Frederick Wiseman

My goal is to make as many films as possible about different aspects of American life.

In moviemaking, you learn to pay attention to detail, because so much is in the detail. And when you're shooting, you try to be very alert to what's going on, even if you're tired.

I don't like to read novels where the novelist tells me what to think about the situation and the characters. I prefer to discover for myself.

You have to edit the material. That assumes that some kind of a mind is operating in relation to the material. Not all minds are the same. Every aspect of filmmaking requires choice. The selection of the subject, the shooting, editing and length are all aspects of choice.

Anybody whose mind is functioning at all can't be content with the way the world works.

I hope that not only my documentaries, but everybody's documentaries, last. It will really confuse historians in the next century, because they'll have, in addition to all the print material, they'll have all these pictures to look at.

Whether you're a newspaper journalist, a lawyer, a doctor. You have to organize your thoughts.