Panos Cosmatos

“The idea of creating a quote-unquote 'retro' world isn't all that appealing to me by itself.”

“Well, when I was really young and we lived in Sweden, the only films that were around at that point were... We had this collection of these super-8 highlight reels that they used to sell; like, they sold these super-8 reels that only had the best parts from a movie. So early on that's what I was seeing.”

“I don't know anybody who goes horseback riding at sunset, but everybody watches TV and eats.”

“Being compared to 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' is a huge compliment.”

“I was, like, 'I really wanna see an Eric Rohmer movie take place in a Bert I. Gordon universe.' Where there's a story going on that's about, you know, loss and desire, but with a giganticized-animal element.”

“When you're working with an actor who's prepared and brings it when you need it, it's just a very validating creative experience.”

“When I was a kid, I was obsessed with heavy metal, Van Halen, Motley Crue. The older I got, my tastes widened. I always felt an attraction to the attitudes of punk; also punk filmmakers, like Richard Kern.”

“I realized the modern equivalent of a broadsword duel would be a chainsaw battle.”

“A huge part of my writing process is listening to music as I write, almost creating an unofficial soundtrack to the film I'm working on, a sort of playlist. But the specific songs change rapidly as I write.”

“Black Rainbow' is about control and your emotions being repressed and controlled, and 'Mandy's' about all a volcanic eruption!”

“Well, I think if you're telling a story, a three act structure will just naturally emerge out of it. But I also love it when a film doesn't feel like it's anchored too rigidly to that structure and you feel like anything could happen.”

“The way people express themselves online, that's also how they express themselves in the real world.”

“I don't know if I'm a sequels kind of person. I prefer each film to have its own unique identity.”

“I just love sitting in a theater watching a film and the grain is like boiling and it feels completely alive like an organism almost; like an organism made out of light.”

“I feel like I thrive in the red light.”

“My mother died in 1997 and I spiralled into this self-destructive vortex of trying to annihilate my consciousness. I was afraid to face the grief of losing her, because she was somebody I loved more than anybody else in the world.”

“I taught myself filmmaking on my own.”

“I'd been drifting and in a very self-destructive bent ever since my mother died and as soon as I dealt with the grief, for the first time in 10 years, I had clarity and I realized: 'I need to make a movie, now, cause if I don't make it now, I might never do it.' That's what pushed me forward, and I immediately moved to Vancouver.”

“I just find there's nothing funnier and more scary than a delusional man who thinks they're the center of the universe, and in fact they're not.”

“I am not against it. But I am suspicious of all forms of New Age spirituality, and religion in general.”