Jane Campion quotes - page 2

Jane Campion is a renowned New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and producer known for her distinctive storytelling and visual style. Her work, including acclaimed films like "The Piano," often explores complex female characters and psychological themes. She has received numerous international awards and is recognized as a pioneering voice in world cinema. Here are 53 of her quotes:

I think that three-act fundamentalism in film culture is a problem sometimes, because it's almost too obvious, or it's too expected. And it's not the only way to fill two hours, or to phrase things, or to order thoughts, or order ideas. (Jane Campion)
It's been such a deep and amazing journey for me, getting close to John Keats, and also I love Shelley and Byron. I mean, the thing about the Romantic poets is that they've got the epitaph of romantic posthumously. They all died really young, and Keats, the youngest of them all. View quote
Jane Campion
As for how criticism of Keats' poetry relates to criticism of my own work, I'll leave that for others to decide. View quote
Jane Campion
I seem to have been able to make a career out of doing what I feel like doing, so why not keep doing it? What's corrupting is wanting to be more important. You want to be more arty - you get your identity from that. Or you get your identity out of making more money. View quote
Jane Campion
For me, being a director is about watching, not about telling people what to do. Or maybe it's like being a mirror; if they didn't have me to look at, they wouldn't be able to put the make-up on. View quote
Jane Campion
Performers are so vulnerable. They're frightened of humiliation, sure their work will be crap. I try to make an environment where it's warm, where it's OK to fail - a kind of home, I suppose. View quote
Jane Campion
If you read Keats's poems, they're often full of doubts and anxieties. They can be quite tough. View quote
Jane Campion
Actual violence has no attraction for me at all. View quote
Jane Campion
I think if it's interesting, it's interesting, and if it's not, it's not working. View quote
Jane Campion
I had a daughter who was 9 years old and I had the feeling I wasn't going to be a real parent if I didn't quit making movies for a while and spend time with her. I also felt that I'd made enough movies and said what I had to say at the time. View quote
Jane Campion
When you first fall in love it's so thrilling, you can't wait to throw yourself away and make this new wonderful twosome. (Jane Campion)
I think women don't grow up with the harsh world of criticism that men grow up with, we are more sensitively treated, and when you first experience the world of film-making you have to develop a very tough skin. View quote
Jane Campion
You know, sex is actually not so original as the way people love or the stories behind each relationship, which is what you remember. Sex is sex in the end. View quote
Jane Campion
Eight years ago, I was drawn into Keats's world by Andrew Motion's biography. Soon I was reading back and forth between Keats's letters and his poems. The letters were fresh, intimate and irreverent, as though he were present and speaking. The Keats spell went very deep for me. View quote
Jane Campion
I have to admit that I had a lot of problems with poetry. View quote
Jane Campion
There was a big drive when I was at art school to make you aware of the economy of meaning - after all, this was still during the tail end of minimalism. Being responsible for everything you put in your picture, and being able to defend it. Keeping everything clear around you so you know what is operating. To open the wound and keep it clean. View quote
Jane Campion
I did this Super-8 film at art school called 'Tissues,' this black comedy about a family whose father has been arrested for child molestation. I was absolutely thrilled by every inch of it, and would throw my projector in the back of my car and show it to anybody who would watch it. View quote
Jane Campion
There's no artist in this world that doesn't enjoy the dream that if they have bad reviews now, the story of Keats can redeem them, in their fantasy or imagination, in the future. I think Keats' poem 'Endymion' is a really difficult poem, and I'm not surprised that a lot of people pulled it apart in a way. View quote
Jane Campion
I feel that directors at times are like the janitors on the set. I am the secretary, I am the organizer, I am the maid, and I ask if they have eaten or rested. The best things are always out of your control. It's those moments that surpass the imagination that are thrilling. View quote
Jane Campion
This is the first generation to grow up on Thatcher - it's a different ethos. It's money minded, and it's the cult of yourself. Now that's fine, except when it falls down, and you can't achieve your goals - through high unemployment, through the fact that you probably need inherited money to get anywhere. View quote
Jane Campion
If you start with a good idea, you can encapsulate it in a phrase and explain it. I like high-concept films. Everyone can get hold of it. I don't think there's any harm in that at all. (Jane Campion)
My musical knowledge is so bad it's embarrassing. When composers discuss music with someone as primitive as myself, they have to talk about it in terms of senses and emotion, rather than keys and tempo. View quote
Jane Campion
When I read Andrew Motion's biography, I wept. It's something about the purity of the story and how fresh it was because of the love letters Keats wrote. View quote
Jane Campion
I didn't like England. I couldn't take the look of the place or the style of friendship. I need more intimacy from people than is considered okay there, and I felt that my personality and my enthusiasms weren't understood. I had to put a big lid on myself. View quote
Jane Campion
I think the whole tension about romanticism is the way it builds and builds, and the moment it's consummated, the tension's over. View quote
Jane Campion

Jane Campion

Jane Campion - Image
Photo: New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0
Occupation: New Zealander Director
Born: April 30, 1954
Quotes count: 53