Top quotes by Cary Fukunaga

My dad is from Japanese descent, my mom is from Swedish descent and, through marriages and divorces, a pretty multicultural family - a lot of Spanish speakers in the family. Votes: 28

My dad worked for a generator company and then UC Berkeley, and my mom was as a dental hygienist and then eventually a history teacher. My uncles and aunts, all of them are elementary school teachers or scientists. Votes: 19

I have a really good relationship with Focus Features; we had a wonderful time working together on 'Sin Nombre.' Votes: 13

To be straight, I was kind of a dork, and in order to fulfill the creative fires burning inside me, I participated vigorously as a Civil War re-enactor through most of my teenage years, traveling across the country to participate in large scale reenactments - grandiose plays enacted by over weight history buffs and war enthusiasts alike. Votes: 12

When you have a script, and you're discussing what it can be, and who going to play what role, that's a kind of like a fantasy football game. You can imagine these different dream teams interpreting these characters that only exist in your head. Votes: 12

I used to always make art for girls. That was the thing I did for girls to like me. I did portraits, drawings, letters that formed outlines of significant things in our relationship. Art. I just used art in general. It usually worked. Votes: 12

In a city like New York, especially for young professionals who aren't in a family situation, most people don't cook for themselves. This is the only city I've ever lived in where I eat out every night. Votes: 12

Casting directors I don't think are the best in Mexico at street casting. Whereas, I think, in New York and in L.A., that's more common; not so in Mexico. So it's up to you as a director in a lot of ways to go out and do that. Votes: 12

When I was a kid, I knew the black and white version of 'Jane Eyre,' and I guess I became interested in the idea of romantic love - of unrequited love and the tragedies of that; of what are the important things in life; what should one value over other materials. Votes: 11

Have you seen McConaughey in 'Unsolved Mysteries?' Even back then, it's a great performance! And he's mowing the lawn. Votes: 10

City of God' and 'Slumdog Millionaire' are both films that I really like, but they are stylistically the opposite of what I wanted to do. Votes: 9

When I was 20, I was living in the Alps, snowboarding and studying political science. I blew out my knee, and I began to realize my days in the sport were numbered; the reality was I would never be a pro. Votes: 8

The anticipation-speculation that comes with a weekly schedule is a double-edged sword. Because people have more time to talk about things, some crazy ideas get a lot of attention. Votes: 8

I think about a Richard Avedon photo series, the kind of faces he gets of real people, which I find so captivating. Fellini was also great in filling his films with this ambiance, this environment, sometimes chaotic and carnival-like, but people's faces were always amazing. Votes: 7

No, ramen's not good for you. But in Japan, our favorite thing to do after drinking all night, especially in Sapporo where it's freezing cold, is to go to the ramen place at two, three in the morning. Votes: 7

I want to have a nice country home one day, yeah. Votes: 7

The problem with being a writer/director: unless you're really disciplined, you start adding projects, and you have to make time to make them. Because you have to write them... no one else is writing them for me. Votes: 7

I think the only reason people use PCs is because they have to. Mac is the most streamlined computer there is. I started using the Mac in college because I was doing editing, and they were the only computers we could use to do that. Votes: 6

As storytellers, you're always somehow creating history. Votes: 6

I have no idea what it would be like to be just one thing and speak one language. I feel enormously privileged to travel and be able to mingle and speak to people that, had I only known English, I wouldn't have been able to meet. Votes: 5

I have these plants in my house that are dying, so having a robot butler to water them when I'm away would be pretty handy. Votes: 5

I don't believe happiness comes out of material gain, for sure. Votes: 5

Going from having an Atari to a laptop changed everything. It allows me to work anywhere I want and send my work home - I can work anywhere in the world. Votes: 5

My mom loved the old black-and-white films. Votes: 4

It's rare that you can promote a love story and feel fear in a film. Votes: 4

I'll definitely say that, before film school, I didn't have much of a film-history background. I didn't know much about classic cinema. Votes: 4

It's so easy for shows to be gritty and handheld and shaky and really tight in people's faces. Votes: 4

So often at home in the West Village, I'm like, 'Why aren't I allowed a horse?' I would keep a horse in a stable in my apartment, and I would fit him with rubber shoes, and we'd just roll him out. If I needed to go to a meeting somewhere, I'd just get on my horse and go across town. Votes: 2

I was imagining films in my head and trying to gather friends together to make movies since I was a kid. I tried to do comedy skits and a horror film. Votes: 2

You work with the communities to make films. And you just don't go in and take over their territory. Votes: 2

Writing, for me, is an inherent part of understanding the material on a deeper level. Votes: 0

Shakespeare is repeated around the world in different languages, just because it's good storytelling. Votes: 0

I eventually want to do writing on all the films, but not necessarily to be the writer. Writing is a painful, painful thing; it really is. Votes: 0

My ideas tend to be either really big in terms of like, the logistics, or really small. Votes: 0

Every single substitute teacher growing up could not pronounce my name, so whenever someone pauses, I'm like, 'Oh, that's me.' Votes: 0

I like characters that make choices and try to drive their own fate. Votes: 0

I love period pieces. But it's hard to get money to make costumed dramas, so we'll see. Votes: 0

When I see an image in my head that compels me, where there's this mystery about what's going to happen next or could happen next, I'll be intrigued. There are so many scripts that you read, and you know exactly what's going to happen, and there aren't too many where you can't tell within the first 20 pages where it's going. Votes: 0

After 'Sin Nombre,' I just needed to take a break to go to completely different worlds. Votes: 0

I live in Brooklyn, New York, and hail from the 'East Bay,' Oakland, CA. Votes: 0

Everyone wants to be liked, so of course you want critical acclaim. After that, box office acclaim isn't bad. More than anything I think you have to try and make something you're proud of. Votes: 0

Getting back in the directors chair - there's a sense of like doing something every year. It's not like riding a bike, you're always learning new things, you're gonna face new challenges and when you face new challenges you'll have an answer for them. Votes: 0

I definitely pay attention to details. I think one of the hardest things about making a movie is that it can be scrutinized over and over again. If anything just isn't right, it's going to take you out of the film. Votes: 0

I want to be happy while I make movies and not just do things just to work. I want to do things I spend years on. Votes: 0

I don't really see a huge divide between filmmaking and television. In the end, a lot of people are going to be watching this stuff on their laptops and their iPhones anyway. So, it doesn't really matter where it comes from, as long as the stories get told. Votes: 0

Levity, you need levity to feel anything. You need to laugh before you cry. I think films that take themselves too seriously without any levity are missing an important ingredient to the potential emotional impact of their stories. Votes: 0

It's pretty awesome to see people dressed up in period clothing and running around on horses and in carriages and all that kind of thing. Part of the fun of making a period film is just that playfulness. It's just like make believe when you're a child except you get to do it for a real job. Votes: 0

There's a lot of two-hander dialogue in 'True Detective,' and I needed to place those guys in locations where there were other levels of visual storytelling. It didn't necessarily have to move the plot forward, but it had to add tone or add to the overall feeling. Votes: 0

It's easy to make something avant garde. To do something in the traditional way is much more brave in the sense that you're - your technique is so much more exposed because there's not all this flashy stuff to distract the viewer. Votes: 0

My mom was married to a Mexican guy - a surfer - and so we'd kind of camp out on the beach the swell season. Votes: 0

Sundance took me on my first film and from there sort of launched my career. Votes: 0

I don't storyboard, and I don't really shot list. I let the shots be determined by how the actors and I figure out the blocking in a scene, and then from there, we cover it. Votes: 0

I think the semantics of mini-series for a network is that it has an end. Votes: 0

I began writing fictional stories and little screenplays when I was in fifth grade. Votes: 0

I've been wanting to make a movie about the war in Sierra Leone, specifically, for more than 15 years. Votes: 0

You have to tease enough misinformation and lack of information to hopefully make people want more. Votes: 0

If you really want to tell someone you love them, you don't just go and blurt it out. There's a dance. And your movie does that. Votes: 0

I think I learned discipline on 'Jane Eyre.' Charlotte Bronte's dialogue, the intellectual duel between Rochester and Jane Eyre's character, is so compelling that you didn't have to do much with the placement of cameras. Votes: 0

Obviously, a lot of TV shows are based on chronological episode viewing, and the stories are contingent upon watching it in order. Syndicated shows, you don't have to watch in order. You're just watching characters that don't change that much. Votes: 0

Some directors don't get involved in the cinematography and are just about story, but I'm definitely more tactile than that in terms of my involvement in the minutiae. Votes: 0

Collaborations aren't easy, but you definitely get something highly different than had you done it on your own. That's part of the experience. Votes: 0

On 'Sin Nombre,' Adriano Goldman and I improvised a lot of things on-site. We were working with untrained actors, and you can't really block a scene in a traditional way. Votes: 0

Tom Hooper had done 'John Adams,' and David Lynch did 'Twin Peaks.' I figured I could do eight hours of television, and I wanted to. Votes: 0

It's a treat and daunting to be directing someone like Judi Dench, who's made more films than I'll ever make in my lifetime. Votes: 0

I've written immense love letters that are supposed to be opened over days at a time. Votes: 0

Ed Norton is probably one of the smartest people I've ever met. Votes: 0

With 'Sin Nombre,' there are parts that I wish were longer. And with 'Jane Eyre' especially, there were parts that I had to compress that I thought it would have been really nice to spend more time with - to spend with the characters. Votes: 0

My manager sent me the first two scripts for 'True Detective,' and I just thought they were so interesting and that the world they were depicting was so titillating to me. Votes: 0

In terms of tackling different subjects, I can't really think of anything I wouldn't want to try; that's the fun of it right? Each new style brings new challenges - not that you shouldn't focus on one and master it, but it takes so long to make a film, you just want to have some variety. Votes: 0

I think I have this field around me that makes electronics work bad. It's not like an entropy thing; it happens very quickly. Votes: 0

I enjoy setting the scene and coming up with interesting frames. 'True Detective' was a very hands-on set. Votes: 0

If you're directing, it doesn't really matter any more if it's going straight to TV - what matters is whether you have the resources to make a story that moves you. Votes: 0

I wrote my first script, which was 50 pages, at age 15. It was about two brothers in love with the same nurse while they're convalescing in a Civil War hospital. Votes: 0

The theoretical casting part of movies is the funnest part. You really can imagine so many different versions of a story based on who's embodying it. Votes: 0

To do action without cuts is infinitely more exciting. Votes: 0

I do want to direct a movie from horseback one day. Votes: 0

There's nothing better than finishing something and looking at it. Whether it be a script or a movie, it's this complete little thing that now exists and is hopefully immortal. Votes: 0

I'm pretty hard to impress, and I'm pretty exacting, in terms of what I want from my props department and art department. We spend many, many hours going over visual research and finding the right artists to create the material. Votes: 0

It's an important part of being a member of society to know what's happening in the world and to know where you fall in it and what you can do about it. Votes: 0

Collaboration sometimes causes conflict, and sometimes it's easy, but the bringing together of great minds only adds. Votes: 0

My mind is in so many different places while we're shooting. Part of it is watching the performance, part of it is watching the camera, and part of it is thinking about the stuff that we have to get that day. It's always a pleasure watching, but you also take it for granted, when you're on the actual grind, making the show. Votes: 0

If you have something really important you want to say, you have to read your audience, I guess. Votes: 0

Your movie should lull people into a place of openness and vulnerability. If it is just a diatribe, it's never going to work. Votes: 0

There are a lot of movies I would want to be a fly on the wall for. I would have loved to see the making of Jaws [1975], with all the fears and anxieties it was going to be a complete failure, and then to have it turn into the first blockbuster. Votes: 0

I have tremendous faith that there will be greater films to come. Votes: 0

In snowboarding, you're constantly aware that people are so technically brilliant at what they do, and you feel like, "Ugh, I'll never be able to do that." Votes: 0

I started writing stories when I was 9 or 10. I wrote my first screenplay-type document when I was 14. Votes: 0

Film still looks way better than digital. Votes: 0

The theoretical casting part of movies is the funnest part. You really can imagine so many different versions of a story, based on who's embodying it. Votes: 0

The authenticity aspect is pretty important to me. When we have to compromise and do something that's not authentic, it really rubs me, every time I have to see it in the edit, which is millions of times. Votes: 0

The apartments are made for eels. Votes: 0

When people start talking, things happen. Votes: 0

Even on my films, I always collaborate with the actors. That's a given. I think you need that. You need the actors to feel as much ownership of the performance and the direction of the story as you do, to get the most out of everyone's potential. Votes: 0

I'm the kind of person where you're never done, you just keep perfecting and perfecting and perfecting, or trying to fix things that drive you crazy. Often times when you watch a film, "if I could just get through this minute, I'll be fine." So I think I'm just hard on myself. Votes: 0

They're always surprised with what I want to do and don't want to do. I think they're surprised I don't want to do robo-tech. I don't know, it's like they want me to have a long career. And be prolific and make big movies. Votes: 0

You only have so much time in life so everything you do needs to mean something to you. Votes: 0

The only pressure is the pressure I put on myself, that's up to be I guess to mitigate that. I think there's always pressure that you make the right choice for the next film. You don't know what the outcome is gonna be, there's always potential to find length to your career as well. Now I'm so far from any other job skills that if I don't make movies. Votes: 0

It takes the wool from your eyes about how the world works, to show you that nothing's necessarily fair, and that you might have a hard life. Votes: 0

Every single substitute teacher growing up could not pronounce my name, so whenever someone pauses, I'm like, "Oh, that's me." Votes: 0

You're always against the clock. But really just fighting for quality. Votes: 0

I don't really put trophies out. I don't keep trophies around my apartment. Votes: 0

I just have a hard time displaying things. Votes: 0

All I kept thinking about was, "Man, he's so relaxed onstage! I'm never going to be that relaxed! I'm clearly not meant to be in front of the camera. I'm really not meant for anything but behind the camera." Votes: 0

One of the great things about working with Focus is that you're never forced, especially with a film with low budget. The pressure is sort of off. It's like it's so under the radar in a sense that you can cast whoever you want. Votes: 0

I have aspirations of making a big, historical epic. I don't know if I'll ever get the money to do it... Votes: 0

Living in New York, I get excited by the idea of working in a different medium. And it's pretty frightening because whatever skills it takes to make a good piece of theater seem mysterious to me. Votes: 0

As a director, your job is to make sure no one for any reason is taken out of the film. Sometimes it's impossible and sometimes things don't come out the way you want them to, but I think you have to work really hard at making the world engrossing and details are a major part of that. Votes: 0

It's just nice to be able to communicate and be able to identify with a lot of different cultures. I have no idea what it would be like to be just one thing and speak one language. I feel enormously privileged to travel and be able to mingle and speak to people that, had I only known English, I wouldn't have been able to meet. Votes: 0

I think that one of the most exciting things about making films is the sort of reaching out to the world. It's as an ambassador. You realize the more you travel that you are a cultural ambassador for your own country. You never become more patriotic than you do living abroad. Votes: 0

It's nice to represent to other people in the world that Americans actually do know what's happening in the world, can speak other languages and are conscientious. The perception quite often is that we don't know what's beyond our county line. Votes: 0

I'm terrible at making titles. I never like the titles of my films. Votes: 0

I don't think I'd ever write anything that I don't also direct just because it's so hard and painful to write as it is. Votes: 0

A period romance film with elements of horror. That was successful, because I feel like Coppola's DRACULA was one or the other. You know? It was never scary it was never a film he got invested in the romance of the characters. He understood it, but he never got invested. So it as a challenge for me to see if I could do that, I still don't know how audiences will sort of react to that. Votes: 0

When you know you have a certain amount of work to finish, you just don't allow yourself to get sick again. Votes: 0