Paul Schrader

“There’s a certain kind of film that is more of an experience than a story.”

“You can't just have a character who is a lone wolf. You have to give him a reason to be a lone wolf.”

“Every film is a documentary of its own making.”

“Pain is a great motivator.”

“I believe that the role of the artist is to be a cartographer, not a moralist.”

“I always say that I'm not a director, I'm a writer who directs.”

“The problem with American cinema is that it has been taken over by the marketing department.”

“The most interesting characters are the ones who are in conflict with themselves.”

“Every man builds his own cage.”

“Style is the mechanism of the soul.”

“A screenplay is not a novel. It's a blueprint for a film.”

“I'm interested in the spiritual crisis.”

“The job of the artist is to be a witness to his time in history.”

“When you write a script, you're in charge of the world. You're a god. When you direct, you're a traffic cop.”