Damien Chazelle : (8) " I was a kid living in New Jersey, who – I’d wanted to make movies since I was a little kid, so that came before music for me. But I started playing drums just as a hobby, and I wasn’t even really into jazz that much. " - Damien Chazelle " I didn’t have traditional stage fright. If there was 500 people in the audience or three people in the audience, it didn’t really make a difference. What made a difference was the conductor. Everything that I was scared about as a drummer was him. " - Damien Chazelle " I do truly believe that the smallest stories can wind up being the biggest because it’s through the specific that a writer can best access the universal. " - Damien Chazelle " When someone is playing drums, they aren’t actually moving around a space; they’re just moving their arms and limbs. They’re stuck behind the drum set. So to film someone playing the drums and make it feel as kinetic as a car chase or a shootout or a battle scene was the challenge. " - Damien Chazelle " I was always pretty decent at fast stick work or doing stuff that seems impressive that’s not really; I was pretty tasteful and had good ideas musically. But I had a terrible sense of tempo, which is like being a blind painter. " - Damien Chazelle " When you’re trying to paint a portrait of a very specific world, you’re trying to show what makes the world different. So, sometimes it means exaggerating certain kind of aspects, but I don’t think it’s that important or it’s that much of an issue as long as you get an emotional truth across. " - Damien Chazelle " I feel like a lot of directing is casting. " - Damien Chazelle " Practicing is not normally fun. Sometimes people say they’re practicing, but they’re really just enjoying themselves and the instrument. That’s not real practice. " - Damien Chazelle