Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz
Todd Solondzis an American independent film screenwriter and director known for his style of dark, thought-provoking, socially conscious satire. Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia," a reflection of his own background in New Jersey. His work includes Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness, Storytelling, Palindromes, Life During Wartime, and Dark Horse...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth15 October 1959
CountryUnited States of America
Well, so far, at least, my own ideas always take priority over those of other writers. As long as the well doesn't run dry, I imagine this will be the case.
But you're right, I did think about acting more and then decided against it.
I don't like telling people where I stand on this, although I'm surprised anybody wonders. I suppose if I say I'm pro-choice, if I make that clear, it let's the audience off the hook, then they can sort of relax. Okay, it's alright he's pro-choice then I can enjoy this.
When I was making Storytelling, I couldn't watch while the violent sex scene between the student and the professor was being shot. It was too intense.
To be honest, I am often unsettled by the responses some people have had to my movies, and that includes many people who like them.
We are so defined by our prejudices and our preconceptions, ... that it's sometimes shocking to realise to what extent we are so conditioned.
I can't please everybody and I don't try to. If I can please myself that's enough. For the rest, I just hope for the best.
What makes me angry is the idea that people would be going to a movie because of what I said about it. It makes me feel, I don't know, arrogant, self-important, self-aggrandizing, whatever. Like I'm being used.
I've always said that I myself am not the best audience for my own work, because I'm just not that receptive to comedy.
I don't make movies with the idea that people are going to walk out of them feeling comfortable or better about themselves or more secure in their own biases or opinions.
Art has a smaller audience than, say, movies or other forms of mass consumption. But that doesn't mean the work doesn't have an impact in a way that transcends just a few cultural arbiters.
Artwork can be a portal, a kind of rethinking and reseeing of the world as we live it.