Richard D. Zanuck quotes

I think we simply all like to project ourselves into somebody else - somebody who is better-looking, richer, smarter. It's comforting. It's escapism, and that, of course, is what the movies are supposed to be all about. Ultimately, I think it's just part of human nature to pretend. (Richard D. Zanuck)
A lot of athletes have star quality, but they just can't perform in front of a camera. So no matter how good-looking you are, no matter what kind of presence you have, you still have to be able to be a convincing performer to become a star. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
Star quality is one of the most difficult things to describe. It emanates from the person, and he may not even understand it himself. It's a quality that separates the star from the rest of us. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
The technology is really where all of the changes have taken place, but the fundamentals of a good story being the basis of every good picture, and really the only basis still remains the rule, more so today, I think, because we've unfortunately weaned an audience from birth to kind of mindless movies. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
I had a tough time 12 years ago getting 'Driving Miss Daisy' off the ground. Today, it would be impossible. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
'Portnoy's Complaint' was very far out there, and movies have always worked when you have either a funny situation between two or more people or a very dramatic situation. There's not that much difference. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
Everything's changed. The technology is the big thing changing now, the way movies like 'Alice' or 'Avatar' are made. And technology on the other side, the audience side. Word spreads so fast now on a movie, with the Internet, and piracy is something coming down the line like in the music industry. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
I was practically born and raised at 20th Century Fox studio, started to work there selling papers when I was around seven years old, and every summer vacation from school I would work in a various department at the studio. So I was an old-timer when I was 15. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
'The Sound of Music' did more damage to the industry than any other picture. Everyone tried to copy it. We were the biggest offenders. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
These last few years, working with Tim Burton, it's been the best time I've ever had. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
When you're doing a film, it's your film and it's, you know, your blood and - is in it along with everybody else's, and it's the greatest picture ever made when you're shooting it. It's only after the critics and then the public say you were wrong that you realize that you were wrong. (Richard D. Zanuck)
These days, right now, these are the good old days. I've always approached it that way. That's why I'm still working. I'm not the guy who is ready to sit by the pool. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
It would have been impossible to get 'The Verdict' off the ground without Paul Newman obviously, but today without any star, kind of a dramatic piece would be very tough. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
It wasn't easy once I started running 20th Century Fox. There were a lot of eyebrows raised, and it wasn't easy, that transition, because, you know, I had big shoes to fill and I was very young, 27. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
I think the executives at the studios today realize that it's easier and safer to go the - to some known territory which is a remake of a successful film. It's less chancy than taking a fresh idea. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck
In the studios days, the public's perception of movie stars was much different, because the stars were so much less exposed. This made them seem more special, more unearthly. Today they're no longer perceived as different - they've become human, so to speak. View quote
Richard D. Zanuck

Richard D. Zanuck

Richard D. Zanuck - Image
Photo: Alan Light, CC BY 2.0
Occupation: American Producer
Born: December 13, 1934
Died: July 13, 2012
Quotes count: 16