Film Producers From Canada

"You take somebody on a golf course and their character defects and shortcomings come out. That’s how I picked my manager, my accountant, and my lawyer. You get someone who hits a bad shot and who goes crazy, and throws the club, you want him working for you? You want him to represent you? You get someone who hits a bad shot and who goes “how can I correct that? Do you have any ideas?” That’s the guy I hire. But also, I work all the time. I don’t take big vacations. Sometimes, a golf game is the only thing I get."

"That was a life lesson to me. Because, yes it's important to take back those choices and be who we are un-apologetically, but we should always think of it in the modern context and what makes sense for our lives today, and to not be fundamentalist about anything. (as an answer to using a modern tattoo technique on herself, as opposed to a more traditional technique)"

"I think a lot of my work is about un-shaming things or de-shaming things."

"When we are uncomfortable or anything unpleasant happens, we look to take refuge in something. Usually, we turn to food, alcohol, sex, drugs, money, power, or relationships. But none of these things give us the lasting protection or satisfaction you're looking for. When you understand you can't find lasting happiness in Samsara, then the desire to find true refuge becomes strong. In Buddhism, we take refuge in the three jewels — the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Buddha is like the doctor who understands your disease and knows how to treat it; the Dharma, his teachings, is the medicine he prescribes; and the Sangha is the spiritual community that helps you to take the medicine. To take refuge is to finally seek protection from suffering in a way that can really help you. When we think about the ultimate nature of reality and what causes us to suffer — this is the true meaning of refuge."

"Getting his picture taken doesn't rank high on Reeves' list of favorite things. It never has. But he looks up and smiles when a pair of comforting hands rest on his shoulders: They belong to Carrie-Anne Moss, his longtime costar from the Matrix movies, positioning herself behind him for the shot. There's an ease between them that comes from 20-plus years of friendship — a friendship that began in the late '90s when the pair met on the genre-redefining sci-fi film that turned out to be so influential, it single-handedly introduced phrases like "glitch in the Matrix" and "red-pilling" to the pop culture lexicon... Moss calls their connection effortless. "We've been through this experience together as partners," says the actress, 54. "The only way I can describe it is like a soul friendship." Their unique bond made 1999's The Matrix what it is today, and The Matrix, in turn, changed the course of moviemaking on the eve of a new millennium... Before Moss and Reeves change into their next outfits for the photo shoot, they slip away, catching up on each other's lives since making Resurrections. They push through the studio's back exit, flooding the darkened room with afternoon sunshine. Fans of the films might immediately think of the door of light, a portal Neo would use to slip into the digital "backdoor" of the Matrix."

"If you're a lover, you've got to be a fighter, 'cause if you don't fight for your love, what kind of love do you have?"

"It's Trinity! It's Carrie-Anne Moss, Trinity flavor. All the fierceness and mind, focus, commitment is there in the gestures. Untamed and wild and controlled. (Speaking to Moss in an interview)"

"[While filming, Lana] was participating more with the movement of the camera, and more interested in doing than rehearsing. It was less about prep and more about everyone's readiness to find the unexpected in the moment...[ they] barely rehearsed, if at all."

"It was one of those phone calls where even though you're at home, you stand up...(speaking about the conversation when Lana first told him about her idea for another sequel)"

"I like to be with my partner in the bed, to ride my Norton - and maybe it doesn't like me, and that's why I'm on the floor so often -, to play sports, to be with my friends and chat. And nature. It's wonderful to be lost in the desert, or between the waves over a surf board. I'm a life lover."

"It's throwing down the Matrix gauntlet again; it's super smart, clever, entertaining, suspenseful, and funny.... Not that it needed it.. but certainly the depth of why this film got made is the sense of it being a love story between Trinity and Neo."

"We had filmmakers who you wanted to say yes to... [we had] material that you wanted to commit to, to give everything that you could to. (When asked why he agreed to return to the series after a nearly two-decade hiatus)"

"Grief changes shape, but it never ends. People have a misconception that you can deal with it and say, ‘It’s gone, and I’m better.’ They’re wrong. When the people you love are gone, you’re alone."

"I really liked the, uh, the art in the Deadpool comics. You know, I've just kind of always felt a kinship towards him. I mean, I just thought, "I'd like to play that guy some day.""

"I’ve definitely lost all cool. I'm the dad guy now, She’s saying ‘Mama.' What my wife doesn’t realize is [James] calls me ‘Mama,’ too. Seriously. I literally had to sit her down and tell her that penises don’t work that way. She understands -- she gets it. About a month ago, I was sitting in traffic and I was just jamming to 'These Dreams' by Heart, I was killin' it in the car and there was this busload of high school kids that were parked right beside me. I didn't even realize it. I looked over and every one of their jaws were just on the ground laughing their guts out at me. These little high school pricks, you can shove your Nae Nae song up your asses! Twenty years, that’ll be the Nae Nae song, you watch."

"There are rules. Very specific rules. You would diminish stakes in the film if everyone—or even anyone else—was also aware of the fourth wall or any kind of meta aspect. Deadpool is the only character who has that ability to do that. If everyone did that, then you would no longer invest in that character as much. You really want to believe that the villain is a villain. You really want to believe that your costar's character is true as well. Deadpool can undermine that—and does undermine that—because you don’t want the audience to take him as seriously."

"So if you don't have money to offer to people, you must strike their imagination with something as nice as you can think of."

"Elliot Page has given us fantastic characters on-screen, and has been an outspoken advocate for all LGBTQ people He will now be an inspiration to countless trans and non-binary people."

"Ellen had so recently come out, and this is going to sound silly, and hopefully not hurtful, but I don’t think I was aware of how painful it is to be closeted … I have the advantage of being a person who’s never had to hide my sexuality, so I asked her a lot of questions — frank questions — about what that feels like. She said she felt discomfort simply wearing all these dresses, and it was all very eye-opening for me. … It definitely made me more sensitive to the nuances of our movie."

"We know who we are. People cling to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place."

"I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer."

"I was pressured — forced, in many cases — to always wear dresses and heels for events and photo shoots As if lesbians don’t wear dresses and heels. But I will never let anyone put me in anything I feel uncomfortable in ever again."

"I don’t know [Jussie] personally, I send all of my love — connect the dots, this is what happens"

"I just feel so fortunate, you know? … I feel so happy. I feel so different from how I felt when I was closeted, and to have experiences where I meet people who have been touched in some way by just getting to be who I am is such an incredible experience ... I'm in a very fortunate place in my life. I'm a very privileged person to get to talk about issues, particularly those that affect people much, much more vulnerable to me … I feel really grateful to be in a position where potentially I can do little things or whatever I possibly can to help anyone any way I can."

"There are too many kids out there suffering from bullying, rejection, or simply being mistreated because of who they are. Too many dropouts. Too much abuse. Too many homeless. Too many suicides. You can change that and you are changing it. But you never needed me to tell you that. That’s why this was a little bit weird. The only thing I can really say is what I’ve been building up to for the past five minutes. Thank you. Thank for inspiring me. Thank you for giving me hope, and please keep changing the world for people like me. Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you."

"I am young, yes, but what I have learned is that love, the beauty of it, the joy of it and yes, even the pain of it, is the most incredible gift to give and to receive as a human being. And we deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise."

"Then again, it’s not easy at all. It can be the hardest thing, because loving other people starts with loving ourselves and accepting ourselves. I know many of you have struggled with this. I draw upon your strength and your support, and have, in ways you will never know. I’m here today because I am gay. And because… maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility. I also do it selfishly, because I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain."

"I’m inspired to be in this room because every single one of you is here for the same reason. You’re here because you’ve adopted as a core motivation the simple fact that this world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to one another. If we took just 5 minutes to recognize each other’s beauty, instead of attacking each other for our differences. That’s not hard. It’s really an easier and better way to live. And ultimately, it saves lives."

"There are pervasive stereotypes about masculinity and femininity that define how we are all supposed to act, dress and speak. They serve no one. Anyone who defies these so-called 'norms' becomes worthy of comment and scrutiny. The LGBT community knows this all too well. Yet there is courage all around us. The football hero, Michael Sam. The actress, Laverne Cox. The musicians Tegan and Sara Quinn. The family that supports their daughter or son who has come out. And there is courage in this room. All of you."

"Sometimes it’s the little, insignificant stuff that can tear you down. I try not to read gossip as a rule, but the other day a website ran an article with a picture of me wearing sweatpants on the way to the gym. The writer asked, “Why does [this] petite beauty insist upon dressing like a massive man?” *pause* Because I like to be comfortable."

"I know there are people in this room who go to school every day and get treated like shit for no reason. Or you go home and you feel like you can’t tell your parents the whole truth about yourself. Beyond putting yourself in one box or another, you worry about the future. About college or work or even your physical safety. Trying to create that mental picture of your life—of what on earth is going to happen to you—can crush you a little bit every day. It is toxic and painful and deeply unfair."

"But that’s why I’m here. In this room, all of you, all of us, can do so much more together than any one person can do alone. And I hope that thought bolsters you as much as it does me. I hope the workshops you’ll go to over the next few days give you strength. Because I can only imagine that there are days—when you’ve worked longer hours than your boss realizes or cares about, just to help a kid you know can make it. Days where you feel completely alone. Undermined. Or hopeless."

"It’s weird because here I am, an actress, representing—at least in some sense—an industry that places crushing standards on all of us. Not just young people, but everyone. Standards of beauty. Of a good life. Of success. Standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me. You have ideas planted in your head, thoughts you never had before, that tell you how you have to act, how you have to dress and who you have to be. I have been trying to push back, to be authentic, to follow my heart, but it can be hard."

"Why are vegans made fun of while the inhumane factory farming process regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit?"

"It’s such an honor to be here at the inaugural Time to THRIVE conference. But it’s a little weird, too. Here I am, in this room because of an organization whose work I deeply admire. And I’m surrounded by people who make it their life’s work to make other people’s lives better—profoundly better. Some of you teach young people—people like me. Some of you help young people heal and to find their voice. Some of you listen. Some of you take action. Some of you are young people yourselves…in which case, it’s even weirder for a person like me to be speaking to you."

"I like the story of Chris Rock going on SNL: him telling Lorne "I want to keep my mustache and goatee". And Lorne said to him "In comedy, we put on beards"."

"When we do well, we do the best comedy on TV. That's not ego; that's just the way it is."

"Our voices, our representation of ourselves, have been in the hands of others, namely men, since the beginning of the mediums of film and television. My main character in I've Heard the Mermaids Singing videotaped a confession that is used through the film. It's her way of having control over her definition of herself."

"Rozema has established herself as an exceptional and distinctly sensual visual stylist. Her films are characterized by self-referential narration, idiosyncratic protagonists (who are often struggling artists), formal adventurousness, and the use of fairy tales, mythology, and poetry as structuring notions."

"In 2000, in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival, 10 preeminent Canadian filmmakers were asked to create short films. Staying true to her thematic preoccupation with artists, audiences and their relationship, Rozema's contribution was This Might Be Good, a six-minute wordless, experimental piece about hope — the hope of audiences, actors and filmmakers who gather around films at festivals."

"Rozema is one of Canada's most recognizable and successful film artists, famous for works in which the wilful imagination asserts itself despite bureaucracy, convention, and social expectation. As a writer and filmmaker, she is drawn to romantic figures whose artistry persists despite various obstacles, from institutionally derived notions of artistic standards to religiously supported ideas of appropriate sexualities."

"When I look back upon the choices I made in making Mansfield Park, I feel they were pretty ballsy. I just thought there has to be a reason why I was doing a period piece. I wanted to say, "Look, we are rich because of slavery. We stole people and made them into slaves. Nothing comes for free." I didn't want to do another English dance party."

"I wanted [Martin] to be a really decent human being because I didn't want to depict the cliché that a woman becomes a lesbian because her husband is terrible to her."

"You cannot underestimate what a radical thing it is to change from one art form to another. An author slaves to start with just the right word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph. The sounds of the words are crucial. But all the demands of words and prose are lifted when you make a movie. The physical presence makes many unnecessary and some necessary ones impossible. So you serve two masters as an adapting filmmaker: the author's intention and the needs of film. Sometimes "fidelity" can mean only focusing on one day of a story told over twenty years in a book."

"Maybe it's the remnants of my religious upbringing, but I do try and insert a sense of social justice into the work … for instance, to me, Mansfield Park is a story about servitude and slavery. Other people may have a problem with that, but that's how I read the book and so that's how I shot the movie."

"I believe in tension and release, in that if you stay in the the same tone and mode and intensity for too long, it actually becomes monotonous. When you change up your pace or your humour level, then the release is welcome. … I believe that's my biggest job: tone control, and maintaining enough unity so that it all feels like one movie and all the scenes belong together, and yet diversity so that emotional and narrative interest is maintained."

"I have become post facto a representative of the country. So if you ask, "Is Mermaids a Canadian film?" — it has become one. It has become a means whereby people characterize Canadian film. I think in the creation of Mermaids, I did see it in political terms. I thought of the underdog. Canada is not a superpower by any means. It's very quietly, comfortably democratic, but it's plagued by a sense of inferiority."

"Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?"

"It turns out that Cameron, who is known as an action filmmaker, he admits, believes that his films have often been too violent, and the heavy amounts of gun violence that play into films such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and True Lies he believes have no place in moral moviemaking in the current state of the world."

"Aliens brings Ripley's story of alien impregnations, molecular acid, and death to an upbeat close by taking away the fear and isolation that plagued her since the end of Alien. As the lid closes on Ripley's cryo-tube, we realise that she's found the companionship and peace she deserves. Similarly, Terminator 2 sees the nightmare future of Judgment Day averted. The T-800 may have sacrificed himself to protect the human race, but the film's events have allowed Sarah to reconnect with her son and her own compassion. With stories as complete as these, it's hardly surprising that the filmmakers charged with making Terminator 3 and Alien 3 have struggled to find new directions in which to take them. In both cases, those second sequels were the opposite of Aliens and T2: they simply felt like "more of the same." In Alien 3, poor Ripley finds herself in a worse situation than she was at the start of Aliens - her surrogate family is dead, she's stuck in an all-male prison with an alien running around, and there's something horrible stirring in her viscera. Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines was, if anything, even more gloomy. Sarah Connor died between sequels; John Connor's a lonely drifter, and Judgment Day hasn't been cancelled - merely postponed. The sense of hope - not to mention Cameron's motto that "there's no fate but what we make for ourselves" - is replaced by the suggestion that annihilation by sentient machines is inescapable. Beyond Ripley and Sarah's stories in Aliens and T2, filmmakers could find only despair and nihilism."