Quotes

[1997] I felt I disappointed a lot of older fans by being too conscious of the family aspect.... Now, I owe the hardcore fans the Batman movie they would love me to give them.

I am one of Lars von Trier's fans and like the Dogma movement

[on Val Kilmer in Premiere magazine (April 1997)] Val did me two great favors. When I wanted him to be Batman, he said yes. Then he created a situation which allowed me not to have him play Batman again. They were both happy, happy instances, for which I will always be grateful.

The only good advice you can give anyone is the witness of what you have learned in your own life. If I were living with someone and confused about whether I should be staying with them, it usually means I should be leaving. Because when you're really happy, you don't sit around thinking, 'Should I leave?'

[on directing 8MM (1999)] It was fun to get it. No, nobody wanted to touch it. I don't think they could get anyone stupid enough to direct it, other than me. A lot of people were afraid of it. A lot of people don't want to go to a place like that as a director. They want everyone to love them.

Yes, but you'd be surprised how many people didn't know who Philip Seymour Hoffman was. Only if you said, "the fat guy in Boogie Nights (1997)" would people know who you were talking about because they didn't know his name then.

The surreal images in some of my films have been blamed on my drug days, I've heard that from certain sources. I don't know ... it's pretty far behind me now and that was quite a while ago. That was my path and when you come to terms with being a drug addict and an alcoholic, you realise that it's all about you.

Well, here's the problem. If you accept a lot of money to do a film in Hollywood and you have a huge budget, they're going to expect a lot of asses in seats, as you would if you had to write a cheque for a lot of money. You want your money back; it's a business. If you work on a small budget with stars who are willing to cut prices and do interesting work with you, they'll take a risk on a smaller budget because they figure, "Well, maybe with video and DVD we'll make our money back."

...it is show business and it's more business now than it is show because all the studios now are owned by huge conglomerates and corporations, unlike the old Hollywood where everybody knew each other by their first names.

Probably no country has spent as much money as my country on drug wars and I'm not sure who's winning except for the drug dealers.

Sometimes I'm asked if there's homophobia in Hollywood. There's homophobia everywhere on Planet Earth, just like there's racism and sexism and anti-Semitism, and such stupidity isn't checked at the gate at the movie studio. But the difference in show business is, if you can make money for people they don't care what you do. They don't care if you screw yaks in the middle of the street. They'll even buy you a yak. They'll give you their yaks.

I think people always think success in show business gives them the right to be moral political arbiters. I'm not in that camp. I think you can privately do whatever you want, but I'm always suspicious of how much ego is involved. I think the government will survive no matter what Ed Norton thinks of it.

Akiva Goldsman was blamed a lot for this sort of lightness and humor and fun and games of "Batman & Robin" but that's not fair. I take full responsibility. I mean Akiva did write the script but I shot it and worked with Akiva, so you know, if you love a movie, there are hundreds of people who made it lovable for you. If you don't like it, blame the director. That what our name's there for.

[on Batman & Robin (1997)] If there's anyone that let's say loved Batman Forever and went into Batman & Robin with great anticipation, if I disappointed them in anyway, then I really want to apologize, cause it wasn't my intention. My intention was just to entertain them.

[on the young characters in St. Elmo's Fire (1985) compared to today's young people] In St. Elmo's Fire (1985), they were expected to have huge careers and become very accomplished. It was the year of Reaganomics. I think many kids are still expected of that, but they grow up much sooner, and they're bombarded by the Internet, the blogs, the Facebook, the media, the celebration of badly behaved famous figures - bad behavior has become expected. And these are kids with bad parenting.

8MM (1999) would never get made today. I think it's a really bold, really controversial film - as are a lot of my films.

The basis of St. Elmo's Fire (1985) is there's a group of people. Everyone had their group and you always think you're going to be best friends forever. But life comes in. So, can you be best friends forever? It touches on universal themes.

The question I always get is, 'How do you know these young people are going to be stars?' You don't. You just know there is no one like them. If Julia Roberts walked into your office at 20 and you didn't hire her, you shouldn't be in the movie business.

[on meeting Julia Roberts in Premiere Magazine 1993] When Julia walked into my house in these cut-off jeans, no make-up, barefoot, her hair piled up on her head, I did know one thing: I knew I had never met anyone like her. I thought, "How did I live without knowing this girl."

I think I'm one of the luckiest people that ever lived. I got my dream. I got it so much bigger than even I could have dreamed it. You know, I'm just a kid whose parents died very young who was on his own and grew up behind a movie theater before TV, and I wanted to tell those stories, and look what happened.

[on The Lost Boys (1987)] Vampires are hot. They're the only erotic monster. Frankenstein's not hot.

I know I disappointed some people with Batman and Robin but it's not the end of the universe. Actually, Batman and Robin was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

I loved making The Client and A Time to Kill and Batman Forever. Batman and Robin...well, the cast was wonderful, they were wonderful people, but it wasn't my best work.