Hollywood is such a fickle place, and you really have to go day to day and with the flow. Things happen so quickly, for the good or the bad. But you also have to know that everything happens for a reason.
— Lily Collins
When you trust and have elevated personnel in each department, then the sky really is the limit. If you don't have that trust in the backbone of the project, you may not know what you're making.
My mom brought me up on old Hollywood. I had been living in Los Angeles, respecting old movies and growing up with people that were icons that I got to speak to.
I've always loved being active, and I used to do sports - basketball, soccer, volleyball - growing up.
There's no California tan about me. People assume I can't tan, but I actually can. I went on a trip to Hawaii when I was younger and came back so tan that people were like, 'What happened?' It's just not something I actively do. I want to embrace my ivory.
Regarding scripts and projects, I've always been open to reading all sorts of genres and never closing myself off to one, because you never know what you might find.
I'm such a believer in going to set, even when you're not working, because I think the best things to be learned, you don't necessarily get from your own scene or from someone speaking to you and telling you advice. I think it's all about watching and just taking it all in. It's not even when the cameras are rolling, necessarily.
I didn't want to have people open doors for me. My dad never made a call on my behalf to anyone - not to a producer, a director, or a casting agent.
I remember the first scene I shot on 'The Blind Side.' I was with Sandra Bullock, and I kept trying to stop myself thinking, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I'm in a movie with her.'
Social media has allowed me to communicate with girls all over the world. It's always been really important to me that they know I experience the same things that they do and face the same insecurities.
My mom is such a strong, independent, strong-willed woman, and she always taught me to accept my worth for how I viewed myself and female empowerment, and it's okay to be independent and also need someone at the same time. I kinda get to be both.
I'm in a relationship with myself. I think a lot of young girls should do that.
I'm trying to be the most vibrant version of myself.
I went to a high school, I took tests, I took finals, I went to football games - I did the whole thing. Because I really wanted to have that normalcy.
I just want to start conversations. I want to do films that prompt conversations - whether that is positive, negative, indifferent - just ones that you leave the theater wanting to know more, wanting to watch the film over and over again.
I've always been weirdly interested in food documentaries.
I grew up knowing the pros and cons of the business and knowing what comes with pursuing what you love in terms of being in the public eye. I also grew up among people that were considered celebrities and people that people admired.
I've been so fortunate to work with so many successful women who are moms as well.
Cate Blanchett. Judi Dench. Helen Mirren. Everything about them. Even their fashion choices. They're so with it and cool and women I admire. They take chances. They're chameleons. Everything that they do. They're also amazing mothers.
I've always loved fantasy books. Even just growing up, I've always kind of loved magic and fantasy.
Morning or night, I love putting mint or spearmint oil on my temples and the back of my neck. There's this aromatherapy quality of both easing tension and waking you up.
I want to produce and direct and write one day.
I did a show when I was two, but I didn't start acting as a child. I wanted to go to school every day and be with my friends and really have that experience.
I remember lying in bed one night when I was 15 and deciding I was ready to go into acting properly. I'd put it off until then because I didn't feel I was ready to handle the rejections.
Hollywood in the 1930s is an incredible period of history. There are so many amazing stories about the stars and the studios at that time that you can't fit into one film.
I've always loved big eyes, like those of Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. But my mother didn't allow me to wear make-up until I was 15.
I love getting oxygen facials because I travel a lot. My skin gets pretty dry with all the airplanes.
I find that I'm really attracted to mysterious creatives, and I love people that are able to put their emotions out there for not just the world to see, but just that are giving of their emotions, but a little bit mysterious and elusive as well.
I have amazing memories of being able to travel and being able to have family all over the world.
I believe in the producers at Constantin, and I know that they have a really good taste level when it comes to the creative side.
I think, in life, we want to surround ourselves with people who make us think and question ourselves, and those are the types of films I want to do and the types of characters that I hope I get to continue to play.
I don't want to acquire whatever 'fame' is.
I remember the screen test for 'Gossip Girl' was on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. I was about 17 or 18 years old at the time. I remember driving onto the lot and going, 'Oh my God. This is surreal.'
I love Helena Bonham Carter because every character that she portrays, she's just something completely different. And she has that quirky factor that she just owns.
I always loved dressing up and telling stories.
When you surprise yourself and you can't remember what the take felt like, then something transformative has happened.
It's a weird thing to have your dad or your parent be on the stage with a million people saying their name, and you're like, 'No, that's just dad.'
During the day, I'm constantly reapplying hand cream. My grandma used to do it all the time, so maybe I got it from her.
A lot of people in my generation have dared to ask questions like, 'Who is James Dean?' And I can't imagine asking a question like that, just because it's been ingrained in me since I was so young.
It's great when improv is encouraged. It's a really fun thing. It depends on who's in the movie and how their process works as well. It takes a director who is open to that because you have a script, but then something funny could happen on set.
I didn't want to land an audition because I was 'The daughter of...' I never wanted to give anyone the opportunity to say, 'You only got the role because of who you are.'
I love Charlotte Olympia and Sophia Webster shoes best - they're like art for the feet.
I love the royal family. I even got up in the middle of the night to watch Kate and William's wedding. And I never miss the Queen's speech on Christmas Day. I feel it's my duty as an English-born woman to watch.
Because my dad was often gone, I never wanted to do anything that would make him stay away even longer. I became extra careful about what I said and how I said it, afraid he'd think I was angry or didn't love him. And the truth is, I was angry. I missed him and wanted him there.
I think it's important to figure out you and to have fun and to be dating and to figure out what you like and what you don't like. It's what growing up is all about.
I get kids who say, 'Oh, I love your movie, but my mum loves your dad.' It's really nice to be able to share that with him, but it doesn't define who I am career-wise.
I loved Jennifer Lawrence's performance in 'Winter's Bone.'
I'm constantly surprised by human nature and humanity. And I think that's why I love what I do: because I love to story-tell and bring new characters to life.
I feel like what Director Bong is so amazing at is taking so many things and presenting them to you - never telling you how to think, but, if you leave the theater thinking something, we've done our jobs right.
There's so many stories to tell in Hollywood in the Golden Age that stems from truth.
