Norman Jewison

"[On why he was not making a theatrical feature film for the studios] Theyd say these films were too wordy, too cerebral, too much dialogue [...] They often want films with a minimum of dialogue and lots of action and limited adult themes to sell abroad."

"[On John Wayne] The drunker he got the more he wanted to punch me out."

"For me, films are about ideas [...] Every director should ask himself, Why am I making this picture? And if you cant answer that, you shouldnt make it."

"[On why he was liking directing a television film] They leave you alone; theres no interference, no second guessing."

"I dont make social statements in my pictures [...] though I do feel a film should be about something—that it have a raison detre. It should not shy away from social problems."

"So many aspects of our life have disappeared from movie screens [...] And theyre now appearing on cable."

"He gives his actors room and keeps them as calm as he can, because its easier to speak with them when theyre calm. A director has to keep the actors on their toes while the cameras running, but when the scene is done, they should be relaxing, nothing on their minds. There cant be a constant level of seriousness. And with Norman, theres always a lot of laughter."

"The famous slap, where [Virgil] Tibbs retaliates against a racist landowner, wasnt improvised, though, as has been suggested. I kept telling [[Sidney Poitier|[Sidney] Poitier]] that Tibbs was a sophisticated detective, not used to being pushed around. I showed him how to do the slap. "Dont hit him on the ear," I said. "I want you to really give him a crack on the fatty side of his cheek." I told him to practise on me. A black man had never slapped a white man back in an American film. We broke that taboo."

"I got involved with the issue of racism when I was a kid in Canada. When I was 17 or 18 we were at war so I joined the Canadian Navy. ... When I got out, I’ll never forget I had a month’s leave which you had to take before they demobilized you. During that time you could do whatever you wanted as long as you reported back. Someone told me that if you go to the States and you’re in uniform they treat you like a king. You can get a ride anywhere for nothing. So I started hitchhiking. I went to Chicago and then I kept going south. I was somewhere just outside Memphis and I wanted to get to the highway. A bus came along and I got on because I didnt have to pay. So I got on and sat in the back because it was a hot day and the windows were down. About five minutes later the bus stopped and the driver – a big beefy guy – looked at me through the mirror and said "you tryin to be funny sailor?" I said no and he said "well cant you read the sign?" So I look up and theres a hand-painted sign on a piece of tin hanging by a wire in the middle of the bus. It said "colored people to the rear." So I looked around and sure enough there were a few black people sitting around me and the white people were in front. I didnt know what to do. I was so young I didnt realize there was this kind of racial tension in America. So [I] said "Ill get off the bus." He drove off and left me standing on a dusty street by myself."