109 Quotes by Alexander Payne

I think cynicism is more enduring than sentimentality.

I think cynicism lasts. Sentimentality ages, dates quickly.

Well, that's what life is - this collection of extraordinarily ordinary moments. We just need to pay attention to them all. Wake up and pay attention to how beautiful it all is.

When you're a houseguest and you leave, it's nice to straighten something up or send your hosts a useful gift. And when you leave the planet, it's nice to have made a positive contribution.

Joe E. Lewis said, 'Money doesn't buy happiness but it calms the nerves.' And that is how I feel about a film being well-received.

I definitely in filmmaking more and more find writing and directing a means to harvest material for editing. It's all about editing.

You begin a film more with questions than with direct intentions. It's more of an exploration and discovery.

I think a badly crafted, great idea for a new film with a ton of spelling mistakes is just 100 times better than a well-crafted stale script.

The kindest thing a director can do is look with open eyes at everything.