A biography for Bennett Millerhasn’t been written yet.
“My business life is really simple. It's like, get check. Put check in bank. Pay rent. I've never bought a stock in my life. I never got caught up in that trip. And the truth is, I don't obsess about money ever.”
“I like to rehearse to the point we're in the ballpark, and expect that we're only going to get one proper take, more or less.”
“I like to rehearse. We did a lot of rehearsals for 'Moneyball,' but it is really individual to the actor. It's not like, 'Here is my process, everybody. Fit in.'”
“A lot of the time, excess on a film set is just damaging.”
“Before I find myself in the middle of a project, I want to make sure it is the kind of thing that keeps me excited for two years. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to push the proverbial rock up the proverbial mountain.”
“I think when an actor feels like they're being watched with great sensitivity and a subtle eye and a nose for truthfulness, that has some effect.”
“Sometimes the facts can get in the way of the telling of a good story. But they don't get in the way of the truth.”
“I don't want to sound too spiritual, but when you are true to yourself and follow through with things that connect with you meaningfully, somehow things fall into place.”
“I don't have many rules, but one of them is, 'Do not make a movie you yourself would not want to see.'”
“I'm not going to take something based on budget and do something just for the sake of it. I want to make good films.”
“If I had a dozen lives, one of them would involve really getting off the rails in India, heavy into meditation.”
“I do have that compulsion to organize moments into a larger thing.”
“I want to work with performers who really are ready to lose their minds, you know? People who are established and have talent, but who are ready to break new ground and really be cracked open in a new way.”
“Kenny Lonergan, as a filmmaker, doesn't tell stories so much as he observes them, which is to say, his films don't come pre-digested. You have to bring your own enzymes. It's a more gripping and challenging experience.”
“I think in terms of content and subjects and whatever kind of production it dictates. Can I conceive of an idea that would really connect with my personal rhythms and cost a lot of money? I don't gravitate in that direction, but it is possible.”
“I have a tremendous amount of patience and tolerance when working with people, but if I ever feel the impulse to inhibit myself from doing one more take, or feel a need to apologize to someone for pushing, I know that that relationship isn't gonna last.”
“The one thing I'll say is I was a quiet kid. Much more of an observer than a performer.”
“People without fathers tend to have two predominant characteristics. They tend to believe anything is possible. At the same time there's an anxiety and an unending insecurity. It's a very American thing because back in the past, we lost our fathers or father. The king.”
“It couldn't be more satisfying to work on something almost anonymously for years, then to have it received affectionately with support.”
“Filmmaking requires the participation and cooperation of many people. It's unrealistic to expect that you're not going to be challenged by unforeseeable forces from every direction.”