Penelope Spheeris Quotes

Big studio comedies are such a headache.

I feel that a documentarian has an obligation to tell the truth as he or she interprets it. And what I mean by that is that documentarians don't necessarily have the same sort of obligations that a journalist might have. A journalist might be called upon to be objective, whereas a documentarian is sort of forced to take sides.

When men have money and power they get turned on, sexually. They get horny as hell. Can't imagine why, though.

Those movies, Decline I and II and Suburbia, are dearly loved, but they never made any money. I didn't even have the rights for some of them.

I got IRS records to finance what I wanted to do.

If you are looking for a producer, try to contact established producers. Don't let the fear of theft paralyze you, or you will never get anywhere with it.

I can't believe I actually was in my own movie.

Different parents have different standards for their children.

I love punk rock, but I also love metal.

What I found interesting is that it's human nature to have a family.

If I could make a decent living doing documentaries, I would. I don't really care about [the other] stuff so much. But you can't make a living doing documentaries. Although it has affected my work, at least in that I think I make fairly realistic-looking pictures.

Arnold and Jamie Lee must have worked over the years with directors that did 50 takes, because I'd get like three takes or so and say, Ok, that's it, we're done.

Decline III, I funded myself, from the studio money. That, and I sold a lot of drugs. Kidding. Don't print that.

For the most part, studio movies have huge budgets. They don't do anything under 30 to 40 million. When you have that much money at stake, you have so many people breathing down your neck.

This generation has given up on growth. They're just hoping for survival.

Nobody wanted to touch Decline III when they found out what it was about.

I was always into music. I think everyone is when they're a teenager, as a way to drown out the world.

I actually picked up copies of Decline I and II at a flea market once. I walked out without paying.

Before you approach a production entity or even a potential producer, you should write up a treatment and register your show with the Writers Guild of America.

Now, it's almost impossible to go out and do a film about a new form of music.

I like to think about society as being a flock of birds: There seems to be a common consciousness in different time periods, and the new common consciousness reacts to the old standards.

Many people have been able to get pitch meetings by just cold calling, especially the smaller networks and especially with the reality shows.

I live on this nice three acres in Hollywood.

It is fun to try figure out the things that really are real and the things that aren't.

The first Decline I did was out of sheer love and appreciation for the music. In 1977, it was more about bands, because punk was a new form of music. It was groundbreaking and political.

My mother was a barmaid and I was raised in a trailer park. I'm used to that language. I put it on the screen so that people could interpret it as they wish.

I really feel kind of guilty spending 80 million dollars. People are starving in the world.