I’ve held onto little musical sketches that I thought could be useful, and the more time that I spend doing them for each film, then the more I have to draw on. – Mike Figgis
I started using film as part of live theatre performance – what used to be called performance art – and I became intrigued by film. – Mike Figgis
I would certainly say that films like Time Code and the Loss of Sexual Innocence were far more rewarding to me in terms of being able to move forward as a filmmaker. – Mike Figgis
The power of sound to put an audience in a certain psychological state is vastly undervalued. And the more you know about music and harmony, the more you can do with that. – Mike Figgis
In discussing the process with the actors, I made it clear to them that they could improvise but that the sum total of their improvisation needed to impart certain plot points, and schematic material. – Mike Figgis
Each film is different. Time Code was very quick – a matter of months. Miss Julie has been on my shelf as a script for some seven or eight years. But then the shooting process was very quick – 16 days. – Mike Figgis
It’s difficult working with very rich actors, because inevitably they become a little spoilt, and the managers and agents tend to control things more than is healthy. – Mike Figgis
Obviously, I try to make the films work for an audience. That’s the main point of making a film, and in retrospect, one can see that certain films, let’s say Leaving Las Vegas, demonstrated its own success. – Mike Figgis
You can do really slow movements with it, like zooming in for a minute and a half. The audience isn’t aware that the camera has moved, but there’s subconscious tension there. – Mike Figgis
I am intrigued enough to want to continue, and also to try and work with companies like Sony on modifying the cameras and making them more user-friendly and efficient. – Mike Figgis
Films take up so much time, and with theatre, you do have to plan a period of time that you can be free. – Mike Figgis
In a way, the history of jazz’s development is a small mirror of classical music’s development through the centuries. Now jazz is a living form of original music, while classical music has gotten to the end of its cycle in terms of exploring its form. – Mike Figgis
When I do the music, I make the musicians listen to what’s happening in the film. That way they treat the dialogue as if it was a singer. – Mike Figgis
I’m a huge fan of world cinema, because each country uses cinema in a very individual way. – Mike Figgis
There’s a sadness to the human condition that I think music is good for. It gives a counterpoint to the visual beauty, and adds depth to pictures that they wouldn’t have if the music wasn’t there. – Mike Figgis
