“Whether by mistake or wholly intentionally, this is a transcendentally awful piece of filmmaking, likely to find favour only amongst the Showgirls crowd and other connoisseurs of tat. Individual scenes rattle the brain like a Yahtzee shaker, not least of all a comic aside in which Kidman’s character saves Efron’s from the effects of a jellyfish sting. Spotting Efron lying on the beach on the edge of consciousness, Kidman strolls over, squats over his swollen face, adjusts her bathing suit, and liberally administers the antidote.”
~ Robbie Collin Flings Further Love To The Paperboy
“People respond strongly to my work, one way or another. I care about critics in the sense that if you have a good review, it’s nice to hear about it, and if you have a bad review, it’s quite nice not to hear about it. When I am making a movie, I try to put all of that out of my mind and think just about the world I am creating. When people criticize my work, they often seem to say either that my worldview is too specific or, “Who needs your world?” Those are not criticisms that resonate with me, because what fictional world do you actually need? To write a screenplay and not make the movie, or to make a movie from a screenplay I didn’t write, both seem odd to me; it’s hard for me to divorce the creation and direction processes. For that reason, I have never given up on a script. When I settle in on something, I just work on it until I kind of get it—though that can take a while. But as long as I have an idea in mind, I will pursue it. It just seems to flow: If I made the thing up in the first place, then that is a reason for me to direct it. I have been asked why I don’t make a big-budget movie or what’s considered a Hollywood movie. I don’t feel particularly compelled to do that sort of thing. The more economical you can be, the more fun you are going to have. I find it all slows down when it gets really big. The process can be so much more light on its feet and inspiring when you are nimble.”
~ Wes Anderson Confides In The WSJ
