Jeff Nichols Quotes

Jeff Nichols

Profession : Director

Birth : December 7, 1978

I haven't seen 'Room' yet. People tell me 'Room' is such an amazing film, but ever since I had a kid, I just can't. I can't do it. It's not fun. It's not a place I want to be.

Jeff Nichols

Your reaction when you lose control in a situation is to try and hang on tighter.

Jeff Nichols

The funny thing about 'Take Shelter' is that a lot of people talk about how it was allegory for the economy and things that were to happen. And that was so on the nose in the movie for me. I was like, 'That's obvious.' It's the other stuff about marriage and commitment and those other things that I spent the most time thinking about.

Jeff Nichols

We've gotten to a point where it costs so much money to make a movie that directors and filmmakers feel they have to make sure that everybody gets it. And that's an unfortunate development, I think, in a lot of narratives floating around in the film industry.

Jeff Nichols

You have actors you've worked with previously, and you have actors you haven't worked with that you've seen in things where you know they can work in these parts. And then there are actors who blow you away, who surprise you.

Jeff Nichols

There's a rhythm and a cadence in a scene, and when an actor understands without any real direction from you, then that's a very valuable gift. And some people get it, and some people don't.

Jeff Nichols

I care about narrative structure; I care about how stories unfold.

Jeff Nichols

I really don't know how to tell you what it feels like to be a parent.

Jeff Nichols

I really don't care about plot. I really, really don't.

Jeff Nichols

Whenever I write, I try and approach my stories from some kind of universal theme or idea or emotion.

Jeff Nichols

'Shotgun Stories' and 'Take Shelter'... I was willing to make those with no money and no time. With 'Mud,' I just wanted to protect it until I could have the resources. It's a real tricky movie.

Jeff Nichols

I love 'Lawrence of Arabia,' big sweeping films. I want my films to feel that way, to be on a big canvas.

Jeff Nichols

A lot of independent filmmakers are really catty.

Jeff Nichols

There's a reason why I use film. It's because it's the best representation of how our eyes work. I really believe that. I think it's better than digital.

Jeff Nichols

I think too often in films, people think endings are a summation of plot, and I don't like that. Because once you know where you're going as an audience member, then it's like a video game. You're just waiting for them to get through the levels and beat the bad guy. And I just think that's boring.

Jeff Nichols

When my son was 8 months old, he had a febrile seizure. You know, if you're in the first year - my wife and I refer to it as the 'darkness.' You're just underwater.

Jeff Nichols

Your whole life is changed with that first child. Your social behaviors are all turned upside down, you're sleep deprived, but eight months in, my son had this seizure, and it just woke me up to the idea that, oh, no, this can end. And it can end in a way that will destroy you forever.

Jeff Nichols

I've been really lucky when it comes to casting kids, and I don't particularly like child actors. Too often, they just show up, and they've had whatever real innocence that's in a child just beaten out of them. They start to perform for you, and you can just see it coming. It's no good.

Jeff Nichols

Most film productions, when they're based at a place, they get, like, a 30-mile radius or a 30-minute radius to get out of the town. And once you go past that, your day starts to become shorter, and you have to start paying your drivers more, and everybody just gets paid more, and you have less time to shoot, and everything costs more.

Jeff Nichols

I'm really calculating when it comes to these scripts - I'm really calculated about character behavior and dialogue.

Jeff Nichols