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" I was Paul Schrader's assistant for six months before I went to film school, and he's very much about knowing what's going to happen on every page before you even start writing dialogue - the entire plot and character arcs are mapped out. "

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" I was intimidated by Malkovich for, like, a couple of days, and then I wasn't. He's awesome. He's so cool. He was so wonderful to work with. "

Jonathan Levine

Awesome

Work

" That's the great thing about being a director. You have your list of things you have to worry about and things you don't have to worry about. If you can hire someone or cast someone who equates to not having to worry about, it's great! "

" It's rare that movies can sort of capture the tone of life; movies always feel like they have to be one thing or another. "

" I like to branch out as much as I can, but I feel like the movies that are closest to my heart are 'The Wackness' and '50/50' - the ones that are dramedies that have that human element to them. "

Jonathan Levine

I Can

Movies

" I don't like being pigeonholed at all. It stemmed from after 'Mandy Lane': I was being offered all these horror movies. I love horror movies, but when I dreamed of being a director, it was always doing all sorts of things. "

" For me, I just value my friendships so much. I mean, I love my family, too, but my friends - I have a really special connection with my friends. "

" Usually, the kills are almost Wile E. Coyote kind of things in horror movies. "

" I feel like comedy is where I'm most at ease, but I also have an allergy to silly jokes. "

Jonathan Levine

Silly

Jokes

" I learned some big lessons on my first film, a horror film which was never released in the U.S., even though we sold it to Harvey Weinstein for a lot of money. "

" To me, using music is creating a shorthand with an audience. And I love music so much. "

Jonathan Levine

Love

Music

" My first real television-watching experience was when I watched 'L.A. Law,' like, at 10 o'clock Thursday nights with my parents. They would let me stay up late. "

" I don't often watch something I've done on TV. Usually, I'll change the channel and watch something else. "

" I've been a huge fan of Hal Ashby forever. And I think that the distinctive thing about 'Coming Home' is the love story, and how - kind of emotionally real it is, and how these two characters allow each other to see their - kind of vulnerabilities. And it's great because it's a love story that's not really that cheesy, either. "

" I have a cameo in every movie. In '50/50,' I'm in the back of the bus. "

" There's so often - in filmmaking, you're backed into something that already has these set parameters, whether it's a sequel or a book that people love. "

" For me, it's always more interesting to look at things when you don't really have a horse in the race, so to speak. "

Jonathan Levine

Look

Speak

" Any time I hear certain songs I put in a movie, I have to not listen to them anymore because I associate them with that movie. They take on that association rather than the association I had when I first heard them. So it's kinda bittersweet to put a song in a movie, honestly. "

" I used to drive a convertible around L.A. a lot. "

" As a director, your expectation and reality don't always match up, and I think that that's... I think it's a little jarring. "

Jonathan Levine

Reality

Director

" I like a pretty relaxed, fun set. Everyone knows they can bring whoever they want and hang out. "

Jonathan Levine

Pretty

Bring

" For whatever reason, the films I gravitate towards do have these strange sort of tonal balances to them... I kind of realized on '50/ 50' why I liked these blending of tones, because I think it's kind of what life is like: funny one minute, sad the next, scary the next. "

" Zombies have always had a lot of built-in social commentary. "

" 'Warm Bodies' - I was contractually obligated to deliver a PG-13 movie. But, like, I wanted it to be PG-13 because it's for younger people, and I don't want them not to be able to see it. I mean, you have to kind of think about the marketplace as well. "

" Genre is a really great shorthand you can have with an audience. In the same way you can use music to create a connection with an audience, it brings so much of their knowledge of what genre really is to the table. You have a shortcut to connect with them. I really like that. "

" I really like it when movies take a song and use it to counterpoint a scene. "

Jonathan Levine

Scene

Movies

" Do I wish I was Martin Scorsese? Yeah. But am I really proud of the movies I've made and really happy that I get to keep making them? Yes. "

" I'm always walking around with headphones on, creating my own soundtracks to whatever the day is. I think I have a poppy sensibility. "

" I just think a lot of movies are too long. I want to know how to make my movie as tight as possible. "

" For me, the best high school movie is, like, 'Fast Times' and what Cameron Crowe is like. "

Jonathan Levine

Fast

School

" I think Giuliani started a trend that Bloomberg continued with rampant gentrification, and I think it's tough because why would any city choose not to do that? "