Willem Dafoe

You said it. I mean, you know, theaters are closing. People are getting out of the habit of going to theaters regularly. And, you know, you don't want to be an old crank and say times were better back then. But I lament that experience of where strangers go into a dark room, watch light on the screen together, and have an experience. Streaming does some great things.

They finance some good movies. It feels a little overstuffed now. I think people don't know where to go because the discourse about movies is not public. Word of mouth is like a thing of the past a little bit. Right. And the problem is that on streaming, of course, it's really impossible if you're watching stuff at home or you're watching stuff on a phone.

They finance some good movies. It feels a little overstuffed now. I think people don't know where to go because the discourse about movies is not public. Word of mouth is like a thing of the past a little bit. Right. And the problem is that on streaming, of course, it's really impossible if you're watching stuff at home or you're watching stuff on a phone.

They finance some good movies. It feels a little overstuffed now. I think people don't know where to go because the discourse about movies is not public. Word of mouth is like a thing of the past a little bit. Right. And the problem is that on streaming, of course, it's really impossible if you're watching stuff at home or you're watching stuff on a phone.

You take away what you put in, and if your attention is distracted, you're not going to be able to receive a movie in the right way. The beauty of it, the depth of it, the complexity of it. So then kind of more superficial, more noisy, more obvious films are more watchable in that form and more difficult, more challenging, which are usually the more rewarding.

You take away what you put in, and if your attention is distracted, you're not going to be able to receive a movie in the right way. The beauty of it, the depth of it, the complexity of it. So then kind of more superficial, more noisy, more obvious films are more watchable in that form and more difficult, more challenging, which are usually the more rewarding.

You take away what you put in, and if your attention is distracted, you're not going to be able to receive a movie in the right way. The beauty of it, the depth of it, the complexity of it. So then kind of more superficial, more noisy, more obvious films are more watchable in that form and more difficult, more challenging, which are usually the more rewarding.

Don't perform well with that kind of environment where you don't get your feet held to the fire. Right. And I think everybody thinks they see movies to escape, but I think ultimately people do want to be changed. They want to be challenged. Entertainment isn't about running away.

Don't perform well with that kind of environment where you don't get your feet held to the fire. Right. And I think everybody thinks they see movies to escape, but I think ultimately people do want to be changed. They want to be challenged. Entertainment isn't about running away.

Don't perform well with that kind of environment where you don't get your feet held to the fire. Right. And I think everybody thinks they see movies to escape, but I think ultimately people do want to be changed. They want to be challenged. Entertainment isn't about running away.

I think people, once they find something that really touches them or makes them think about how things could be different and thinking how their lives could be different, that really elevates them. And if you don't allow tougher, more challenging movies with which feed the art form a chance, then the form is going to slowly die.

I think people, once they find something that really touches them or makes them think about how things could be different and thinking how their lives could be different, that really elevates them. And if you don't allow tougher, more challenging movies with which feed the art form a chance, then the form is going to slowly die.

I think people, once they find something that really touches them or makes them think about how things could be different and thinking how their lives could be different, that really elevates them. And if you don't allow tougher, more challenging movies with which feed the art form a chance, then the form is going to slowly die.

Just a huge thing, you know, now you're speaking to influencers also, and there's a lot of things to tapping to the TikTok of it all, so they want you to play games and do things that may not definitely define the movie, but they get... people knowing about an awareness. So it gets a little dumbed down. It's a complicated question.

Just a huge thing, you know, now you're speaking to influencers also, and there's a lot of things to tapping to the TikTok of it all, so they want you to play games and do things that may not definitely define the movie, but they get... people knowing about an awareness. So it gets a little dumbed down. It's a complicated question.

Just a huge thing, you know, now you're speaking to influencers also, and there's a lot of things to tapping to the TikTok of it all, so they want you to play games and do things that may not definitely define the movie, but they get... people knowing about an awareness. So it gets a little dumbed down. It's a complicated question.

It's like, yeah, I have feelings about these things, but I, you know, I'm not... I'm not a guy, when someone says, are you in the business? I kind of like look behind me and around me and think, who are you talking to? And of course I am. I've made a lot of movies. I've been making movies for, I don't know, over 40 years. So I am, but I don't think of it as a business.

It's like, yeah, I have feelings about these things, but I, you know, I'm not... I'm not a guy, when someone says, are you in the business? I kind of like look behind me and around me and think, who are you talking to? And of course I am. I've made a lot of movies. I've been making movies for, I don't know, over 40 years. So I am, but I don't think of it as a business.

It's like, yeah, I have feelings about these things, but I, you know, I'm not... I'm not a guy, when someone says, are you in the business? I kind of like look behind me and around me and think, who are you talking to? And of course I am. I've made a lot of movies. I've been making movies for, I don't know, over 40 years. So I am, but I don't think of it as a business.

So all these questions, it's like I'm too busy working in movies to think about these things.