Nicolas Winding Refn Net Worth

Nicolas Winding Refn's Quotes

• Like all art forms, film is a media as powerful as weapons of mass destruction; the only difference is that war destroys and film inspires.
• The auteur theory is such a strange theory, because you're dealing with human beings. You only make good stuff if your collaborators are a part of your process and a part of your ideas, and there's no point in fighting them or them fighting you. Even Ingmar Bergman had a lot of discussions with his actors about pros and cons. An auteur doesn't have to write every single word, because the writer's there to help the director do what the director wants to do, and that was certainly my case.
• [on Ryan Gosling] The thing with Ryan, you can look at him for hours. Very few actors have that. It's a gift.
• Well, art is an act of violence. It is about penetration, about speaking to our subconscious and our moods at different levels.
• [on casting Kristin Scott Thomas in Only God Forgives (2013)] I was initially looking for an unknown in the role and then I heard she was interested through the grapevine. So I went to Paris to meet her and very quickly realized she had no problem in turning on the bitch switch. But she said, 'In order for me to do this, I need to transform'. And I said, ''You're preaching to the choir, baby'.

Interesting Facts about Nicolas Winding Refn

1. Danish Film School drop-out.
2. Son of Anders Refn.
3. Owned a film company called Jang Go Star, which went bankrupt.
4. Half-brother of Kasper Winding. Ex brother-in-law of Brigitte Nielsen.
5. Favorite movies are Valley of the Dolls (1967), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Carrie (1976), Suspiria (1977), The Shining (1980), Escape from New York (1981), Casino (1995), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
6. He once stated that his greatest source of inspiration is Martin Scorsese and his films. As a salute to him, he used the main theme from Scorsese's Casino (1995) in the opening sequence of Bleeder (1999).
7. Of his Pusher trilogy, he prefers the third movie, because it's the most experimental and risky one.
8. Lars von Trier offered him a chance to direct Dear Wendy (2005), but he turned it down. According to Refn, it was largely because he felt von Trier was condescending to him and ignored his request of help in negotiating a deal so Refn could buy back the rights to the original "Pusher". Refn says he had told von Trier how important it was to him and was hurt when von Trier seemed to ignore his plea.
9. In 2003, a biography, written by famed journalist Henrik List, was published about Nicolas, spanning his earlier years from Pusher (1996) to Fear X (2003).
10. He and his wife Liv Corfixen are the subjects of a theatrical documentary called Gambler (2006). The documentary follows the couple from their financial struggle after the failure of Fear X (2003) to the successful completion of the "Pusher" trilogy.
11. Due to the commercial failure of Fear X (2003), he was forced to expand his successful debut feature Pusher (1996) into a trilogy. The sequels became huge successes and saved him financially.
12. Avid toy collector. In particular Japanese robots, Dr. Who Daleks, and replica Thunderbird vehicles.
13. In 2008, he started a new production company called JGS (Jang Go Star) with longtime friends and business associates 'Lene Borglum' and Thor Sighvatsson.
14. In his native Denmark, Nicolas is known as l'Enfant Sauvage (the Wild Child).
15. Despite directing Drive (2011), he doesn't have a drivers' license. He failed his driving test 8 times.
16. Is a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki whom he considers one of the great masters and frequently watches his films together with his daughters.
17. He's a fan of Breaking Bad (2008).
18. Is a huge fan of John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981).
19. Is a fan of the comic book series "The Incal" written by Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Jean 'Moebius' Giraud.
20. Member of the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) since 2016.