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Jack Nicholson – On Film Directing

andrew — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:21:12 +0000

“I tried to utilize whatever professionalism I found myself surrounded by and tried to get people who weren’t going to be frightened. On ‘Drive, He Said’, I had an organised crew and the organized crews that I’ve worked with are really trying to imitate the other crews that I used to work with – the so called disorganized crews. That really means that they had less people working. Every crew is disorganized to a certain degree.

Every movie has a totally different set of circumstances and problems, you know: how do you get the doughnuts from the Grand Canyon Motel down into the gorge and keep the generator running at the same time? It was very much a learning experience. My theory on it was that I didn’t know anything about it to start. I related to somebody who was a professional in their job. I would say, “I don’t really know anything about this, so If I go overboard or if I start bullshitting you in some way, just let me know. I won’t be nervous about it. Just tell me, you know, and I would like to learn because it’s not the only movie I’m going to do.” They were always helpful.

In other words, if you did nothing, the movie would get shot. If you want to sleep all day, the technicians would go on. They have their own style. It’s really how much you affect their style as opposed to vice versa.”

From “Directing The Film – Film Directors on Their Art“,
Eric Sherman, 1976, Acrobat books, Los Angeles.

Takeshi Kitano – On Film Directing.

Andrew Michael Brown — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:29:28 +0000

“On my first film, the crew simply didn’t trust me…I remember arriving on the set the first day and asking the cameraman to set up the first shot. He looked at me warily and asked, “Why do you want to shoot it like that? Why don’t you start with an establishing shot?”

I told him that it was a matter of intuition, that I didn’t feel I needed an establishing shot in that scene. But that didn’t suit him. He insisted that I should give my reasons. I could tell that the whole crew was just as wary as he was. He had another idea in mind, and I had to fight him for an hour before winning the point. It was a very important shot – in fact, it ended up on the cutting-room floor – but it was a matter of principle. I had to impose my credibility as a filmmaker. And that lasted throughout the shoot.”

From “Moviemakers Masterclass – Private Lessons from the World’s Foremost Directors“, Laurent Tirard, 2007, Faber &Faber, New York.

William Friedkin – On Film Directing.

Andrew Michael Brown — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:26:43 +0000

“Directing is a nice job. It’s the best job for me. If i had to pay money to do it, I would do it…It’s problematical. It’s disapointing often. It’s very challenging. It’s frustrating as hell. It’s extremely demanding and totally satisfying work. And if I wasn’t doing this, I would have to do legitimate work for a living. There are guys out there really working for a living, cleaning streets or coal mining, teaching. Directing is playing. Acting.“

From “Directing The Film – Film Directors on Their Art“,
Eric Sherman, 1976, Acrobat books, Los Angeles.