Woody Allen
That's the way I feel about the world: there are certain problems that can only be dealt with that way - going out and doing them. As ugly a truth as that is, I do think it's the truth about the world.Collection: Thinking
When I'm writing something, if there's a part that's good for me, then I'll play it. Otherwise, I don't. And I notice that there are less and less parts for me in my own writing.Collection: Writing
Many people who get a lot of money are willing to work with me for no money. This is true.Collection: People
My films are misinterpreted all the time. I don't mind that. Everybody's films are misinterpreted. But there's no malice or stupidity in the people that misinterpret them. You know what you do, but someone else sees it, and they want to talk about it or write about it, and so they misinterpret them.Collection: Writing
I myself don't like to speak to the actors at all. I like to hire great people and let them do their thing. I don't like to speak to them. I don't like to have lunch with them. I don't like to socialize with them. I don't like to hear their ideas.Collection: Ideas
When I was young, I wanted to be a dramatic writer, a writer of tragedy. Nothing would've pleased me more than if I could have written like Eugene O'Neil or Tennessee Williams.Collection: Tragedy
Retirement is a very subjective thing. There are guys I know who retire and they're very happy and they never miss work at all. I can't see myself retiring and fondling a dog every day. I like to get up and work and go out. I have too much energy or too much nervous anxiety or something. So I don't see myself retiring. Maybe I will suddenly get a stroke or a heart attack and I will be forced to retire, but if my health holds out I don't expect to retire.Collection: Dog
In certain areas I don't function well and in other areas I function very well. I'm very good professionally. I have good discipline, I'm able to write every day and do films and not go six times over the budget. I mean I'm a coherent person, but I also don't like to go through tunnels when I travel. I'm claustrophobic.Collection: Writing
I've often felt that life is a hard deal and it's unrelentingly tragic and an uphill fight.Collection: Fighting
Fantasy is only a state of mind that you can employ when existing in a real context.Collection: Real
I do feel it's important to have some kind of faith in something, but [it is] impossible for many of us. I personally don't have any faith in anything, but it's great if you can.Collection: Important
The artist can't give you an answer that's satisfying to the dreadful reality of your existence. So the best you can do is maybe entertain people and refresh them for an hour-and-a-half.Collection: Reality
New York is my home and I have a particular fondness for it. I think it's a place where you can generate any kind of story wonderfully. But I also would be very happy to make a film in Paris or Rome.Collection: New York
When I get up in the morning, I go and I work with beautiful women and charming men and funny comedians and dramatic artists. And I'm presented with costumes and great music to choose from and sets. I travel a certain amount of places, so I've been living in a bubble. And I like it.Collection: Beautiful
I was a smart kid and I was not understood by my parents.Collection: Smart
One of the wonderful things about making a film of any genre is that you have dialogue. You can take up a position. If you want to say something about your position, you can just say it. You don't have to spend massive amounts of screen time.Collection: Genre Is
In every generation there are a few people who are authentically funny. The cosmetics change. You may not be able to articulate it, and you may laugh at them and get a certain amount of enjoyment. But when you're asleep at night, and you wake up at 3 in the morning, and you're alone in your bed, you know who's really funny.Collection: Morning
In 1940 I was just turning 5 years old and being taken to the movies. For those of us who were not old enough to understand the horror of war it was a very romantic era because these guys were kissing their wives and girlfriends goodbye and going off to fight and become heroes.Collection: Goodbye
I've always had an easy time directing actors because I always hire ones that are great before I get my hands on them.Collection: Hands
I never have an alter ego in the movies. That's a fiction that the press has made up over the years, and it's fun to write that. It gives them something to write.Collection: Fun
I never start editing a film until it's completely shot; I don't edit along the way, ever. When it's finished I come in here [screening room] and we start with reel one, scene one and start editing shot by shot by shot until we're finished.Collection: Editing
People make films for different reasons. For money. Or, they make them because something in them demands artistic expression. I do it because I enjoy the work.Collection: Expression
People still have existential anxiety. It just may not be expressed in Hebraic idiom.Collection: People
To me, movies are valuable as an art form and as a wonderful means of popular entertainment. But I think movies have gone terribly wrong.Collection: Art
Magic has always been of a great interest of mine. I was an amateur magician when I was young. I used to practice and read up on it a lot. I'm well-aware of the history of magic.Collection: Practice
In my house I’m the boss, my wife is just the decision maker.Collection: Boss
I’m not anti-social. I’m just not social.Collection: Witty
All i have in my life is my imagination.Collection: Imagination
I’ve become the person I’ve always hated, but I’m happier.Collection: Feelings
In the shower, with the hot water coming down, you’ve left the real world behind, and very frequently things open up for you. It’s the change of venue, the unblocking the attempt to force the ideas that’s crippling you when you’re trying to write.Collection: Real
You know how you’re always trying to get things to come out perfect in art because it’s real difficult in life.Collection: Real
I said this to my daughter, if you don’t practice the guitar, when you get older you wouldn’t be able to play it. It’s that simple. If you want to play the guitar, you put a half hour in everyday, but you have to do it.Collection: Fun
No matter what the shrinks, or the pundits, or the self-help books tell you, when it comes to love, it’s luck.Collection: Book
When you write the script, you’re home in a room by yourself, and you’re writing, and there’s no connection with the real performing world. So you get a lot of things wrong and make a lot of mistakes and make a lot of bad choices.Collection: Real
Most of the time I don’t have much fun. The rest of the time I don’t have any fun at all.Collection: Fun
I never have an alter ego in the movies. That’s a fiction that the press has made up over the years, and it’s fun to write that. It gives them something to write.Collection: Fun
Have you ever noticed that good people sleep better, but bad people seem to have more fun when they’re awake?Collection: Fun
If I can play a scene in a master shot, I always prefer it. And the actors always prefer it. It’s fun to look at on the screen, the actors get a chance to sink their teeth into something substantial, and it’s economically helpful.Collection: Fun
Don’t you see the rest of the country looks upon New York like we’re left-wing, communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers? I think of us that way sometimes and I live here.Collection: Country
Everyone wants to get out of living where they’re living now, because life is a pretty tough proposition and not much fun. But when you think back to earlier times, you only extrapolate the nice things.Collection: Fun
Life is hard for insects. And don’t think mice are having any fun either.Collection: Fun