I'm Not Overly Analytical, And I Don't

I Realized, "gee, You're Making The Same Film Over And Over Here." I Just Kept Making Them For My Own Amusement, But Also With This Thought In My Head That I Could Collect Enough Songs To Make An Album Out Of It. I Am Attracted To Non-dramatic Moments In Life. The Idea Of A Coffee Break Is Not Something You'd Think Of As Being An Important Part Of Your Day, So These Shorts Were Like Little Free Zones In Which We Could Just Play Around.

When I Studied With Nicholas Ray He Was Always Telling Us, "if You Want To Make Films, Watch A Lot Of Films, But Don't Just Watch Films, Go Take A Walk, Look At The Sky, Read A Book About Meteorology, Look At The Design Of People's Shoes. Because All Of Them Are Part Of Filmmaking." So I Thought, Perfect! That's A Good Job For Me.

Select Only Things To Steal From That Speak Directly To Your Soul.

I Had This Idea For A Long Time To Make A Film About A Poet In Paterson Named Patterson. I Wanted Him To Be Working Class. Eventually I Thought A Bus Was A Perfect Visual Way To Move Him, To Drift Him Through The City, To Have A Measured Kind Of Routine Lifestyle. And All These Things Kind Of Congealed Into The Film "paterson" Eventually.

I Start With Actors That I Know Personally Or I Know Their Work, And There Are Things About Their Work Or Their Presence Or Their Own Personality That Make A Character, That Exaggerates Some Qualities And Suppresses Other Qualities. It's Always A Real Collaboration For Me.