Jonathan Kolia “Jon” Favreau (pronounced /ˈfævroʊ/; born October 19, 1966) is an American movie director, actor, comedian, screenwriter, and voice actor. He appeared in such movies as Elf (in which he was also the director) and Open Season (but got replaced by Matt Taylor for the rest of the series).
1: “For a movie – any movie – to work, all the bread has to fall jelly side up; everything has to go right. You have to hit the zeitgeist.”
2: “Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’ set the bar very high for the superhero movie, as it showed that you could get a great cast for these movies and take a real filmmaker’s perspective.”
3: “I remember the first script I wrote after ‘Swingers’ was a Western, and I just couldn’t get it made.”
4: “I cooked a little bit in my first movie; I did a movie called ‘Made.’ For the little kid in the movie, I do a scene where I’m preparing a pasta puttanesca. I always loved watching that scene.”
5: “I was 22 and had worked on Wall Street for a year, and quit my job. I bought a motorcycle and sort of had this fantasy that I’d go cross-country like ‘Easy Rider.’ I went from New York to L.A., and on the way back, I stopped in Chicago and saw a friend of mine who was into improv. And I figured it might be fun to give it a shot.”
6: “Especially in the food business, critics take very seriously how much power they have. They can shut a restaurant down.”
7: “There is nothing as fun as making a cultural splash with a movie. Sometimes the splash happens, like with ‘Swingers,’ where it sort of slowly ripples out, yet everybody could quote it. Or it could be something like ‘Elf,’ where you just make a big splash right off the bat when the movie comes out.”
8: “I like happy endings in movies. I think life has a happy ending. When it’s all said and done, it’s all something worthwhile, and I want my movies to reflect that. There are enough things to be sad about. When you pop in a movie, let the message be one that’s one of hope.”
9: “I don’t think I’m egotistical as much as I’m taking responsibility for what I’m putting out there.”
10: “I did a guest thing on ‘My Name Is Earl,’ and there is something about being involved in a TV show that’s in the midst of its popularity that frees up the creative process.”
11: “I’ve always been fascinated by chefs and the worlds of chefs – what they do is incredibly cinematic.”
12: “Get the shading right, the lighting right, and there are things you can do to make the CGI look more real. People end up going crazy and give themselves a little too much freedom in how they use CGI, and if you overuse it, it draws attention to itself.”
13: “Ever since I read ‘Kitchen Confidential,’ I saw a little light bulb go off. Being a chef is like being on a pirate ship; it’s not like ‘Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?’ or whatever my impression was as I was growing up.”
14: “It’s great to be able to connect parents with children both emotionally and through humor. I look forward to exploring family entertainment once again and examining the specifics of our day-to-day lives against the backdrop of an extraordinary adventure.”
15: “For me, I love food. It’s my greatest pleasure and also the thing that could ruin you as well. It’s one of those things where, if you’re not thoughtful about it, it could be unhealthy. But if there’s a mindfulness about it; it actually is a wonderful tool of emotional expression.”
16: “Online theft has changed the business model of filmmaking because the DVD market is very soft. So, more ambitious, compelling, character-driven narrative of a certain budget level isn’t really a viable business model in the eyes of the studios right now.”
17: “For years, I was watching other people have so much fun playing out their version of authorship, like Louis C.K. and Larry David. As I watched them do their thing, I began to pine for the days when I had a lot less expected of me and, often, a lot more creative freedom. The courage that those guys have is always captivating to me.”
18: “I’ve cut myself out… I’ve cut scenes out that I was in and that’s when you realize that you’ve got to make the best movie you can.”
19: “Acting is the most fun. I like to do it and it’s great that I can still do that, but you know, you don’t really have a lot of control over things, so it’s real hit or miss.”
20: “The irony is that the more unapologetically sexist men are in movies, the more women tend to be attracted to them in person.”