John Milius quotes

John Milius is an American director, screenwriter, and producer, known for his influential work in Hollywood cinema. His films and scripts, such as "Apocalypse Now" and "Conan the Barbarian," have left a significant mark on action and adventure genres. He is celebrated for his distinctive storytelling style and bold cinematic vision. Here are 19 of his quotes:

Egotism is not a good quality. It's not something to be admired or even tolerated. It wouldn't be tolerated in a field commander and it shouldn't be tolerated in a movie director. (John Milius)
Films are always pretentious. There's nothing more pretentious than a filmmaker. View quote
John Milius
Matter of fact, the style that people use today, I invented in a way. View quote
John Milius
A lot of directors don't know what they want to do. Every director I've seen that was a good director that I've admired knew exactly what he wanted to do. They didn't sit there and think about it. View quote
John Milius
I felt that the Star Wars series became very pretentious as time went on. Just heavy and leaden. View quote
John Milius
You know, I find it very strange when movies that I made that were just excoriated - I mean that I was just vilified for - are now looked at as classics. View quote
John Milius
Writing requires a great deal of skill, just like painting does. People don't want to learn those skills. View quote
John Milius
Most artists think they're frauds anyway. View quote
John Milius
Also, they don't understand - writing is language. The use of language. The language to create image, the language to create drama. It requires a skill of learning how to use language. View quote
John Milius
I find that screenwriting is at best kind of a hackwork in some ways. View quote
John Milius
I suppose when I started out I would have liked to have been the darling of critics or something, but everybody wants to be loved and admired. (John Milius)
The filmmakers always have a great level of control. View quote
John Milius
A lot of people thought of me as a threat to Western civilization. View quote
John Milius
There is a certain kind of respect for authenticity today that there wasn't back in the days when they did 'Cleopatra,' where everything looked like a giant motel. People want to have it be authentic in the look, and authentic in the way people behave. View quote
John Milius
I've always been able to survive by writing, though. View quote
John Milius
Everybody's a filmmaker today. View quote
John Milius
I've always had trouble with authority. View quote
John Milius
No, you're either born a writer, a storyteller, or you're not. View quote
John Milius
I became a loner. I became a mountain man. A lot of those things are very good qualities and they help you do your work, help you be singular and keep the artistic integrity of your work intact, but they don't make it very easy to live your life. View quote
John Milius

John Milius

John Milius - Image
Photo: JeanMilius, CC BY-SA 4.0
Occupation: American Director
Born: April 11, 1944
Quotes count: 19