Curtis Hanson

Curtis Hanson: That is one of the sad things about the state of the business these days. It's an interesting puzzle because, back in the days of the studio system, there was a rigid production code where the good guy had to win and so forth. There was true censorship, and yet the artists back then found a way to rebel against the system and against the censorship and do dark pictures and ambiguous pictures.

Curtis Hanson: When I first saw In a Lonely Place as a teenager, it frightened me and yet attracted me with an almost hypnotic power. Later, I came to understand why. Occasionally, very rarely, a movie feels so heartfelt, so emotional, so revealing that it seems as though both the actor and the director are standing naked before the audience. When that kind of marriage happens between actor and director, it's breathtaking.

Curtis Hanson: I like the movie to be about the movie and to allow people to think about the movie the way I always thought about movies I watched and admired. I'm old enough that I grew up before there was so much talk by directors and about directors. It was left more to the viewer. The thought of my voice running along while people are watching the movie silently, that doesn't appeal to me. When they're watching the movie I want them to watch the movie, not be distracted listening to me or other people.