Venice Quotes

"I`m not planning to be an actress as an adult, I`m planning other things for my future." Source: Venice Magazine July 1995

(on his struggles as an actor before becoming successful) I lived all over the place. I lived in Hollywood, then I moved. (Matt Damon) and I got money from School Ties (1992), and we blew it all in a couple of months. We made $35,000 or $40,000 each and thought we were rich. And we were shocked later on to find out how much we owed in taxes. We were appalled: $15,000! What? But we rented this house on the beach in Venice and 800 people came and stayed with us and got drunk. Then we ran out of money and had to get an apartment. It was like everything was exciting. So we lived in Glendale and Eagle Rock and we lived in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Venice, by the Hollywood Bowl, all over the place. We`d get thrown out of some places or we`d have to upgrade or downgrade depending on who had money.

I hope that they see this film as sweet and endearing, and I hope that they take away that being yourself is the most important thing, not trying to be something that you`re not. Whether that means that you`re a popular kid or a geek like the kids in the movie, being true to yourself is worth more than any money you can ever have. - When asked what she hoped audiences would take away from watching Napoleon Dynamite. (From Venice Magazine June 2004)

No, because I chose to have the childhood that I had. I was not pushed into the business by anything other than my own ambition and my own dream of wanting to act. And I think that even though I don`t have a bunch of cool stories about those great proms, I have great stories of my own about places that I`ve gone to that a lot of people have never gotten to go to. I`m so grateful for the experiences I`ve had. I`ve had great opportunities, and have met great people. I`m completely satisfied with how I grew up and the choices I made. - When asked whether or not she felt that she missed out on a normal childhood. (From Venice Magazine June 2004)

Amsterdam was a great surprise to me. I had always thought of Venice as the city of canals; it had never entered my mind that I should find similar conditions in a Dutch town.

I have an Italian comedy at the Venice Film Festival.

(Thoughts on the one film (or films) that made him want to become a filmmaker and why): There was no epiphany from one film. There were a few that stood out over the years. I was 8 when I saw _Ladri di biciclette (1948)_, and it was the first black-and-white film I had ever seen. It triggered my curiosity to start seeing European cinema. When I was 7, I saw The Making of `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` (1970). Hearing George Roy Hill talk about all the choices he made, I knew that directing movies was what I wanted to do. I remember seeing Death and Venice 40 times one year, and then switching my allegiance to Godard after seeing Masculine/Feminine! I knew early on that I was a nerd and that films were my refuge. Those first few minutes before the lights went off, and you`re alone in the theater waiting, were really pleasurable. Whether it was Steve McQueen, the coolest guy in cinema, to Robert Altman`s strange and wonderful 3 Women (1977), I saw hundreds of films before I ever picked up a camera. I believe I took something away from each one.

Yes he did, Scooter -- just look in the Pitcher of Venice and you`ll see that exact quote.

Venice, Italy, survives 365 days out of every year in water; New Orleans can survive a few days of water if it has to.

Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

If Venice sinks, the collection should be preserved somewhere in the vicinity of Venice.

I keep bumping into people here and recently in New York who say they thought all the lead-up material, the cards and press releases, had really warmed them up for seeing the pavilion in Venice.

It`s almost like there are two Venice Biennales: the one that occurs in the Vernissage three-day period and then the slower-burning Biennale, which stays on and leaves an impression in audience and critical circles. Obviously, I want my work to be part of both.