Nina Paley: Quotes about thinking

“I think artists do need to do work with no contract, because what we're motivated by is not money. We're motivated by a need to express ourselves and to get our ideas out.”

Nina Paley

"Copying Is Not Theft: Against Copyright Tyranny (by Nina Paley)" (25 March 2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2p_BAjC7C8#t=25m21s
Context: You don't deserve to be paid because you choose to do something that somebody else may, or may not, want. If you want to be paid for your work, you negotiate that beforehand. Otherwise I would just be walking around talking. Here I am talking now. "You owe me money", right? … It's up to you whether or not you want to do work with no contract. I think artists do need to do work with no contract, because what we're motivated by is not money. We're motivated by a need to express ourselves and to get our ideas out. That's the motivation. It turns out that when people like it they frequently will support you if you give them a means, but this is not a contract.

Money , Motivation , Idea , Thinking

“In ten years I think the [copyright] laws are going to be worse and I also think they are going to be less relevant. I mean, already the difference between the laws and people's behaviour, It's like they're different planets.”

Nina Paley

" 'Intellectual disobedience' and the future of copyright: Nina Paley interviewed at Foo (2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcJqxIyFv4s#t=4m25s" 
Context: In ten years I think the [copyright] laws are going to be worse and I also think they are going to be less relevant. I mean, already the difference between the laws and people's behaviour, It's like they're different planets. I'm not hopeful for the laws changing. A lot of other people are, so maybe we will have meaningful copyright reform. I doubt it. I don't think it matters. I think the tools are available for people to create and share culture and they're going to do that and they might be doing it illegaly and at a certain point it's going to be more than the system can handle. I will say that if the power structure as it exists wants to continue they're going to have to reform because it's not sustainable. Copyright law as it is, it's just completely out of touch with human behaviour.

People , Law , Thinking

“I don't think distributors are cheating or evil or anything like that, I just think that the business model is unsustainable so they truly don't have money.”

Nina Paley

8m31s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eazIth4orfM#t=8m31s
Power to the Pixel (2009)
Context: I don't think distributors are cheating or evil or anything like that, I just think that the business model is unsustainable so they truly don't have money. There's just not much money in this particular model.

Money , Business , Thinking , Evil

“I love money! Just because it's free doesn't mean I don't like money. And actually I've made more money this way than any distributor said I could possibly make, which isn't much because independent distributors are notoriously without money. So the most money any distributor told me I could possibly hope to make on this film, total, maximum, in my wildest dreams was $50,000, and they said much more realistic would be $10,000 or $25,000 and the biggest advance I was offered, I think, was $20,000 and that's for locking up all the rights.”

Nina Paley

5m05s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eazIth4orfM#t=5m05s
Power to the Pixel (2009)

Love , Money , Dreams , Hope

“Because I didn't sell it to a distributor, it can be in lots of film festivals. It's been in, I think, at least 200 festivals, it's won more than 35 awards which is great. I like that! If I had gone with a distributor they would have immediately said no to film festivals which I do not understand why distributors do, but that's what they do.”

Nina Paley

14m15s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eazIth4orfM#t=14m15s
Power to the Pixel (2009)

Understanding , Thinking