Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I was Paul Schrader's assistant for six months before I went to film school, and he's very much about knowing what's going to happen on every page before you even start writing dialogue - the entire plot and character arcs are mapped out.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I used to obsess on critical reactions to my films, and it's really not a healthy way to live your life, so my new take on it is simply, 'I hope people like it!' I'm not going to be looking at the tomato meter for at least a year! I was very lucky on '50/50' that most critics really liked it.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I really like using genre to tell a story about characters but also use it as a Trojan horse to tell social or cultural commentary. That's where the best stuff, especially in the zombie genre, comes out of.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

For me, it's always more interesting to look at things when you don't really have a horse in the race, so to speak.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

There are things that I can tell my friends that I just can't tell my family, just as far as how I'm feeling about things. My friends know me the best in a certain way. I just think old friends are really, really important.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I always look at myself as kind of a work in progress. I hope that's not always the case. But for me, every film is a learning experience.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I grew up with Woody Allen and early Spike Lee movies in which New York was such a specific character. The city has a certain vibe and beat which really informs your entire existence.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I've had a couple of family members deal with cancer, and I remember that moment where they're going into surgery, and you just have no idea what's going to happen, and it's really scary.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I was actually shooting 'Warm Bodies' on the day that '50/50' came out, which I don't recommend to other filmmakers because I was sort of a wreck. Actually, it was good for me, because I had work to do, so I couldn't obsess all day and be checking how '50/50' was doing!

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

On '50/50,' even though it was 8 million dollars, it was all acting-intensive.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I have a cameo in every movie. In '50/50,' I'm in the back of the bus.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I like zombie movies, and I like genre movies a lot. To watch. Less so to make, I think. But I grew up on that stuff. I would just grow up watching a lot of horror movies, a lot of slasher movies and then zombie movies.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

Right after 'The Wackness' came out, it was a really exciting time, and then it was a bit disappointing when it came out. Even though not that many people saw it, I was still getting offered some movies. I was thinking that people would just stop calling me since it didn't do very well at the box office.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I like a pretty relaxed, fun set. Everyone knows they can bring whoever they want and hang out.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I'm a writer and director. And the movie I've seen a million times is 'Coming Home,' directed by Hal Ashby and starring Jon Voight, Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I've been a huge fan of Hal Ashby forever. And I think that the distinctive thing about 'Coming Home' is the love story, and how - kind of emotionally real it is, and how these two characters allow each other to see their - kind of vulnerabilities. And it's great because it's a love story that's not really that cheesy, either.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

I definitely think for up and coming filmmakers, people graduating from film school, people that want to do their own movies, horror movies are a great way to go.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

Usually, the kills are almost Wile E. Coyote kind of things in horror movies.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

As a director, there's no natural career progression. So after 'The Wackness,' which was very personal to me, I was very, very picky about what I was going to do next, to the point where I think that I was almost too picky.

Jonathan Levine
Jonathan Levine

'Warm Bodies' was a more long-term thing; I had to write the script, who knew if it was every really going to happen, if I'd find the right actors, and so on, so I grabbed '50/50' because I just fell in love with it.