black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

I never really wanted to be an actor. And that was the beginning of it, I began to write things down and eventually became a writer on a television show.

Barry Levinson

I don’t know that you can do it as a satire. I mean, the business is crazy enough as it is. It’s like doing Wag The Dog – we took a thing that was almost completely absurd on one level, and then ultimately those things came about.
BARRY LEVINSON

Crazy Dog Mean
I never really wanted to be an actor. And that was the beginning of it, I began to write things down and eventually became a writer on a television show.
BARRY LEVINSON

Actors And Television Began Eventually Thing Writing
First of all, just to get Diner made would have been an achievement in that I got a chance to direct.
BARRY LEVINSON

Achievement First
Some actors are supposed to be very difficult, but I’ve not found that to be the situation.
BARRY LEVINSON

Actors Found Difficult
I don’t know that you can do an absurdist film and just have everybody embrace it in terms of filling out cards. I just don’t think it happens. So you have to prepare an audience.
BARRY LEVINSON

Embrace Film Thinking
I play around with human things, human relationships and that, and allow that kind of talk to work in that way, on that level.
BARRY LEVINSON

Human Human Relationships Kind Relations
I think we are seeing a radical shift in the business in general. The studios are making much more of the real big extravaganzas and there are other kinds of films that are coming out. I think you are going to begin to see more diversification that we’ve seen in the past.
BARRY LEVINSON

Past Real Thinking
I got a chance to work with Mel Brooks on two of his films: Silent Movie and High Anxiety.
BARRY LEVINSON

Anxiety Chance Country Film Person Two
Studios just sometimes make decisions on their own that you’re always flabbergasted by. It just happens that way for whatever reason – not even pointing fingers, it just is.
BARRY LEVINSON

Decision Happen Reason Sometimes
I think test screening works at its best when the audience knows what it’s getting.
BARRY LEVINSON

Audience Screening Test Thinking
I think certain movies work and that is part of the magic of it all. We can’t truly define why something succeeds.
BARRY LEVINSON

Magic Succeed Thinking
The interesting thing about movies, it’s not always – y’know, you have to have structure etc and all those things, but an audience responds, in many ways, we walk away and certain things stay in our heads that are memorable.
BARRY LEVINSON

Interesting Memorable Way
You don’t always have to have the ending, but you want to have a satisfactory conclusion.
BARRY LEVINSON

Conclusion Satisfactory Want
There was a time when I said, “I’m going to go do a television thing,” after doing all these theatrical films, and heard, “Television? Why are you going to go back to television?” It’s an interesting place.
BARRY LEVINSON

Film Interesting Television
I thought a great line in the What Just Happened movie said, “We’re just the mayonnaise.”
BARRY LEVINSON

Happened Line Mayonnaise Movie Thought
Craig Nelson who is an actor and is in a show called Coach in the United States. We began to do some improvisational stuff and we used to get laughs and things.
BARRY LEVINSON

Actors Country Laughing United States

I never really wanted to be an actor. And that was the beginning of it, I began to write things down and eventually became a writer on a television show.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

I never really wanted to be an actor. And that was the beginning of it, I began to write things down and eventually became a writer on a television show.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Barry Levinson Quotes