Mercurial Quotes

(on his feelings regarding past movies) Hollywood is a mercurial place where people are sort of . . . a victim of their environment and how the environment changes. Movies that would be timely now, ten years from now would be passé and nobody would be interested in the subjects. All the movies that I have done I have not been in control of. Sometimes there is a contractual situation where you go to the studio and they kind of tell you which ones they want you to do. Be that as it may, I have also been lucky in the sense that I have been able to make environmentally conscientious movies as well as politically conscientious movies. Above the Law (1988) was a politically conscientious movie. On Deadly Ground (1994) was environmentally conscientious, so I want to keep making movies like that which are more geared with a certain entertainment value but also bring people forward into contemplation.

Most of the work happens when you`re on the set. It`s like going to a cocktail party - you know who`s going to be there, you have certain expectations about the topics of conversation and the social dynamic. At the same time, when you arrive, you`ve got to be able to abandon those preconceptions and be mercurial. But sometimes the most important thing is just having a good costume. - On preparation for the characters he plays.

I`m totally on a mission to find my signature scent, but I`m too mercurial.

Well, that`s his journey. I know that I might have only got Shakespeare in Love because someone else turned it down; it`s a very small marketplace. So it would feel weird to say, `Oh, yeah I could have been there on Oscar night`, because the whole chemistry of the film is built around that particular actor. Who knows if it would have had the same effect with a different cast. It`s a mercurial world of alchemy. (on turning down Adrian Brody`s role in The Pianist which garnered the actor an Oscar)