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" 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. "

Jonathan Levine

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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 love subverting expectations or playing with the sort of unspoken kind of connections that the audience has. "

Jonathan Levine

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

Jonathan Levine

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

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

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" I've had a couple of family members deal with cancer, and I remember that moment where they're going into surgery, and you just have no idea what's going to happen, and it's really scary. "

Jonathan Levine

" I kind of viewed '50/ 50' and 'Warm Bodies' both as my next films after 'The Wackness.' In my head, I was just like, 'I'll try the big, fun, adventure-weird movie, and I'll do the small, heartfelt comedy-drama, and one of them will probably work out, and I'll get to work more.' "

Jonathan Levine

" 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

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

Jonathan Levine

" 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

" There are things that I can tell my friends that I just can't tell my family, just as far as how I'm feeling about things. My friends know me the best in a certain way. I just think old friends are really, really important. "

Jonathan Levine

" I watched 'Return Of The Living Dead.' That one's cool, man. I like that one. "

Jonathan Levine

" I think it's cyclical. Zombies have been around for ages, and vampires have run their course; we've had so many vampire movies. "

Jonathan Levine

" To be a director, you have to think you're the best. Ever since I went to film school, I imagined that you have to think deep down that you want to be Martin Scorsese or you want to be P.T. Anderson. Like, am I as good as those guys? Absolutely not. I feel like I keep learning, and I feel like I keep getting better. "

Jonathan Levine

" I really don't like when you see improv scenes go on too long. It really bothers me, even if the jokes are good. "

Jonathan Levine

" 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

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

Jonathan Levine

" 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. "

Jonathan Levine

" 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. "

Jonathan Levine

" I was actually shooting 'Warm Bodies' on the day that '50/50' came out, which I don't recommend to other filmmakers because I was sort of a wreck. Actually, it was good for me, because I had work to do, so I couldn't obsess all day and be checking how '50/50' was doing! "

Jonathan Levine

" After 'Mandy Lane,' I didn't really know what to do because I didn't know anyone who'd made a feature yet. "

Jonathan Levine

" If you know how to shoot a scene, then you know how to shoot an action scene. If you've seen an action movie, and you watched it, and you paid attention to how scenes are constructed and where the camera is and how the camera moves, then you know how to do it. "

Jonathan Levine

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

Jonathan Levine

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

Jonathan Levine

" I definitely think for up and coming filmmakers, people graduating from film school, people that want to do their own movies, horror movies are a great way to go. "

Jonathan Levine

" I'm a writer and director. And the movie I've seen a million times is 'Coming Home,' directed by Hal Ashby and starring Jon Voight, Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern. "

Jonathan Levine

" 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. "

Jonathan Levine

" I really like using genre to tell a story about characters but also use it as a Trojan horse to tell social or cultural commentary. That's where the best stuff, especially in the zombie genre, comes out of. "

Jonathan Levine

" 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. "

Jonathan Levine

" I grew up with Woody Allen and early Spike Lee movies in which New York was such a specific character. The city has a certain vibe and beat which really informs your entire existence. "

Jonathan Levine