Robert Altman

Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altmanwas an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. A five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, Altman was considered a "maverick" in making films with a highly stylized perspective unlike most Hollywood films. He is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in history...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth20 February 1925
CityKansas City, MO
CountryUnited States of America
The Oscar for the films, it'd be nice. But I don't make those kind of films, and I don't think that will ever happen.
I was scared that no one would hire me. At that time, there was still a stigma attached to it. A big stigma. Actually, I think I was healthier after the operation than some people who have bypass surgery because I was completely cured. But when you mentioned "heart transplant," you got a very negative reaction. It triggered people's imaginations, and not in a good way.
Words don't tell you what people are thinking. Rarely do we use words to really tell. We use words to sell people or to convince people or to make them admire us. It's all disguise. It's all hidden -- a secret language.
I've had it-the agencies, the winking, the networks, the ratings. Anyone who thinks TV is an art medium is crazy-it's an advertising medium.
Titanic I thought was the most dreadful piece of work I've ever seen in my entire life. Another film that I think is equally bad was American Beauty. So badly acted and directed. But people like that.
People have asked me throughout the years which directors have influenced me. I don't know their names, because I was mostly influenced when I'd see a film and think, "Man, I want to be sure to never do anything like that." So I never learned their names. It wasn't a matter of copying or emulating somebody I admired. It was getting rid of a lot of stuff.
Your own ego is the only trap that I think you can fall into.
I don't think screenplay writing is the same as writing - I mean, I think it's blueprinting.
I'm here, I think, under kind of false pretenses, and I think I have to become straight with you. Ten years ago, 11 years ago, I had a heart transplant -- a total heart transplant. I got the heart of, I think, a young woman who was about in her late 30s. So, by that calculation, you may be giving me this award too early, because I think I got about 40 years left on it -- and I intend to use it.
I don't know what a best director is, except that (it is) someone who stands in the same space with the best actors, ... I feel that they do the work and I get to watch. And nothing is better than that.
No filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have. By that calculation, you may be giving this award too early. Because I think I've got about 40 years left and I intend to use them.
Maybe there's a chance to get back to ... grown-up films. Anything that uses humor and dramatic values to deal with human emotions and gets down to what people are to people.
No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have; I never had to direct a film I didn't choose and develop. Eleven years ago, I had a heart transplant. I got the heart of a young woman who is in her late 30s. So by that calculation, you may be giving me this award too early, because I think I've got 40 years left, and I intend to use them.
No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have. I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for filmmaking has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition.