18 Quotes by Steve James

You kind of form a bond with your subjects, in a way. You're in it together. To a degree that people don't realize, documentary films - or at least the kind of documentary films I'm interested in - are a collaborative undertaking with the subjects.

We find ourselves traveling to Europe to get those experiences. Why can't we bring some of that into our daily living?

Very probably this was an idealistic youth who took things too far.

It's usually human drama that carries with it issues of race or class that attracts me. That was certainly the case with 'No Crossover.'

It was no accident that I made 'Hoop Dreams' because it concerned a sport that I loved and hoped would be my dream, however far-fetched that turned out to be. Because of the success of that film, Hollywood pigeonholed me as a sports biopic guy, which led to 'Prefontaine' and two cable sports films.

I'm endlessly fascinated with the ways families work and the ways they don't.

I love the idea of sharing some of what we find in the research phase with a select community of people early on as a perk for their donating, and then gauging their feedback.

'Generation Food' is a collaboration between myself and author/activist Raj Patel that will tell stories about efforts around the world to try to solve the food crisis - through a documentary, a book, a website and mobile apps.

Generally, I don't like publicity on docs in progress, much less ones that are only in development; I've always tried to stay under the radar in terms of any press, especially with regard to the subjects of the film. I don't want them to be thinking about the film or funding or what the public reaction is going to be.