110+ Nicolas Winding Refn Quotes On Death, Stylized And Dark

Nicolas Winding Refn is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his distinct style of stylized, ultra-violent films, such as Drive (2011) and Only God Forgives (2013). Refn has won numerous awards, including the Cannes Best Director Award for Drive in 2011. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Nicolas Winding Refn on love, life, death.

Top 10 Nicolas Winding Refn Quotes

1. Like all art forms, film is a media as powerful as weapons of mass destruction; the only difference is that war destroys and film inspires.
2. Cinema is mass media, it is both overtly gross and exciting. It is our great mirror of society.
3. Creativity is narcissism. Creativity is falling in love with one's self as you create. It's self-indulgent.
4. We live in a beauty-obsessed culture, which on one hand is absolutely fabulous, but on the flip side, is also dangerously extreme.
5. In a way, art is a great way to release your love, fantasy, and desires. It's like a fetish. It's a comfortable way of excising a lot of your conscience.
6. The world needs change, change needs an activity. It has to be planted by a thought.
7. The idea of narcissism, essentially, is and will be accepted as a virtue.
8. I wanted to make a horror film about beauty.
9. I love films, I love movies, I love television, I love television series, I love the internet, I love anything that enhances images. But most of all, I love, love movies.
10. [The Neon Demon] was more my own fascination with beauty. It's my children's fascination beauty.

Nicolas Winding Refn Short Quotes

• The fairy tale always takes place in worlds that are between, unidentifiable.
• Creativity is very self-indulgent.
• I don't drive because I failed eight times and never got my license.
• I'm a fetishist. I make films based on what I would like to see.
• I always say I have a Danish passport, but I am a New Yorker at heart.
• I always think once you have the lead protagonist, you cast around that character.
• The act of creation can be an extreme violent experience.
• Jenna Malone was a very important piece of how the film [The Neon Demon] turned out.
• Understanding one's own power is more interesting than someone being given something powerful.
• I grew up in the '80s and John Hughes was the filmmaker making serious movies for teenagers.

Nicolas Winding Refn Quotes About Love

I mean, what do you think creativity is? Nothing but self-indulgence. And the more self-indulgent it is, the more interesting it becomes. So I think that part of creativity is also falling in love with your own narcissism: accepting it, using it as an asset. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I love rock ballads, and I'm kind of in emotional turmoil, being ill and high, so I start to sing to the song, I turn it up and start to sing. — Nicolas Winding Refn

There's incredible effect in being either loved or hated, but knowing that, either way, you have penetrated the mind and have altered it; that is a very pleasurable feeling. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The minute you celebrate narcissism, which on one hand is very complex, it's very ridiculous. You have to love oneself with humor. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I very much enjoy my freedom creatively but I also would love to make one of those big Hollywood films that costs a lot of money and has a lot of people running around with cell phones and all that insanity. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I love watching the superhero movies and I would love to make one. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Sometimes I just play the theme from Arthur. It reminds me of my childhood in New York and I just love it. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Love comes from the strangest places. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I think that Danish people may be thought off as the happiest people, but honestly...I love America. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn Famous Quotes And Sayings

I feel that silence is the greatest word, ever. When you don't talk, people begin to read things into you or you become what they long for. When you don't talk, you almost become the mirror image of the other person. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The problem with cinema nowadays is that it's a math problem. People can read a film mathematically; they know when this comes or that comes; in about 30 minutes, it's going to be over and have an ending. So film has become a mathematical solution. And that is boring, because art is not mathematical. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I've never really been on a date, because I've been with the same girl since my early twenties, but on our first date, I showed her The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I was like, "Hey, you've got to see this!" And we've been together ever since. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The power of art is as powerful as weapons of mass destruction; it's just where war destroys, art inspires. But in order to inspire, you need to react to it. And, if it doesn't penetrate your mind, you can't react to it. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The Oriental approach to violence is a much more aesthetic and poetic approach, whereas in the western world, violence is put in because you can't solve the problem. Violence is always the last solution, but unfortunately, in cinema, it's the first solution, because it's easy. And it's often too easy. — Nicolas Winding Refn

We have basic urges all the time. They just manifest themselves in different scenarios, and we have to turn those weaknesses into our strengths. Art is very much about making your weaknesses your strength. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I also believe on a practical level, if you're taking time away from people, besides entertaining them, I think it's important that there's something to react to. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I don't know if power seduces less or more. I think power is a constant evolving mechanism that, since the dawn of time, on one level corrupts and on another level does not. But I think, no matter what, mutates. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Beauty is on one level pure surface, and on the other hand, it's the most complex subject that we can touch upon because it says everything about us as people. It's a subject we very quickly begin to argue about. I think that's so interesting. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Only God Forgives was very much a generation gap in a way. It was all the youth of the world that embraced it. I make films for young people. That's what I will continue to do. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I've stopped showing actors what to actually do. I rather just talk to them about it. Then I usually play music. That's a great way to convey inner emotion, bring the power of style and acting together. That's really what it is, very good acting without talking. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I don't have to go very far to see the power of beauty. Being desired, feeling desired is a very seductive aspect of our being. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I've been trying to get away from physical violence; it's too easy; it doesn't satisfy me artistically to work with it. Dramatic violence is much more interesting, but it's much more difficult. — Nicolas Winding Refn

For me, Amazon has stepped in and presented the future of entertainment. Obviously, the future of entertainment is going to be on the internet. — Nicolas Winding Refn

My movie [The Neon Demon] is a hyper-version of the obsession with beauty. As this crazy obsession grows, longevity does not. Everything seems to become younger and younger. The girls and people around them cannibalize themselves. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Abbey Lee was a very famous model and had great success. She was very open about the negative aspects of that industry. — Nicolas Winding Refn

And to be fair, most documentaries are half an hour too long, anyway. Let's not kid ourselves. Most movies are an hour too long. I will say that the internet has changed everything in terms of distribution and because of iTunes and other outlets like that, length is no longer something you really think about, in my opinion. It's irrelevant. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I consider it a great honour that my movie Drive inspired so many wonderful artists to come together and create one ultra-cool glam experience. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I think the idea of individualism has become more dominating in our society. You can even see it by our political system: how people vote, the job situation, the sociological evolution that's happening, what's happening in the Middle East and so forth. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I sometimes play different kinds of music to see where the performers end up. I play one genre. Then something else when I do it again. It really helps. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I love fear, and fear breeds creativity. It forces you to react instinctively, which is the essence of movement. Movement is a creativity - a sense of an emotional movement. And the more instinctual you can make that, the more pleasurable it is. It's like an infant drawing. You're completely uninhibited because creativity is a wonderful expression. Good or bad, who cares? That's part of the past. The act of creativity is what's interesting. — Nicolas Winding Refn

People very quickly define success due to the amount of money something makes. In the end, I think everyone is searching for that experience. That's why we continue to go to the movies and watch television. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I try not to have too specific notions because it messes up the process later on. I leave it very open to interpretation until I start casting. Everything changes a lot when you start casting. I mean everything. — Nicolas Winding Refn

We live in a world where art is always looked upon as the perfect medium. We live in a society where we can alter our body parts, we can act in the most perfect or right way. A lot of that is dangerous because, especially in the world of art, the chief enemy of creativity is being safe. If you're safe, you can't fall and hurt yourself. The older you are, the further down the crash is going to be. But if it works out, the higher the high. — Nicolas Winding Refn

In "Drive," there's a heightened male edge. In "Only God Forgives," it was almost crawling back into the womb of the mother. And now with "The Neon Demon," being reborn as a 16-year-old girl. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Nowadays, teenagers are so fast and quick to see through any form of manipulation. Sitting down and just thinking of something is like watching really bad pornography. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I think that television has become really, really interesting, in terms of character development. You can have 13 hours to develop a character, as opposed to 25 minutes in a movie. That excites me. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Actually, there was one sequence but Liv didn't put this in but at the end of the movie, we ran out of money. Literally, ran out. And I couldn't make payroll. So I emptied all our accounts to make payroll. We were kinda like, "What do we do?" Then out of the blue, we were saved by Gucci. So it's always been like, you just gotta reach for the stars and hopefully the moon will catch you. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I don't do drugs, and so music very much gets me going. When I do something, I think, "If it was a piece of music, what would it be?" — Nicolas Winding Refn

Filmmaking is like any kind of art form. You have to try to figure it out, and you're going to do that by trying. It's like teaching a child to walk. It may start by walking, but eventually it will fall. And I have kids, but I know that that will enable them to stand up again and understand why they fell, and how they can avoid that. They will walk better and faster, and stronger. Filmmaking is the same. — Nicolas Winding Refn

If you create something that is essentially alien to you - as a man - and make a film about woman, the more I can surround myself with woman and combine it with my soul's point of view, the more I become a stranger in a strange land. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I never look at the internet because then you just have nothing else to do but just look. Most generally, and even myself as a consumer, you think you know what you want. But what's more interesting is figuring out what you don't want. I think the only way that I can do that is just to do what I think is right. That is the only real gesture of respect. Then people can react to the movie how they want to react. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I can't make a film that I don't feel comfortable with. — Nicolas Winding Refn

All my other movies have the same process. Same approach. Same amount of changes. Everything. Things being made up on the fly. Changing things around. Firing and recasting. Constantly, constantly, in chronological sequence, not really knowing how this is going to end up. That is the only dogmatic approach I take towards everything. — Nicolas Winding Refn

My initial idea was I wanted to make it a horror film, very much. At times I do enter that world. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I believe shooting chronologically gives you a very fresh perspective and you're always aware of where you are in the development of the characters. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The more we become civilized, the more we simultaneously understand our need to be virtuous, and our need to understand our experiences on a subconscious level. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I don't believe that art makes people violent in any way. I don't. But I do believe art can show people how to be violent and that's much more dangerous in a way. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I am a child of cinema, and I am a cineaste, so everything I do is a reference to something I've heard or experienced or seen. And we all do it, we all steal. The ones who claim they don't, are obviously lying, because you do. You just have to make it your own. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Financially, it was very successful. Which is the most important thing. That is the only way you get to make another movie. It's very simple. The market will value you. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The first person I ever described the film [The Neon Demon] to was Christina Hendricks [who has a cameo in the movie]. We were having dinner in LA and she asked me what I wanted to do next and I said, "I want to do a horror movie." And she goes, "What's it going to be about?" And I said, "A lot of blood and high heels." — Nicolas Winding Refn

Where war destroys, art inspires. And in order to inspire, you need to penetrate the brain. In order to penetrate the brain, you need something to react to. To have something to react to, you need to get your emotions up and running. To get your emotions up and running, you need to have something that ... whatever direction you go in, it has to be a movement between you and the experience. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The casting of any film is around 60% of the film, but it's also about the right casting insight. It's a bit like a house of cards, everyone has to match up in a certain way so the whole structure is grounded. So that's essential, and yes, it's about finding the right people and the right constellation around the lead character. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Reaction is what changes your understanding of the world. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I certainly believe that creativity must be an experience. If I'm to steal time away from people, we should give them something to react to. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Everything we do is about the emotion of the characters. We believe the better the emotion, the better the movie. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I think that experiencing through art is a wonderful way to expand the horizon and everything around it. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The conversations about a film are an example of success because then you know whatever you've done has resonated. — Nicolas Winding Refn

But once you get down to reality, there's no one to play her and there's no movie. It would be ridiculous. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The best thing you can do with actors is collaborate with them. My job is to inspire them to give their best. And they're only inspired if they feel they are part of the creative process, otherwise they'll shut down. So my goal is always to ask people what they would like to do before I even say my opinion. I usually don't know anything until I see it. I'm a fetish filmmaker - I make films based on what I want to see. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I feel Amazon is really bringing films into the future. So for me it was the best of both worlds. — Nicolas Winding Refn

If the Wizard of Oz were real he would be in Hollywood. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Good and bad, what's good and bad? I don't know. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I like the early comic book characters more than the new ones. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I can do my part of the storytelling. I can carry it. I can paint it. I can maneuver it. I can massage it. But if I don't have anything to work with, then there's nothing. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I was in Hollywood. It's the mythology heart. It's where all the European films came in the '30s and '40s. The marriage between Europe and Hollywood has always been the best when it works. — Nicolas Winding Refn

How can creativity be bad? You can have, "I liked it" or "I didn't like it," but, in the end, it's an individual experience. How can you even begin to define that? I find that sometimes extremely arrogant and counter-productive. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I've been lucky to have a beautiful wife and children. The idea that something so beautiful can be so horrific at the same time. Beauty is a complex thing. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I have not seen "Batman v Superman," unfortunately. It hasn't been on the plane, as I've been flying a lot. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I had met Keanu [Reeves]a few times so it was a great way to reach out to him with an actual job offer. He very kindly agreed to be part of it and it was an amazing experience. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The thing with Ryan, you can look at him for hours. Very few actors have that. It's a gift. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I think that's the struggle of our normality is that we have oppressed desires because of what is accepted and not accepted in society. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Personally I kept my feelings out of it and created a fantasy. That's the process of going through this world being beautiful. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The artificial world that we create through images will essentially become real. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Amazon, being a provider - not just on the playing field - is, of course, opening up a whole new set of possibilities. At the same time, Amazon also understands platforms. For them, theatrical is an extremely important event. I also believe it's the best way of seeing a movie. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Financing films that are demanding is a task, in itself. Because people are so afraid of taking any kind of chance, because they're afraid the audience isn't going to respond. But the audience is so hungry for anything that's a bit original, personal, or different. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I've been making films with almost no dialogue (laughs), so sound and music become a very powerful character to tell the story. It's almost like with sound and music and images, it's your tool to tell the story, especially when I decide to structure the film in a way that usually goes against the conventions of the three-act structure which most films are made out of. — Nicolas Winding Refn

If an actor or actress is recognizable, that changes our perception of them. — Nicolas Winding Refn

When you make something that everyone likes, it's very easy to say, "Well, I'll just repeat that." Because that was easy. I have a formula. But creatively, it's not very interesting. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The vibe, it's that excitement. New York, you just can't describe it. You get a similar thing from Paris and London, but it's not New York. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I'm a fetish filmmaker, in that I don't know why I do what I do, I just like to see things. When I figure out what I would like to see, I will put it in a film. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Man's fear of sexuality is the basis of all horror from the male perspective. — Nicolas Winding Refn

It was a very comfortable and personal relationship [Cliff Martinez ].'The Neon Demon'is our third movie and the music has never been as important as for this movie. — Nicolas Winding Refn

[Liv Corfixen] very much part of my life in that she's everything in my life and we found a way to use each other much more on a creative level as well. She was kind of the idea for this movie so I wanted to acknowledge that. She gave me the original idea to make the film. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I just think it was time [in THe Neon Demon]to do a film about women. But not just women, I wanted to do a movie about a teenage girl. It was a great counter to the masculinity of "Drive." — Nicolas Winding Refn

It's the hardest thing for an actor not to speak because you take away their main tool. So for an actor, it's very frustrating and very challenging, and very few people can pull it off. Some actors can say a thousand words with just a look, and it's a unique gift. — Nicolas Winding Refn

There will always be a theatrical experience because there will always be cinemas no matter what. It's like there will always be theaters to have stage plays in. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I woke up one day and I realized I wasn't born beautiful, but my wife was, so I decided to make a horror film about it: what it would be like to be born beautiful. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Film works when a director and a star have a connection. You know, when there's something telekinetic between them, there's a partnership, it's like alter egos. It's like James Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock, or Fellini and Mastroianni. I'm not comparing, I'm just saying, if you can come into a relationship where the director and star have such a bond, it's so much easier to make a movie. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Elle Fanning was fifteen when we started [The Neon Demon]. She turned seventeen during the shoot. Four weeks before Cannes, she turned eighteen. She had her prom at Cannes. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I never desired to really go to Hollywood and make films, and purely because I want my entire control, which I'm used to having. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I just close my eyes and I fantasize what I would like to see. — Nicolas Winding Refn

I think everybody's looking for religion to believe in. I think we all need faith. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The character requires so many elements. The only one who could fulfill that was this one person: Elle Fanning. — Nicolas Winding Refn

You must understand that violence in a movie is only a tool. If it's used badly, it will be horrible. If it's used correctly, it can be very interesting. But, essentially, it's just a tool. — Nicolas Winding Refn

The digital revolution is forever. They put importance on that option as well. With Amazon, you're getting the best of both worlds, with a whole new playing field. — Nicolas Winding Refn

Life Lessons by Nicolas Winding Refn

1. Nicolas Winding Refn teaches us to be creative and take risks with our art, even if it means going against the grain.
2. He also shows us the importance of having a strong visual style and a unique voice, which can help to make a lasting impression.
3. Finally, Refn's work demonstrates the power of collaboration between artists, as his films often feature collaborations with other filmmakers, musicians, and actors.