"My sense is, I think it's okay for directors to do movies that speak to other work in their career"
About this Quote
Reitman is giving cover to a move audiences already sense: directors don’t just make standalone products, they build a body of work that talks to itself. The hedging - "My sense is, I think" - is doing real labor. It’s the soft language of someone in an industry that punishes grand theories while quietly living by them. He’s not laying down doctrine; he’s granting permission, which matters in Hollywood, where the word "career" can sound like a brand strategy and "referential" can be dismissed as self-indulgent.
The phrase "okay" is the tell. It implies an invisible jury: critics who accuse filmmakers of repeating themselves, studios that want reliable formulas but bristle at anything that looks too personal, and viewers who demand novelty while rewarding familiarity. Reitman’s line slips between those pressures by reframing repetition as conversation. "Speak to other work" is almost modestly literary, a way of saying: themes, tonal signatures, even running gags and moral preoccupations are not creative stagnation; they’re continuity.
Contextually, Reitman is a good messenger for this argument. His films sit in that popular sweet spot where auteurism is rarely granted, even when it’s earned. Comedy directors especially get treated like hired hands unless they’re loudly stylized. Reitman’s intent is to normalize the idea that mainstream entertainment can have an internal logic and evolving concerns - that a director’s filmography can be a long-form statement, even when it arrives packaged as a Friday-night crowd-pleaser.
The phrase "okay" is the tell. It implies an invisible jury: critics who accuse filmmakers of repeating themselves, studios that want reliable formulas but bristle at anything that looks too personal, and viewers who demand novelty while rewarding familiarity. Reitman’s line slips between those pressures by reframing repetition as conversation. "Speak to other work" is almost modestly literary, a way of saying: themes, tonal signatures, even running gags and moral preoccupations are not creative stagnation; they’re continuity.
Contextually, Reitman is a good messenger for this argument. His films sit in that popular sweet spot where auteurism is rarely granted, even when it’s earned. Comedy directors especially get treated like hired hands unless they’re loudly stylized. Reitman’s intent is to normalize the idea that mainstream entertainment can have an internal logic and evolving concerns - that a director’s filmography can be a long-form statement, even when it arrives packaged as a Friday-night crowd-pleaser.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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