I'm Not Into Killing Living Things, You

Making A Film That Is In Seven Days Of One Week Is Not A New Idea.

I Had This Idea For A Long Time To Make A Film About A Poet In Paterson Named Patterson. I Wanted Him To Be Working Class. Eventually I Thought A Bus Was A Perfect Visual Way To Move Him, To Drift Him Through The City, To Have A Measured Kind Of Routine Lifestyle. And All These Things Kind Of Congealed Into The Film "paterson" Eventually.

It Meant A Kind Of Real Liberation Of Expression. It Embraced Amateurism In A Way That I Still Am Inspired By. It Was Not About Trying To Get, You Know, Stadium Gigs Or Even Commercial Radio Play Or Even Record Deals For That Matter. It Was About Saying Something 'cause You Meant It, And Expressing Something That You Felt. And That Was Primary For That - Whatever The Scene, Whatever Punk Rock Means, It Was Very, Very Important To Me, Very Formative.

Music, To Me, Is The Most Beautiful Form, And I Love Film Because Film Is Very Related To Music. It Moves By You In Its Own Rhythm... Imagine The World Without Music. Man, Just Hand Me A Gun, Will You?

I Start With Actors That I Know Personally Or I Know Their Work, And There Are Things About Their Work Or Their Presence Or Their Own Personality That Make A Character, That Exaggerates Some Qualities And Suppresses Other Qualities. It's Always A Real Collaboration For Me.