Kathryn Bigelow quotes:

When James Cameron brought me the script, which I developed with both Cameron and Jay Cocks, I wanted to make it a thriller, an action film, but with a conscience, and I found that it had elements of social realism.

The journey for women, no matter what venue it is - politics, business, film - it's, it's a long journey.

Right now, there's the illusion of order and civilization, but there's a tremendous amount of economic tension in this country and the educational system is constantly eroding.

Our film examines the heroism, courage and prowess of the Soviet submarine force in ways never seen before.

For some individuals - some soldiers, some contractors - combat provides a kind of purpose and meaning beyond which all else potentially pales in comparison.

There's really no difference between what I do and what a male filmmaker might do. I mean we all try to make our days, we all try to give the best performances we can, we try to make our budget, we try to make the best movie we possibly can.

If there's specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.

Whereas painting is a more rarefied art form, with a limited audience, I recognized film as this extraordinary social tool that could reach tremendous numbers of people.

One of the elements in the film that really fascinated me was not to look at the world in bi-polar terms of us vs them or east vs west, which was a by-product of the Cold War.

What's most galvanizing for me is the opportunity to be topical and relevant and entertaining. That's the holy grail.

The Communist regime didn't consider this to be a shining moment in history and assigned no heroism to it. They classified it as merely an accident.

I'm drawn to filmmaking that can transport me. Film can immerse you, put you there.

On the other hand, I believe there's hope, because the breakdown and the repair are happening simultaneously.

I don't do what I do to try and break a glass ceiling.

When he brought it to me four years ago, Rodney King had just arrived, I was involved in the clean-up of L.A. and I guess it was part of my experience.

I really look for peak experiences and dramatic material that can allow peak experiences.

My dad used to draw these great cartoon figures. His dream was being a cartoonist, but he never achieved it, and it kind of broke my heart. I think part of my interest in art had to do with his yearning for something he could never have.

I suppose I like to think of myself as a film-maker.

Jordan is a very secular, Westernized country in some respects.

I like to be strong.

You have to disengage at some point in order to be fresh.

You never think the universe will reward your first choice - it just doesn't work like that.

I don't want to be made pacified or made comfortable. I like stuff that gets your adrenaline going.

Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement. If it was, no artist would be able to paint inhumane practices, no author could write about them, and no filmmaker could delve into the thorny subjects of our time.

One should make morals judgements for oneself.

There's a conventional reaction when you see a star: You anticipate he'll be a part of a particular denouement down the road, so you don't worry for that character.

I don't believe in censorship in any form.

I have always firmly believed that every director should be judged solely by their work, and not by their work based on their gender. Hollywood is supposedly a community of forward-thinking and progressive people, yet this horrific situation for women directors persists. Gender discrimination stigmatizes our entire industry. Change is essential. Gender neutral hiring is essential.

I choose material instinctually - at the heart of it are characters that I feel are fresh and original, and allow for an opportunity to, I suppose, explore uncharted ground.

Perhaps the only thing in my favor is that I am very tenacious. I don't take 'no' very well.

I began to exercise a lot of cinematic muscle with the precepts I had learned in the New York art world. Film was intriguing. I began to think of art as elitist; film was not.

I realised that there's a more muscular approach to film-making that I found very inspiring.

There will come a time when the world will look back to modern vivisection in the name of science, as they do now to burning at the stake in the name of religion.

The urge to purge the material I come up with is, I guess, an ongoing process.

I think violence in a cinematic context can be, if handled in a certain way, very seductive.

I thrive on production. It feels very much like a natural environment for me.

Character and emotionality don't always have to be relegated to quieter, more simple constructs.

I'm interested in social commentary.

War's dirty little secret is that some men love it.

I can't stand outside myself and be anybody else.

Am I a 'woman of action'? I don't think of myself that way.

Cinema has the capacity to be so physiological.

Films don't cause violence, people do. Violence defines our existence. To shield oneself is more dangerous than trying to reflect it.

I always want to make films. I think of it as a great opportunity to comment on the world in which we live. Perhaps just because I just came off The Hurt Locker and I'm thinking of the war and I think it's a deplorable situation. It's a great medium in which to speak about that. This is a war that cannot be won, why are we sending troops over there? Well, the only medium I have, the only opportunity I have, is to use film. There will always be issues I care about.

I did a pilot for Anything But Love in 1988 that didn't sell.

I do have to say I have been very fortunate.

I don't know if I thrive in normal life.

I like high impact movies.

I need to have my hands on the DNA of a film.

I'd love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I wait for the day when the modifier can be a moot point.

If there's specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies. It's irrelevant who or what directed a movie, the important thing is that you either respond to it or you don't. There should be more women directing; I think there's just not the awareness that it's really possible. It is.

I'm definitely not drawn to shooting on a stage, I'm just not.

I'm drawn to provocative characters that find themselves in extreme situations. And I think I'm drawn to that consistently.

It's irrelevant who or what directed a movie; the important thing is that you either respond to it or you don't.

My criteria for doing a television series never changed. I wanted more stability, I wanted more of a sense of family, I wanted to do light comedy.

My movement from painting to film was a very conscious one.

Something becomes personal when it deviates from the norm.

There should be more women directing; I think there's just not the awareness that it's really possible.

War's dirty little secret is that some men love it. I'm trying to unpack why, to look at what it means to be a hero in the context of 21st century combat.

When I made my first film, I didn't think of it as directing, so it wasn't like I set out to become a director.

With each project, I'm going for something that makes viewers think, 'Wow, I've never seen a film like this before,' and later think, 'Wow, I've only seen a film like this once before. I saw it in theaters and am watching it now on Netflix or a similar streaming service.'

You never think the universe will reward your first choice - it just doesnt work like that.

I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.