"In movies the characters never stammer or search for words. They always speak the way we all wish we
could speak in real life. From the self effacing plea to the scathing diatribe, the movie character shows unfaltering eloquence.
We tolerate this particular lack of realism in movies because it gives us archetypal ideals to which we may aspire."
"We love actors and musicians best because they allow us to step out of our daily routines to laugh
or weep, then quickly return without getting too involved. The price they pay is that they involve themselves in too
much emotion. This, combined with the illusion of invulnerability which come from great success, is what so often leads them
to self destructive lifestyles".
Making Movies:
"We study films because we want to make ever better ones. In the beginning, creative people make common sense
decisions as to how to shoot a scene. Later there is after-the-fact intellectualizing and deconstruction to explain how it
was done. This may at times prove irksome to creative innovators, but it's necessary so that we may have a vocabulary to teach
filmmaking to new generations of creative people."
"The auteur theory of filmmaking asks us to believe if a film director produces ten brilliant
films in a row, each of which is among the best of it's genre but shows no common viewpoint or earmark trait across the
body of this work, that he is then only a metier en scene, a mere mechanic. Could all this exclusionary theorizing
by film critics planning to become directors perhaps have had more to do with ensuring their own preeminence than
with any genuine concern about good filmmaking? Why not just let theatergoers decide who is an auteur and who is
not?"
"There is a movement afoot in the film industry that wants to convince us that every new thing we learn about
filmmaking has to cancel out everything we have learned in the past. We are now being told that back-story, character development,
and voice-over narration are no longer acceptable. All this nonsense is coming from individuals who have had one or two
successful projects and now expect to dictate to all of us that we must do it their way or be looked upon as hopelessly
cliche. The rigidity of fashion is for haute coutuirre, not fimmaking. What people learn in any area of endeavor should
be cumulative and increase the options for making good product, not diminish them."
____
A less serious note: Not a Roy C Peterson quote, but relevant here anyway. Back in the 1930's
if a high-school girl was perceived to be "stuck on herself" because she never dated, then her reputed posture
towards movie going was ~
"I love me.
I think I'm grand!
When I go to the show,
I hold my hand!"
____
The Peace Corps:
Roy C Peterson was evaluating the Peace Corps with the idea of making application. The lady
at headquarters asked,
"Why to you want to join the Peace Corps?"
Roy C Peterson sadly replied,
"Because the French Foreign Legion won't have me!"
_____
