Being There

“Being There. The thing about this movie that I absolutely love is the outtakes. Him corpsing and not being able to stop giggling when they’re trying to shoot the scene with him lying on the bed... Peter Sellers is one of the best and look at him, he’s like giggling and losing it. Also, just because the whole setup of the story and the way it explores what it is to be human and thoughtful and living sentient beings and also what intelligence is in terms of how we approach life.”

“Being There, Hal Ashby, Peter Sellers, brilliant genius, so funny. I feel like I could watch it over and over again, which is one of the reasons.”

“I wanted to take a movie about the industry of making movies and combine it with satire and I borrowed and stole very obviously, not even subtly, from one of the greatest satires ever made, and that's Hal Ashby's Being There. This movie is edited and co-written by—although famously he did not get credit for the writing—Leslie Jones's father. Leslie Jones cut my film and cut some of the other films in this as well.”

“This is the one right here, Being There. Oh, I love Hal Ashby, I love this movie so much. Peter Sellers, this Performance is pure joy. God bless God for making Peter Sellers. If you're ever down and feeling like I can't go on, just put this on, it'll cheer you right up.”

“That’s Being There. I watched it with my dad when I was growing up and we still quote it all the time. And the final shot is still one of the best shots of all time, I think.”

“Being There oh my god this is great Peter Sellers Peter Sellers Performance was again I borrowed you know just or was inspired by let's say his character for again for the Dougie character in Twin Peaks: The Return I just the childlike quality that he had in his eyes and just the wonder and the way he looked at the world it was very helpful to me...”

“Being There. We named the record after this movie. I always thought that the character of Chauncey Gardner represented to me the way a lot of rock music is perceived in the world like simple aphorisms that are expanded upon and intellectualized when it's something much more earthy and connected to simplicity than people want to allow it to be. So that record that means a lot to me.”

“Being There, pull that down. I love that movie. Why pick this one, to demonstrate how tall I am? Yeah. Oh my gosh. Chauncey Gardiner, one of the great characters in movies. And I knew Hal Ashby, too. I used to go to his place in Malibu and watch him edit on a big flatbed. That’s a really, really great movie.”

“I went through a period where I thought if I was going to do a musical, I would like to do a musical of Being There because it would be an interesting challenge. I asked Sondheim if he would be interested in doing it and he said, 'But the central character is a cipher, he doesn't sing.' I said, 'I know, but it forces other people to sing at him.' That's an interesting dynamic, don't you think? Watch Being There. Peter Sellers, perhaps his greatest Performance.”

“Being There? I got Being There. You're good. Wait, on Blu-ray? I think so.”