Dean Devlin Quotes

We did the original ‘Stargate’ as an independent movie. It was a surprise success. Shortly before the movie came out, the financiers who were frightened the movie might not do well sold the film to MGM. When the film came out, it was a hit and spawned TV shows.

‘Stargate’ has always had this empty hole. When we made the first one, we always intended on doing part two and three, and we were prevented for years. And our hope is that we can get another chance at ‘Stargate’ and tell the entire story we wanted to tell.

We’re so specialized now in our entertainment. It’s nice to do a show where you’re really circling back to this idea of, ‘Couldn’t there be a show the whole family can watch together?’

I don’t think you can figure this stuff out. If you could figure all this stuff out, then all the great filmmakers would come out of Yale and Harvard. It’s not an intellectual process.

The real trick to these movies and making the big action sequences work – and I’ve forgotten this sometimes and screwed it up – the characters really have to be humanized. Because you can have the greatest special effects in the world, but if you don’t care about the people in those effects, there’s no impact.

We’re often accused of trying to manipulate opinion or that we’re trying to elevate society. I think that the greatest thing we can do is to give you a vacation.

Portland has all the accoutrements of a big city, but the heart and soul of it is a small town, so that creates an intimacy in a large environment.

It’s fun to watch a show that you can watch with any member of your family, and you’re going to laugh, and you’re going to be moved, and you’re going to have fun, rather than this dark, brooding, cold, ‘purely procedural show.’

We always want our leaders to be great leaders.

Had the car companies continued to do generation two, generation three, generation four of the EV-1, we’d be looking at a spectacular car today.

Filmmaking is a real democracy – it’s up to the audience to vote with their tickets.

The scale of ‘Independence Day’ is much more than ‘Stargate.’

‘Independence Day,’ ever since we did it, there’s been enormous pressure to follow it up.

‘Leverage’ is meant to be based in Boston. But in one episode we’re in New York, then another in Chicago, Florida, and Eastern Europe.

Stories about travelers coming into town and doing good have been part of our storytelling since the Bible.

I don’t think these weather conditions are going to get better on their own.

John Rogers has an encyclopedic mind. Having John as our showrunner is the gift that keeps on giving. He knows more trivial information than anyone I’ve ever met in my entire life.

These audiences are so damn smart, way smarter than the studios give them credit for.

There are amazing behind-the-scenes technicians in Portland who didn’t want to raise their families in L.A.

Most young American actors feel like teenagers.

The budget on cable television is dramatically less than network television.

In movies, we’ve run out of ideas for bad guys. We end up with politically incorrect villains, like Arab terrorists or Latin drug dealers or corrupt politicians. Well, aliens are the best film villains since the Nazis. You don’t have to worry about offending anyone.

There’s a real difference now in what you can get out of film and the rise of digital platforms.

There’s a lot of superhero stuff out there and a lot of cop stuff out there. What we have very little of anymore is adventure.

The great thing about adventure, when told correctly, is it is one of the few genres that everybody in the family can watch together. Our television has become so targeted, it’s so specific that there’s literally nothing else on television that grandparents are watching with their grandkids, and they’re both entertained.

The Titanic hit the iceberg not because they could not see it coming but because they could not change direction.

As for ‘Independence Day,’ we never intended to do any films in that series beyond the first one.

We’ve always had a simple philosophy in casting. We don’t care if somebody’s a big star or a little star. We just want the best possible actor for the part.

There’s no doubt in the world that I am the biggest ‘Doctor Who’ fan.

‘Stargate’ was more a fantasy.

There is a renaissance of really great genre entertainment happening. But it’s become incredibly audience-specific.

We have to produce a high-quality show, but we have less and less time and money to do it. If you are using the tapeless approach to save money, you will.

We have to put people on pedestals; otherwise, there’s no one to knock off pedestals.

I think we have a culture that creates heroes and then needs to knock them down, and then you have to see what the third act brings.

Paramount Pictures is a perfect partner for Electric Entertainment, with the most stable group of executives in Hollywood and unparalleled global promotion and distribution reach.

I’ve always lived by this philosophy, when it comes to conspiracies, never to attribute to deviousness that which can be explained by incompetence.

‘The Book of Love’ is the kind of James L. Brooks mainstream movie that the majors are ignoring.

I just make the movies I want to see. I’ve always been that way.

The advantage of the Genesis is that it’s a rock-solid camera, made by a company with an enormous history and a huge support base. Plus, it’s very good in low light using all the Panavision lenses. The downside is that you’re recording on tape.

When I first came to Oregon, the annual amount spent on production was $1 million to $1.5 million. By the time ‘Leverage’ was done, there had been over $100 million in production that year.

I love what they do with ‘Doctor Who,’ where they have the series, and then they do a big Christmas movie special.

I think when real life interrupts fantasy, it’s always shocking.

That transcends everything – skipping the transfer of dailies is a game-changer.

I would love it if the whole ‘Godzilla’ franchise was revitalized for a new generation.

We are cannibalizing our audience by only giving them regurgitated material. Every movie is either a remake, a sequel, based on something else. Based on a former television series. Based on a successful videogame.

I hope to make the most expensive movie in history at some point!

I think if we did ‘Stargate’ right, the fans would like it, and we could do something really good. But if we screw it up, they’ll reject it. As they should.

Spielberg is our hero. For him to make a nod to ‘Godzilla’ just before we make our movie is like getting the king to acknowledge you at dinner.

I’ve always said that I don’t believe in Santa Claus, but I could make a great movie about him if I set my mind to it.

The truth is, we were sick of, every time we finished a movie, having to start all over again from nothing, going to a studio, pitching an idea, setting up a new office.

‘Librarians’ is surprisingly touching in a lot of ways where it’s not expected.

I haven’t had the egomaniac star yet in any of my films. It’s always been a pleasure.

‘The Outpost’ is an exciting fantasy with a strong female lead that will capture the imagination of fans of both ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Wonder Woman.’

That’s one of the best things about the RED ONE – I can use all the best lenses that have been used in film forever.

When I tried to get ‘Stargate’ made, I took it to every studio in Hollywood and every studio said, ‘Sci-fi is dead. It’s a dead genre. No one wants to see science fiction anymore.’ And I had to go and raise the money independently to make that movie.

Of all the projects I’ve ever done, ‘Stargate’ is the only one from the beginning intended to be a trilogy. We always wanted to do parts two and three, but the thinking was they didn’t want to do anything other than the TV series.