Jim Jarmusch: Poets Are Always

If You Make A Film, That Magic Is Not There, Because You Were There While Shooting It. After Writing A Film And Shooting It And Being In The Editing Room Every Day, You Can Never See It Clearly. I Think Other People's Perception Of Your Film Is More Valid Than Your Own, Because They Have That Ability To See It For The First Time.

I Even Think The Commercial Element Of New American Directors Is Really Fertile Right Now. There Are A Lot Of Filmmakers With Very Particular Visions, Like Sofia Coppola And Wes Anderson And P.t. Anderson And Alexander Payne And Peter Sollett And Harmony Korine And Vincent Gallo. At Least They're Making Films That They Choose To Make, And They're On Their Own. That's Positive To Me. This Is Not A Dead Period For American Cinema At All.

Steal From Anywhere That Resonates With Inspiration Or Fuels Your Imagination. Devour Old Films, New Films, Music, Books, Paintings, Photographs, Poems, Dreams, Random Conversations, Architecture, Bridges, Street Signs, Trees, Clouds, Bodies Of Water, Light And Shadows. Select Only Things To Steal From That Speak Directly To Your Soul. If You Do This, Your Work (and Theft) Will Be Authentic.

I Like Marginal Characters, I Like Real People. I Learn More From Talking To My Plumber When He Comes To Fix My Toilet Than I Do From Meeting A Movie Star. I Think My Movies Are In The Same Vein As That.

Consequently, I Get Inspiration From All Over The Place. But It's Not Like A Calculated Thing On My Part, Or A Way That I See Myself, You Know? I'm Just Interested In Things That Move Me, And I Don't Care Where They Come From. In Fact, I'm Interested If They Come From A Place I Wouldn't Expect, Or Would Seem Foreign To Me On Some Level.