I love actors, and I love projects that give them space and room, and I aim for these projects where the characters are that important.
— Jean-Marc Vallee
I'm such a music geek, a music freak. I wake up in the morning, I press play.
Whether it's in America, Quebec, or France, if I can tell a story that takes me out of my comfort zone, then I'm surfing.
When you hear a solo piano, there's a solitude about just one instrument playing. It can be beautiful; it can be sad.
I was supposed to do only one or two episodes of 'Big Little Lies,' but I realized I couldn't just step away.
I had written 'Cafe de Flore' with 'Stairway to Heaven' in mind.
I'm a writer and director, and I like to do that, but for some reason, it's become part of the industry and part of the job to go, 'Alright, let's talk about it!'
When you move handheld, and the director of photography has the courage to shoot with no lights, the set becomes a space of creativity and freedom where actors can move wherever they want to move.
I only made one film with a score, and I hate it. I hate the score of that film. It's not coming from me. I had nothing to do with it.
When I do a mix tape for my kids, for my friends, for my lover, I meticulously choose the tracks, and it's beautiful. And when they are alone they think of me - and when I am alone I think of them.
Just film what's there, trust what came before, one hour before, and make it easy.
I'm always aiming for some magic in films if I can find a mystical quality either in a song or in a moment or a character's intention.
When I see great film, I have this feeling of 'Oh, wow! Wasn't that great? Wasn't that good?' I want to do something. I want to scream and go out there and participate and embrace life.
Adam Scott sings like a bird... He's so bad. He's so bad.
Filmmaking is so heavy: there are so many people and trucks and teamsters and costume people and hair people and makeup people. I try to make it light and as simple as possible. It's great for actors. It puts the story up front. It's not about shots and dollies and lighting and sets.
Rock was my thing. It influences me and moves me, and it's music that gives me ideas or wings to fly and to make films.
I love to offer a playlist to the world, almost like being a deejay.
'Sharp Objects' was scary, unknown territory for me. I wouldn't pick this kind of material to direct if you just gave me the book. Amy Adams was the force that drove me in.
I have two sons, and at 16, they were into Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and a lot of British rock.
It's tough to work with kids. Kids are animals!
I like character-driven stuff that shows humanity and something that can make people think.
I respect the British a lot - their history, their past, their culture. I think it's beautiful, what they have with the monarchy.
There's a way of filming where you can get rid of the vanity and of trying to make something beautiful.
As a director, try to be humble and not to overdo it, not overcoverage and over-covering the scene.
I couldn't stand still at a desk for another year. I wanted to go out there and make films.
In a career, when you hit 40 and you've done a lot of this and that, you want to try some new things. I feel like that as a director, too, from one film to the other.
You tell me what you listen to, and I'll tell you who you are.
I'm Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Adrenaline makes me change.
I was born in 1963. So the '70s were my teenage years. As a teenager, I was into rock and roll - Bowie, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, even more progressive music like Genesis, and I was into a lot of British rock and roll. But I loved also American rock and roll. CCR, Jimmie Hendrix, The Doors, Patty Smith, and Bob Dylan.
Directing on a 90-day schedule, whether for a TV series or a feature film, it's crazy; it's a marathon.
I was attached to 'Sharp Objects' before 'Big Little Lies,' actually.
I think we give too much importance to artists talking about the art and the film and the books and the plays and the music - it's done; the material is there. But we talk about it because it's part of the game. I'm comfortable with it.
You get to become a kid again when you work with kids. They do crazy stuff.
It can be a machine. The machine tries to make money and forget about the heart and the art. Hollywood is more about making money.
I love those films where I feel the director's confidence - where he doesn't need to overdo it with the shots and the cuts.
You've got to trust your instincts, your judgment and trust the storytelling that came before and the quality of the acting with the emotion.
Trust the acting.
I look back, and I've got a couple of films, and I'm happy.
I'm from the 'less is more' school. I had to be in the 'more is more' zone with 'Dallas Buyers Club', so I was out of my comfort zone, but I had to trust that.
