prejudices, their own biases, their own feelings toward the subject matter, the characters.

James Ponsoldt

#3. But you certainly don't have perspective. And there's so much pressure going into that opening night because you know there's journalists, tons of acquisitions people, and the fate of your film in some ways, if not decided, is really affected by how it screens that night.

James Ponsoldt

#4. Blade Runner's just a noir at the end of the day. Rosemary's Baby is about the fear of having a child and how that gets in the way of a romantic relationship. Or whatever it is, and you add that extra element that blows your mind apart.

James Ponsoldt

#5. And that first screening was overwhelming. You were there. People applauded when the title card comes in; there's a big "gasp moment" partway through the film. It couldn't have gone better, and it was very surreal.

James Ponsoldt

#6. And I was constantly trying to stay in body, so to speak. It feels very surreal, and I go away to a happy place where I'm there but not really there. I was just trying to enjoy the night, I guess is what I'm saying. We had a lovely after-party.

James Ponsoldt

#7. There have been so many instances in my life where movies, music, or literature has made my life tangibly better.

James Ponsoldt

#8. I've heard a lot of variation of similar questions, but it's interesting to see the variations of audiences and how different people respond, so I think it's all valid. I don't take it personally at this point, which I probably would have at Sundance. But it's really thrilling.

James Ponsoldt

#9. By the time you arrive at Sundance as a filmmaker, you've been living with your film intimiately, and scrutinized every frame, and probably aren't happy with - or at least I'm never happy with it - and you've seen it in the roughest of states, and you lose perspective, really.

James Ponsoldt

#10. Making movies is really hard, and it can be humbling. And once you put them out into the world, you can't control how people will respond to it.

James Ponsoldt

#11. Whether a project is large or small, it doesn't matter much to me as long as I feel I can serve the story as best as possible.

James Ponsoldt

#12. Any work of art dignifies life.

James Ponsoldt

#13. You just work really hard and scrutinize. What is it called in politics? "Opposition research"? You want to do the detective work on your client so to speak before your opponent can dig it up. We're vetting everything thoroughly.

James Ponsoldt

#14. And don't rush to make movies. Movies should be made when they're absolutely ready. There's too many bad movies being made.

James Ponsoldt