Jason Reitman

Well, Toronto, I consider to be the birthplace of my films. I’ve made three films and this is the third one to premiere here in the same theater on the same day at the same time – they are my audience. They’re the people that I think about while I’m writing, directing, and editing. I specifically make movies for them.

I’m not Michael Moore. I think Michael Moore wants to tell you how to think. He wants to give you answers. I make movies to raise my own personal questions and not to give answers.

I hear the way people talk about the children of famous people. They’re not treated very well. The presumptions are usually quite awful. So I tried to establish myself with a couple of movies. After ‘Juno’ I thought: ‘I think I’ve defined myself enough as my own director that I’d love to work with my father.’

I’m not going to have a perfect career. It’s better to be Billy Wilder and make lots of movies and have five or six great ones than to make so few movies that when you make a bad one it crushes you.

As far as writing, I like watching bad movies. Nothing stops me in my tracks more than watching a great film like ‘The Godfather’ or ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ or ‘The Graduate.’ You watch one of those, and you never want to write again. Whereas with bad movies, it makes you think, If that counts, I certainly could write.

I think romance is a tool, comedy is a tool and drama is a tool. I really just want to tell stories that challenge the viewer, move people, make you laugh, perhaps push an idea about being open-minded but never settle on a genre or an opinion. I hate genre. I like movies that are original in their approach.

I want my movies to be audience experiences. As much as I like Michael Haneke, I’m not going to make a Haneke film. That’s just not in my DNA.