A biography for Lynne Ramsayhasn’t been written yet.
“I'd get people asking me about my terrible, poor childhood which, in fact, was very normal, and I'd think, would you be as interested in me if I'd grown up in Surrey? And it surprised me how much I resented that.”
“Well, the film industry is completely sexist and completely class-biased. It's not something I get on the ground level, it's more from financiers and producers and distributors. It's a way of dealing with you that is essentially patronising: I know better than you.”
“It's surreal, Glasgow. It's got a really black sense of humor and I remember being envious of John Glazer beating me to it on the sci-fi in Glasgow with 'Under the Skin.'”
“I hate exposition and superfluous dialogue. I hate when dialogue is trying to explain or patronize or finger-point.”
“My brother gave my mother a lot of trouble.”
“Maybe I should be a literary agent. I'm good at picking up on books that become successful before it happens. I could pick up a lot more money than making films.”
“I grew up on film noir.”
“Ultimately, you're happiest in yourself when you make your best work.”
“To me violence, once you've done one violent act it leads to another, it leads to another, it leads to another, it becomes routine.”
“At the time I left film school there wasn't a lot of hope for young film-makers. It was a calling card of film school to be quite slick and commercial, which might lead to getting some stuff on telly.”
“I want an audience.”
“I suppose every filmmaker, at least the filmmakers I really like, are amateur psychologists to a degree. Or they come from a psychological approach, I guess.”
“I love writing openings, and I think that can give me the key to the movie. So somehow, that can be the easiest part, to be honest.”
“Short stories can make for really good adaptations.”
“When I walk into a cinema, I want to leave with an experience unrepeatable, unquotable and indescribable.”
“I was at the National Film School and was a cinematographer there. I got quite a lot of experience on documentary film-making and with directors who were interesting - maybe they weren't using scripts or were using non-actors.”
“Straight talking and going on your instincts was important when I grew up. And being funny.”
“It's funny - sometimes when you approach people they get freaked out but occasionally you'll find a gem who's unselfconscious in front of the camera.”
“My adaptations are just as complicated as an original.”
“On a film shoot, a crew will know instantly when they are dealing with someone who knows the technical stuff and they respond accordingly. It's often about getting their respect from the off.”