Lasse Hallstrom Quotes

“I can't go back and label myself as an outcast because I was a pretty well-adjusted kid, but I can certainly relate to the feeling of being an outsider.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I always try to preserve my cinematographic style, even while I work in the US. I wish to always be European.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

My key interest in choosing scripts is character-driven stories, because there are so many stories that sacrifice character for plot.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“But I notice that there is a lack of darkness in my movies and I don't know where that comes from.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I really want to have actors contribute their own ideas, with phrasings and ideas on all levels.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“My films do have characters who have trouble escaping the world around them.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I discovered the 7th art at home when I was kid, through Charlie Chaplin's movies and those of my father who shot documentaries. He was my biggest influence. So I took his camera and started shooting.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

My father would tell anyone who would listen that this dentist thing he was doing was not his passion; cinematography was.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I think I avoid stepping into sentimentality by trying to be as truthful as possible with performances.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I'm on this diet where you're supposed to eat only fish and meat.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I made all their videos, apart from the last two, so if you ever see an Abba video on TV then it's my stuff.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

A film that is bleached tends to have a more realistic quality.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I always need a couple of highlights to really spark the passion for a project.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“Many of the comedies I had made in Sweden were slightly based on semi-autobiographical experiences, so adapting novels was a very different experience.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“Cinema has become a global economy, totally international.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“ABBA: The Movie; I got a lot of grief for working on that.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“But now I wish I could back to Stockholm to make international films there.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I feel the need to work with my wife, Lena Olin, again.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

I am always more interested in performance and character depiction, and my direction says as much.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I love improvising.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I love mixing amateurs and professionals.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

I was always attracted by the European way of life, but I am deeply Swedish.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“It's just, for me, the natural standard: a woman should be able to decide over her own body.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“My father was an amateur filmmaker who shot 8mm color documentaries.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

I got to work with my wife, Lena Olin, for the first time, which was great. I thought it might be difficult in some way to talk to one's wife in a different way but it was so not forced.

— Lasse Hallstrom

I imagined that it might be awkward to talk to your wife about her performance, so going into it I was a little nervous. But doing it was actually a wonderfully inspiring experience.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“I love involving actors at all levels - and they have to know that I want to hear their contributions, with dialogue, with story suggestions, with script changes, whatever.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“It was important on The Shipping News to have my house far enough away from each location so I had this time in the morning to think about my shots and still remain open to surprises once I got to the set.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“Kevin, as the whole cast is, just wonderful people and great people, and people who are attracted to this kind of material and accepting the idea of going to Newfoundland and knowing the kind of lack of amenities.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“To see my wife getting inspired from my notes and thoughts, going in the direction I wanted, and have her surprise me with wonderful choices was a real treat.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

“If you're striving for strong emotion and strong sentiment, and you're authentic with it and honest with it, then you're on the right side of the line. But if you step into sentimentality, there is a false move or a false tone to it.”

— Lasse Hallstrom

To make a movie charming, you have to be playful on all levels and open to ideas, and you have to have an idea for how to do that within the confines of the shooting schedule and editing and all that.

— Lasse Hallstrom

“[Depp] has real ambitions, but he is deeply afraid of being considered pretentious.”

— Lasse Hallstrom