Jonathan Levine Quotes

Jonathan Levine

Profession : Director

Birth : June 18, 1976

I was actually shooting 'Warm Bodies' on the day that '50/50' came out, which I don't recommend to other filmmakers because I was sort of a wreck. Actually, it was good for me, because I had work to do, so I couldn't obsess all day and be checking how '50/50' was doing!

Jonathan Levine

I used to obsess on critical reactions to my films, and it's really not a healthy way to live your life, so my new take on it is simply, 'I hope people like it!' I'm not going to be looking at the tomato meter for at least a year! I was very lucky on '50/50' that most critics really liked it.

Jonathan Levine

I think that's the great thing about zombies, is, you know, going back to even 'Night of the Living Dead,' they've always been a tool for kind of holding up a mirror to us and showing us something about ourselves that we might not otherwise know.

Jonathan Levine

It's rare that movies can sort of capture the tone of life; movies always feel like they have to be one thing or another.

Jonathan Levine

I kind of viewed '50/ 50' and 'Warm Bodies' both as my next films after 'The Wackness.' In my head, I was just like, 'I'll try the big, fun, adventure-weird movie, and I'll do the small, heartfelt comedy-drama, and one of them will probably work out, and I'll get to work more.'

Jonathan Levine

I think I'm always conscious of not letting things fit into a specific box. Being a filmmaker and trying to chart a career, you never want anyone to be able to pigeonhole you into one specific thing.

Jonathan Levine

I really hope everyone who saw 'Twilight' sees 'Warm Bodies,' but at the same time... I don't resent the comparison on a level of quality because I don't judge other movies like that. Now that I make movies, I see how hard it is to do everything. I pretty much love all movies.

Jonathan Levine

I love Jamaica so much. I've been there so much, and I think it would be great if we could shoot a movie there.

Jonathan Levine

I always look at myself as kind of a work in progress. I hope that's not always the case. But for me, every film is a learning experience.

Jonathan Levine

Zombies have always had a lot of built-in social commentary.

Jonathan Levine

I learned some big lessons on my first film, a horror film which was never released in the U.S., even though we sold it to Harvey Weinstein for a lot of money.

Jonathan Levine

I think it's cyclical. Zombies have been around for ages, and vampires have run their course; we've had so many vampire movies.

Jonathan Levine

The way 'Coming Home' uses music in general is incredible, but the final song that really kind of crescendos all of the emotion that the whole movie has kind of been building to is this song called 'Once I Was' by Tim Buckley.

Jonathan Levine

I think Giuliani started a trend that Bloomberg continued with rampant gentrification, and I think it's tough because why would any city choose not to do that?

Jonathan Levine

I have a lot of friends with bad taste in music - some might say that I have bad taste in music.

Jonathan Levine

I used to drive a convertible around L.A. a lot.

Jonathan Levine

My first real television-watching experience was when I watched 'L.A. Law,' like, at 10 o'clock Thursday nights with my parents. They would let me stay up late.

Jonathan Levine

For me, it's always more interesting to look at things when you don't really have a horse in the race, so to speak.

Jonathan Levine

For me, I just value my friendships so much. I mean, I love my family, too, but my friends - I have a really special connection with my friends.

Jonathan Levine

That's the great thing about being a director. You have your list of things you have to worry about and things you don't have to worry about. If you can hire someone or cast someone who equates to not having to worry about, it's great!

Jonathan Levine