Gore Verbinski

Animated films are so precisely engineered - right down to forming lines of dialogue with words pulled from several different takes - how do you translate that spontaneity from the live-action to the digital realm? ”

Everyone always wants to find the answer, to feel that things are resolved. But in dreams, maybe there isn't an answer so much. ”

My respect for artists is very high. I think to get the most out of them, you have to liberate them. I think part of liberating them is saying, 'Come up with something brilliant, new, and fresh. Stop thinking based on what has been beat into you by executives or publishers in terms of what's going to work and what's not. Don't react, just act.' ”

Today we're just growing and consuming, and I think maybe there's a sadness in that. People are longing for a time when there was a black and white and good and bad. ”

I think comedy is drama, often. It's hard to have comedy over a period of time - commercials are one thing, but over a period of time - comedy and tragedy go hand in hand. ”

I try to push and find something awkward. The gems to me are truly awkward situations, and you have to have somebody who's willing to fail because those can't be conceived. They never play if they're thought about and discussed too much. You have to create them right at the moment and look for something honest. ”

I just watched so many Westerns as a kid that you end up using archetypes and sort of tropes of that genre, because there's a language there and you can twist it and turn it on its head or play to it or go sideways at any time. ”

I think people imagine going back to a time when they knew who they were and they knew what the circumstances were - if you screwed up it was your fault. ”

Reading in a sound booth seems very strange. Everyone has a process they are comfortable with; this was uncomfortable for me. ”

My respect for animation has gone way up. It's a truckload of work. I have to sit with my animators the same way I'd sit with my actors and cast them. ”