Barry Sonnenfeld Quotes (21 Quotes)

I haven't read a review of one of my films for the best part of 10 years.

Michael Jackson wanted to be in Men in Black II. He told me he had seen the first Men in Black in Paris and had stayed behind and sat there and wept. I had to explain to him that it was a comedy.

They want to let the audience figure things out and let the reaction shot get the laugh.

I don't think Will does get upstaged because his reaction is always funnier than what is actually happening. That is also the reason Tommy is funnier than Will.

These movies are like my kids. I just love them to death. Some of them go to Harvard and some of them can barely graduate high school.

We live in the country. Occasionally I hear sounds at night, so naturally I send my wife downstairs to check it out whilst I hide in the cupboard.

There's a series of children's books called A Series of Unfortunate Events, which is like an incredibly dark version of Roald Dahl. I hope to start directing it.

We had to retain the sense that no one really knows what's going on, that in New York City, in the world, there are aliens, strange events.

We should all relax about life because you don't have a clue as to what's really going on.

By definition a sequel can't be original. So you've got to figure out what worked the first time around.

Will asked me if his two kids could be in the movie, so I put them in a scene towards the end where Will, Tommy, and Rosario are in Manhattan.

Michael still agreed to be in it as long as he could wear a black suit-that's all that mattered to him. It was very funny and entirely Michael's idea.

When Frank the Pug is singing I Will Survive, the only reason it's funny is that Will is in that shot trying not to get angry. A shot of a dog singing I Will Survive on its own will not get a laugh.

I get Will and Tommy back and let them do what they do, and go back to the idea that we really don't know what the hell is going on around us.

I was seeing a lot of really good things about Get Shorty when it came out, and my wife pointed out that if you validate the good reviews, you also have to validate the bad reviews.

I don't believe in aliens living on planets as such, but I do believe there's stuff going on in this room that none of us have any idea about.

I play the father in the scene when Will and Tommy go back to Tommy's old apartment. It was a big mistake. I hope not to be in the next movie I direct.

I really wanted Michael Jackson to be in the first Men in Black, but he didn't want to be considered as an alien!

It felt scary because there was no auditioning, no rehearsing.

Will and Tommy Lee are the only actors I've ever worked with where neither of them want to say any lines.

Michael worked one day. Everybody was a little freaked out and nervous because he's a really big star. We were already working with really big stars, but Michael is Michael.