Francis Ford Coppola Quotes

George Lucas doesn't have the most physical stamina. He was so unhappy making Star Wars that he just vowed he'd never do it again.

I had a number of very strong personalities in my family. My father was a concert flutist, the solo flute for Toscanini.

We had access to too much equipment, too much money, and little by little we went insane.

I think it's better to be overly ambitious and fail than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way. I have been very fortunate. I failed upward in my life!

I'm no longer dependent on the movie business to make a living. So if I want to make movies as other old guys would play golf, I can.

I was a pretty shy, lonely kid. I blossomed about age 17, when I went to college.

That's part of the requirement for me to be an artist is that you're trying to share your personal existence with others and trying to illuminate modern life, trying to understand life.

You're in a profession in which absolutely everybody is telling you their opinion, which is different. That's one of the reasons George Lucas never directed again.

The stuff that I got in trouble for, the casting for The Godfather or the flag scene in Patton, was the stuff that was remembered, and was considered the good work.

I'm very proud of my flops, as much as of my successes.

I think a sequel is a waste of money and time. I think movies should illuminate new stories.

Most Italians who came to this country are very patriotic. There was this exciting possibility that if you worked real hard, and you loved something, you could become successful.

The things you get fired for when you’re young are the same things that you get lifetime achievement awards for when you’re old.

I was the kind of kid that had some talents or ability, but it never came out in school.

I probably have genius. But no talent.

I like simplicity; I don't need luxury.

Sequels are not done for the audience or cinema or the filmmakers. It's for the distributor. The film becomes a brand.

I was raised as a Catholic, but I didn't like the Catholic Church at all. I thought the nuns were mean.

Music is a big factor in helping the illusion of the film come to life. The same way music brings back different periods of our lives.

Stay innocent. I'm 69 years old, and I'm still innocent.

If you're a person who says yes most of the time, you'll find yourself in the hotel business and the restaurant business.

I thought I wanted to be a playwright because I was interested in stories and telling stories.

Ten Days That Shook The World, by Eisenstein, I went to see it, and I was so impressed with this film, so impressed with what cinema could do.

Most filmmakers can't afford to try something out that doesn't work.

I always found the film world unpleasant. It's all about the schedule, and never really flew for me.

My film is not a movie; it's not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam.

The very earliest people who made film were magicians.

In kindergarten that used to be my job, to tell them fairytales. I liked Hans Christian Andersen, and the Grimm fairy tales, all the classic fairy tales.

Frank Capra was a prop man, I think. John Ford was a prop man. It was a little bit of a father and son thing, and you kind of worked your way up.

When I was 13, I worked for Western Union. When the telegrams came in, I would glue them on the paper and deliver them on my bicycle.

I was terrible at maths, but I could grasp science, and I used to love to read about the lives of the scientists. I wanted to be a scientist or an inventor.

I remember growing up with television, from the time it was just a test pattern, with maybe a little bit of programming once in a while.

Lots of people have criticized my movies, but nobody has ever identified the real problem: I'm a sloppy filmmaker.

I had a number of teachers who hated me. I didn't do well in school.

I just admire people like Woody Allen, who every year writes an original screenplay. It's astonishing. I always wished that I could do that.

Films and hotels have many aspects that are the same. For example, there is always a big vision, an idea.

Roger Corman exploited all of the young people who worked for him, but he really gave you responsibility and opportunity. So it was kind of a fair deal.

I've been failing for, like, ten or eleven years. When it turns, it'll turn. Right now I'm just trying to squeeze through a very tight financial period, get the movie out, and put my things in order.

So much of the art of film is to do less. To aspire to do less.

I was interested in the idea of succession - showing a father and a son both in their own time and drawing a contrast

I always think upon Lee Strasberg with warmth, and reviewing his wisdom is a pleasure.

Today's winemakers still worry about quality.

I gladly, I voluntarily gave up the kind of commercial film career I had going as soon as I had enough money to finance my own films.

As long as I can make lots of money in other businesses, I'll continue to subsidize my own work.

I was never sloppy with other people's money. Only my own. Because I figure, well, you can be.

The time a movie is made is unique, not only from the talent that is available but if the public was ready for it.

One of the most important tools that a filmmaker has are his/her notes.

It is a little disappointing to see that your legs are not as strong. But I like the idea of growing old, and the thought of approaching death is not particularly daunting to me.

To make great movies, there is an element of risk. You have to say, 'Well, I am going to make this film, and it is not really a sure thing.'

The internet in hotels should be free - and I really resent it when they charge you five dollars for a bottle of water beside your bed.