Carnahan Quotes

#1. I'm just a huge fan of Joe Carnahan. He's such a charismatic individual and somebody that just applies every part of himself to the project he's in.

Ryan Reynolds

#2. I was a big fan of Joe's film, Narc, so when you hear there's a script coming over from Joe Carnahan, you know it's going to be interesting because he has such a fresh voice.

Andy Garcia

#3. It is irresponsible for this Congress to not investigate the President's lack of an exit strategy, and the fraud, waste, and abuse of U.S. tax dollars.

Russ Carnahan

#4. Parents are key when it comes to keeping kids off drugs. Good parenting is the best anti-drug we have.

Mel Carnahan

#5. You can't stand at the Bellagio and watch these seven story fountains and not go, 'That's something of extraordinary man-made beauty.'

Joe Carnahan

#6. 'The Blacklist' was really right place, right time. I read the script and met with Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath, John Fox and John Davis, and we just hit it off. They understood that I was not so much trying to adapt to television, but adapt a cinematic style to the things that we were gonna do.

Joe Carnahan

#7. Regardless of the medium, be it television or feature or documentary, I'm not gonna distinguish and worry about my particular canon, whatever that means.

Joe Carnahan

#8. Five years of Republicans' failed energy policies have resulted in Americans paying twice as much at the pump as they did in 2001, while big oil companies make triple the profits.

Russ Carnahan

#9. I'll spend the rest of my life chasing that feeling I had on 'The Grey,' because I think we're all aware that, first and foremost, we were having an adventure, and we were also making this movie at the same time.

Joe Carnahan

#10. I'm the number 1 target of the White House. They can't get Osama bin Laden; they're going to get me.

Jean Carnahan

#11. There's a vast difference between marketing a movie and the movie itself. You try to cast as wide and broad a net as possible.

Joe Carnahan

#12. 'The A-Team' compared to making 'Narc' was a breeze. There's a whole other skill set and whole other kind of bone structure that goes into making a movie like 'Narc' versus 'The A-Team.'

Joe Carnahan

#13. I'm pretty rigorous about the drafts I turn in. I don't turn in something that's so ungodly they go, 'What the hell is this?'

Joe Carnahan

#14. 6.6 million people will benefit from a rise in the minimum wage.

Russ Carnahan

#15. Americans are also feeling the effects of soaring energy prices at the gas pump. The double burden of these added expenses will be far too much for many families.

Russ Carnahan

#16. I think as a filmmaker and as a director, you shortchange yourself if you inhibit the ability of your actor to bring their own personal experiences to the characters.

Joe Carnahan

#17. The U.S. Coast Guard is a shining example of how well a Federal agency can perform with its flexibility, speed, and expertise.

Russ Carnahan

#18. It is time this Congress listened to the American people and minimum-wage workers, and it is time that we act.

Russ Carnahan

#19. Congress has not raised the minimum wage since 1997. The minimum wage is now at its lowest level in 50 years adjusted for inflation.

Russ Carnahan

#20. To me, still my favorite 3D film is 'Dial M for Murder.' I thought that was great. Hitchcock used it, could put you in the room, which I thought was fantastic, but I'm still not a devotee of 3D.

Joe Carnahan

#21. I hope I can become a good enough filmmaker where I can take a script that I'm not 'heart and soul' into, but I could still make something really great out of it.

Joe Carnahan

#22. I love the ambiguous kind of endings. I think, oftentimes, that's what life really is - there's no concrete path for you to take. It's always kind of a jumble of variables. Behind this door could be a beautiful woman, and behind the same door could be a tiger, you know? You don't know.

Joe Carnahan

#23. My hope, my real hope, is that whatever you hold in your heart, whatever you truly believe, and you've put your faith in, that that's what 's waiting for you. I think that'd be wonderful. You know what I mean? I think that would be the culmination of the life of the devout, or the believer.

Joe Carnahan

#24. I got 'The Grey' made because Liam Neeson wanted to make that movie.

Joe Carnahan

#25. With 'The A-Team,' it was like, 'Alright, I'm going to do a big popcorn movie and see how that feels.'

Joe Carnahan

#26. After the Great Depression and after public urging, a nationwide public competition was held to determine a design for a memorial that would honor President Thomas Jefferson's bold vision for westward expansion for America.

Russ Carnahan

#27. On 'State of Affairs,' we're going after some names that you wouldn't think would traditionally do TV. A show that shoots in Los Angeles is such a rare bird in hand that I think we're gonna have the pick of the litter.

Joe Carnahan

#28. To me, the bones of 'Smokin' Aces' is in the Coen brothers. 'Barton Fink' and 'Raising Arizona.' Those two movies, if you look at them, that's where a lot of that comes from.

Joe Carnahan

#29. When you're spending $200 million on a movie, you need to make $400 million to break even. It's a spectacle.

Joe Carnahan

#30. In 2003, this House voted to kill a Democratic amendment to add $250 million for port security grants; then again, in 2005, against a Democratic proposal calling for an additional $400 million in funding for port security.

Russ Carnahan

#31. I guess I much prefer the path of the contrarian: the guy who goes against the grain a bit. The careers of the people who I admire deeply - like the Coen brothers and Soderbergh - don't repeat themselves, and they make radically different films at times, and I think that's wonderful.

Joe Carnahan

#32. As winter weather settles in around the country, millions of American families are facing skyrocketing home heating prices with even greater impact if cold temperatures persist into the spring.

Russ Carnahan

#33. Preserving and protecting the state tobacco settlement funds is the nation's Governors highest priority.

Mel Carnahan

#34. For our welfare reform efforts to be successful, we must empower local charitable organizations with the resources to address their local community needs.

Mel Carnahan

#35. To be honest, most of the time you leave the theater, and you're like, 'Well, that was nice, but where did I park?' It doesn't really stick with you.

Joe Carnahan

#36. I was not a gigantic fan of 'The A-Team' as a kid. I was a huge 'Miami Vice' fan. So for me, not necessarily to say that I put a 'Miami Vice'ish spin on 'The A-Team,' but for me, what I was most intrigued by was this notion of these four guys, these four kind of special operators.

Joe Carnahan

#37. Americans rightly asked, if this is the way our government responds to a natural disaster it knew about days in advance, how would it respond to a surprise terrorist attack? How would it respond to an earthquake?

Russ Carnahan

#38. It's like I don't have any one genre, I guess. I think you'd be hard-pressed to get me into a rom-com, but who knows?

Joe Carnahan

#39. 'Raising Arizona' is maybe my favorite comedy of all time. What's great about it is that as slapstick as it gets, it has great moments of emotion and caring. Them bringing the baby back and Trey Wilson's character. I love that, man.

Joe Carnahan

#40. We have a VA hospital back home in St. Louis. Like many of our colleagues, we hear continued concerns about the access and the service. I have seen a statistic that more than 60,000 veterans today are waiting more than 6 months for an appointment at a VA hospital.

Russ Carnahan

#41. The regional security in the Middle East cannot be further compromised by an Iranian loose cannon.

Russ Carnahan

#42. From protecting our natural resources to providing maritime security and national defense, the Coast Guard's duties are broad in scope, and the performance of those duties has never been more important.

Russ Carnahan

#43. In terms of big spectacle, I thought 'Captain America 2' was phenomenal. I really loved that movie, and it was a great movie as a stand-alone.

Joe Carnahan

#44. There's a film that I wrote that I want to do called 'The Grey,' which is about a group of pipeline workers in Alaska flying back into civilization after being remote for a number of months. The 737 they're on goes down, and they begin to be hunted by a pack of rogue wolves.

Joe Carnahan

#45. I wish I'd made 'Warrior,' and I wish I'd made 'Drive.'

Joe Carnahan

#46. I can never kind of fathom a character's journey beyond the moment when you go to black, any more than when people ask me what Jason Patric did with the tape recorder at the end of 'Narc,' you know what I mean? Even in 'Blood, Guts,' like, what happens down the road with these characters?

Joe Carnahan

#47. Without action, we are going to continue to allow Iran to be a safe harbor for terrorists, see its economy further deteriorate, and see the Middle East further destabilize.

Russ Carnahan

#48. As much as I love Antonioni films, I love the Three Stooges.

Joe Carnahan

#49. Lack of money always means a surplus of creativity, in the best case.

Joe Carnahan

#50. There is little doubt that Iran is on a mission to rebuild its nuclear weapons and use that capability to wreak havoc and destruction on Israel and others throughout the world.

Russ Carnahan

#51. We are aware that many national farm organizations are putting forth various plans to provide both short- and long-term relief to our nation's agricultural producers. While we believe long-term solutions are essential, the current situation demands a more immediate response.

Mel Carnahan

#52. Early '90s, I was big, big into Sinatra. I was in college. I was fascinated.

Joe Carnahan

#53. If 'The Blacklist' taught me anything, it was kind of open-ended intrigue and leaving questions unanswered. Creating this kind of mystery by virtue of depriving the audience of these easy answers was what I was kind of into.

Joe Carnahan

#54. I look at Las Vegas, and I see the absolute best of what we are as Americans, and I see the absolute worst, in the same city.

Joe Carnahan

#55. Does anyone really believe it is possible to make even the most basic ends meet on $5.15 an hour?

Russ Carnahan

#56. We know that in 2001 it was believed 78 stem cell lines existed. But now we know there are only 22 that are viable, and they have been contaminated with mouse stem cells.

Russ Carnahan

#57. I always thought that as much as I love 'White Jazz,' it became almost unfilmable at some point, because there are so many strands, so much, and it became so psychotic ... that's what made it such a great book, but those things would not carry over into the filmic realm, I thought, with ease.

Joe Carnahan

#58. 'Killing Pablo' to me - as much as I love 'The Grey's script - 'Killing Pablo' to me is the best thing I've ever written.

Joe Carnahan

#59. Declining welfare rolls and increasing work participation rates demonstrate that Missouri is moving people away from welfare dependency and into jobs.

Mel Carnahan

#60. Quality child care, health insurance coverage, and training make it possible for former welfare recipients to get, and keep, jobs.

Mel Carnahan

#61. I have a very warm feeling about Kickstarter 'cause I think it's the best of what we can be. It's people who actually help out our fellow artists. We actually kind of go into our pocket for something. It's very rare.

Joe Carnahan

#62. Although our war on drugs must be fortified with the best laws, enforcement efforts and resources, we would not be successful without your individual commitment to this cause.

Mel Carnahan

#63. If I was ever gonna remake a Peckinpah film, it would be 'Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia.' That's my favorite Peckinpah film.

Joe Carnahan

#64. I am fascinated by that notion of people are never as they seem. And that doesn't make them good or bad. It's just we don't ever really show ourselves if we don't have to.

Joe Carnahan

#65. If I can do a romantic comedy with women, that's Everest to me.

Joe Carnahan

#66. In TV, you can carve out a beautiful little niche like 'Breaking Bad' did. Like 'The Wire' did. Like 'Homeland' did.

Joe Carnahan

#67. Be open-minded and available to everything and not just saying it's Jesus Christ or bust. So much of the world will do that. I find it troubling ... Don't be dogmatic.

Joe Carnahan

#68. There's a duality of a guy calling on God: 'Where are you when I need you?' and then, at the same time, 'God helps those who help themselves.' I think that contradiction does exist in all of us, those of faith and those who profess to have no faith.

Joe Carnahan

#69. I also rise today in strong support of forward movement on the implementation of health information technology, which has the potential to save the United States billions of dollars in health care costs each year.

Russ Carnahan

#70. I obviously love 'The Grey'; that was a pleasure to make. It was also very difficult. Listen, I love 'Smokin' Aces.' That was a lot of fun to make. Completely different part of your brain, I guess. Some would argue the part that they don't want you to use.

Joe Carnahan

#71. The American people have every right to be outraged with the administration's approval of the UAE port deal. It is time the people's House make the security of our Nation's ports a priority.

Russ Carnahan

#72. Think about a guy like Bob Mitchum, with his kind of chest gut not defining itself one way or the other. Was there anybody tougher? Lee Marvin was a marine sniper during the Second World War. They had this sense of themselves, and they had this product of being a man in a masculine way.

Joe Carnahan

#73. I don't conduct my career for when I'm dead and people say nice things about me. I conduct my career for the here and now, and what excites me, and what interests me.

Joe Carnahan

#74. The wolves are never meant to be anything other than defending. They're not meant to be aggressors.

Joe Carnahan

#75. I did a pilot for Fox years ago called 'Faceless,' with Sean Bean. I always thought it was such a cool show because it was really raw. I thought we were pushing it. This was back at a time before there was the 'cable standard.'

Joe Carnahan

#76. The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act is an important authorization for our country and for our citizens, as we have seen so vividly in the last few weeks.

Russ Carnahan

#77. For the past seven years we have been cracking down on crime in Missouri, passing tougher laws for drug crimes and sex offenses and requiring prisoners to serve more time.

Mel Carnahan