“Every time I see a film or TV show, I think about how that composer made those choices and how that director envisioned music and how that could work onstage or in a film and how you could support that even further by putting lyrics to it.” ThinkingMadeShowsFilmChoicesSupportTvsDirectorsComposerTv Shows Author:Robert Lopez
“I never feel like a smug or a smart-alec film director, and there are plenty of those around.” FeelsFilmDirectorsSmartPlentyFilm Directors Author:Martin McDonagh
“A singer can quit once he or she has made ten great songs; a director can finish once he or she has made five amazing films; a writer just needs to write three great books.” NeedsWritingMadeBookFilmSongThreeFiveDirectorsTenSingersQuittingGreat Book Author:Alber Elbaz
“I think a good director casts a film so that the actors bring a lot to the table.” ThinkingFilmActorsDirectorsTablesCastsGood Directors Author:Debbie Allen
“One casting director told me, 'You're the next Leonardo DiCaprio,' and when I heard that, I said, 'Let's talk about how I don't want anything to do with being like Leo.' He's an amazing actor, but the films we're pushing to do are different. I'm going my own way--in a big way.” WayWantSaidDifferentBigsFilmNextActorsMy OwnHeardDirectorsPushingCastingLeonardoCasting Directors Author:Devon Sawa
“As a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. And my own passion was that I wanted to be a film director. I realized that being an astronaut was not going to be an option, so I said, "Well, I'm going to be a director and do films in space."” WellsSaidKidsWantedFilmPassionMy OwnSpaceDirectorsI RealizedAstronautFilm Directors Author:Alfonso Cuaron
“A director on a film really sets the tone of how people go about things, so everybody is happy to be at work and everybody does their best.” PeopleDoeFilmDirectorsTone Author:James Franco
“Film is the manipulative medium par excellence. When you think back on the history of film and the 20th century, you see the propaganda that's been made. So there are moral demands on the director to treat the spectators as seriously as he or she takes himself and not to see them merely as victims that can be manipulated to whatever ends they have.” ThinkingMadeEndsFilmMoralCenturyDirectorsDemandTreatsVictimExcellenceMediumsPropaganda20th CenturySpectatorsManipulative Author:Michael Haneke
“Awards are important for all directors because they improve your working conditions. You're only as good as your last film, so if you get prizes or large audiences, then you get more money for your next film.” IfsImportantLastsFilmNextAudienceConditionsDirectorsPrizeAwardsMore MoneyWorking Conditions Author:Michael Haneke
“If a director, I believe, has vision and knows so clearly what they want, then you can have a film that can perform. Whereas you can have done 50 movies, but if you're unsure this time, your movie may not turn out.” IfsKnowsWantBelieveMayDoneFilmTurnsI BelieveVisionDirectorsUnsure Author:Nate Parker
“Today the average inhabitant of the western hemisphere knows a little of everything. He has the newspaper on his breakfast table and wireless within reach. For the evening there is the film, cards, or a meeting to complete a day spent in the office or factory where nothing that is essential has been learnt. With slight variation this picture of a low cultural average holds good over the entire range from factory-hand of clerk to manager or director. Only the personal will to culture, in whatever field and however pursued raises modern man above this level.” KnowsMenLittlesHas BeensHandsTodayFilmCultureLevelsModernFieldsDirectorsEssentialsOfficeLowsRaisesTablesMeetingsWesternAverageNewspapersCardsEveningManagersRangeBreakfastFactoriesPursuedVariationClerksWirelessModern ManHemisphereWithin Reach Author:Johan Huizinga
“I've worked with multiple directors throughout the 'Saw' series with a lot of conversations as they bring their particular installment to the screen. If I've been able to do anything throughout the course of these films, it's been to help shape dialogue and to try to make things as delicate and as intelligent as I can.” IfsTryingI CanHelpingAbleFilmCoursesSawsParticularShapesDirectorsConversationIntelligentSeriesScreensDialogueDelicateMultiple Author:Tobin Bell
“It's hard to be surprised by a film. It's hard to be surprised by another actor or by a director when you've seen enough and been around. So when I am, or when I forget that I'm watching someone's movie, or when I don't know how someone made a certain turn that I didn't expect... You know, I'm in.” KnowsMadeHardEnoughFilmCertainTurnsActorsForgetKnow HowDirectors Author:Brad Pitt
“I come from the theater, so for me rehearsal is vital and a way of life. There are many film directors who don't believe in it and some actors who prefer not to rehearse.” WayBelieveFilmActorsDirectorsTheaterDon't BelieveRehearsalFilm Directors Author:Hugh Jackman
“I think the best work of the director is to listen to what all the technicians around him have to say, but then the thing is to take the best decision, what you think is the best. Then, that is the moment where you have to have all the film in your head and imagine how all of that will fit together.” ThinkingMomentsTogetherFilmDecisionImagineFitDirectorsBest WorkTechnicians Author:Marjane Satrapi
“ADMIRABLY BOLD. There's something grand about the film's sincerity and the intensity of its emotions and something fresh and bold about the way director Gray uses the conventions of romantic melodrama.” WayUseFilmEmotionDirectorsGrayIntensitySincerityConventionsMelodrama Author:A. O. Scott
“In the theater the audience is generally riveted to a single angle of observation. The movie director, though, can rapidly shift from objective to subjective--and to any number of subjective points of view--and in so doing seem to pull the audience directly inside the frame of his picture, giving the spectator the sense of experiencing an action from the viewpoint of a participant. Identification of the viewer with the film character, then, can be much more intimate than the analogous situation in the theater.” GivingCharacterSeemsActionFilmViewsNumbersSituationAudienceDirectorsTheaterPoint Of ViewObjectivesObservationCinemaIntimateAngleViewersSubjectiveSpectatorsParticipantsViewpointsIdentificationMovie Director Author:Ed Murray
“Frankly speaking, I hate comparisons. Two individuals are doing two different films, playing two different characters: how can you compare them? It is not fair to get into ratings. It really doesn't matter what I think about other actresses; what matters is what the directors think of them when they are casting them in a project, because I think it's the director who's behind a successful piece of cinema.” ThinkingTwoDifferentMatterCharacterFilmHateIndividualBehindsSuccessfulPiecesDirectorsProjectsFairsI HateActressesCompareCinemaComparisonWhat MattersCastingRatingNot FairDifferent Characters Author:Katrina Kaif
“There has never been a female director who has won an Oscar. There has only been one woman who won at the Cannes Film Festival.” FilmDirectorsFemaleOscarsFestivalsOne WomanFilm FestivalsCannesCannes Film Festival Author:Salma Hayek
“They offered me that film before I did Frida and I said, no, I'm not capable of directing. Then after seeing Julie direct, I was inspired by it. She motivated me to do it, because we don't have role models as woman for directors.” SaidFilmRolesSeeingDirectorsCapableModelsDirectInspiredMotivatedRole ModelsHappy FridayFrida Author:Salma Hayek
“I love doing film soundtracks and working with directors on how they want the scene to be portrayed on audio as opposed to visual. I like the collaborative effort of working with people.” PeopleWantFilmEffortSceneDirectorsVisualsSoundtracksAudioCollaborative Effort Author:Al Jourgensen
“The director's in charge of every single decision [in film]. It's a dictatorship.It's a benevolent dictatorship, but it's true. It's every single shot. There's nothing arbitrary.” FilmDecisionDirectorsShotsDictatorshipArbitraryBenevolent Author:Matt Damon
“I'm an unusual director in that my cut is usually shorter then the final released film. I like short films.” FilmCuttingDirectorsFinalsUnusualShort Films Author:Barry Sonnenfeld
“I don't ever like to feel myself in the position to demand of an actor that they trust I'm going to do something worthwhile. I feel a responsibility to articulate what it is I'm going to do. Whether that's showing them a full script or sitting down with them and describing my ideas in detail. It's a very healthy burden on me as a film director to be able to articulate what I want to do, to inspire actors, rather than just saying, take it on trust I'll be able to do something worthwhile.” WantFeelsIdeasAbleFilmActorsResponsibilityPositionInspireHealthyDirectorsDemandSittingScriptsDetailsBurdenWorthwhileDescribingSitting DownJust SayingFilm Directors Author:Christopher Nolan
“Any director, if you really ask them, will tell you that the toughest thing to do is like a dinner table or a dialogue scene because you need to keep that electricity maintained throughout the course of the film.” IfsNeedsFilmCoursesAsksSceneDirectorsTablesDinnerDialogueThings To DoElectricityDinner Table Author:Gary Ross
“Movies always fascinated me. They are an endless source of inspiration. There are countless images by great directors that made a profound impression on me, and I see film as a sublime example of teamwork.” MadeInspirationFilmExampleSourceDirectorsProfoundEndlessImpressionTeamworkFascinatedSublimeSource Of Inspiration Author:Giorgio Armani
“When I do a film, usually I work from my director. That's my boss. The director is interpreting the writer's vision, and we all interpret it, and they create their own vision as well.” WellsFilmVisionDirectorsBossInterpreting Author:Juliette Lewis
“Female directors really do need to support each other. Too many times I've been led to believe that my direct competition was other women, as if there can be only a handful of successful female filmmakers a year. That conversation, that perception, needs to change. Women are the people who have helped me make films I love, and I want to be that kind of strength to other women.” PeopleIfsWantNeedsYearsBelieveKindFilmSupportSuccessfulDirectorsConversationPerceptionFemaleDirectCompetitionFilmmakerHandfulNeed A Change Author:Jennifer Phang
“When you have your chance to make a film, don't focus on pleasing everyone. I think the goal is to live in that sweet spot where you focus on making a good film and you have fun with your collaborators, but you don't waste your energy chasing approval every which way. When you have a vision and a good story and you've managed to raise funding, it is your approval as a director that everyone should be seeking. It's very simple.” ThinkingWayShouldStoriesFilmEnergyFunGoalChanceSimpleVisionFocusSweetDirectorsWasteRaisesSeekingSpotsHaving FunApprovalChasingFundingGood StoryCollaboratorsGood FilmsPleasing Everyone Author:Jennifer Phang
“I've always been passionately in love with movies, to such a degree that even as a young person of about nineteen or twenty I thought maybe I would try to become a film director. The reason I didn't do it was because I felt I didn't have the right personality. At that time in my life, I was mortally shy.” TryingPersonsReasonFilmYoungFeltPersonalityDirectorsDegreesTwentiesShyRight PersonNineteenFilm Directors Author:Jonathan Lethem
“In some ways, many of the skills you have as a producer on independent films also apply to making big tentpole films: You surround yourself with a brilliant director, great script and talented people in every department who are smarter than you.” PeopleWayBigsFilmDirectorsSkillsIndependentScriptsBrilliantProducersDepartmentSurroundSmarterSurround YourselfIndependent Film Author:David Heyman
“To have a director that loves his actors is something that you can see in the film and in the fruits of that labor. You can see that translated in the film. When you watch this movie, you can see a director who loves his actors, and it shines through the movie, in my eyes.” EyeFilmActorsWatchesDirectorsLaborShiningFruit Author:Vin Diesel
“I like doing commentary. As a filmmaker and film student, I think it's really interesting to hear what a director did and how they figured out how to do things. I often like the technical commentaries myself.” ThinkingFilmInterestingStudentsDirectorsFilmmakerReally InterestingCommentaryFilm Students Author:Catherine Hardwicke
“Before writing a single note of music, and even before the spotting session, I find it best to sit down with the director and just listen to him or her talk about the film - what they're trying to say, what they want the audience to understand or believe, and a thousand other similar questions. The director has most likely been living with the film for years before a composer is attached, and so the director's inclinations, desires, and understanding of the film are paramount.” WantWritingTryingYearsBelieveFilmDesireUnderstandingAudienceThousandDirectorsNotesComposerInclinationSessionJust ListenParamount Author:John Keltonic
“The process always starts with detailed conversations with the director, followed by a spotting session (deciding where the music goes and doesn't go in the film, and what the music should be saying or not saying) in each scene. This is followed by sending the director demos of each cue for feedback.” ShouldFilmProcessSceneDirectorsConversationFeedbackSessionDemos Author:John Keltonic
“Independent film making is very collaborative. You feel like it's you, the director and other actors and you really feel like you have the final say. When you do the bigger films, the studio has to give the final thumbs up and they're usually not big on risk taking because they're trying to make money.” GivingFeelsTryingBigsFilmActorsRiskLike YouDirectorsBiggerIndependentFinalsStudiosMaking MoneyThumbsRisk-takingIndependent FilmThumbs Up Author:Michael B. Jordan
“Directors like William Friedkin (Killer Joe), Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike) and Lee Daniels (The Paperboy) got in touch with me and wanted me to be part of their films. That was a whole new chapter for me. I didn’t chase any of those films and it made me think that I was right to take a chance, say no to the kind of thing I had grown tired of doing, and wait until something good came around. And it did.” ThinkingKindMadeWholeWantedFilmWaitingChanceMagicDirectorsTiredKillersChaptersMikeTake A ChanceMagic Mike Author:Matthew McConaughey
“You can't have a director say, "Just be you"; you have to have an aim. It's like when you throw darts, you have to know where the bullseye is. You can't just say, "No no no no no, drop the darts. Just stand. We're going to film you." You have to get there indirectly. You have to have me doing something, and then you can get "me."” KnowsFilmDirectorsAimBe YouDartsJust Say NoBullseye Author:Paul Schneider
“When critics or people judge, I think it's harder to make a commercial, pop movie than it is to make a pretentious art film. It's harder to reach millions of people and satisfy them and make them happy. These films kind of get ghettoized, this genre because there are so many big, big movies that are such big hits, but aren't any good. The audiences, they're not judging the style of the director, or the execution of the film. They're just looking to be entertained. They want to escape from their reality, and that's why we make movies, to get people to escape from the realities.” PeopleThinkingWantKindArtBigsRealityFilmMillionsAudienceStyleJudgingDirectorsHarderCriticsPopsGenreExecutionPretentiousBig MovieArt FilmsNot Judging Author:Brett Ratner
“The first film that really knocked me out was Alien by Ridley Scott. This is a great movie because no matter how many times I watch it, I still find myself fully invested in the characters despite the fact I know what is coming. I think it was this type of mastery of storytelling and the ability of bringing the audience so completely into another world that made me want to become a director.” ThinkingKnowsWorldWantFirstsMadeStillsMatterCharacterFactsFilmAbilityWatchesAudienceTypeDirectorsStorytellingDespiteAliensMasteryAnother World Author:Nicholas Ozeki
“I think the power of the short film is incredibly underrated. It is way easier to get someone to watch a 15-minute film then a full-length feature. In those 15 minutes you have the opportunity to express your voice as an artist and hopefully connect with your audience. If you are trying to be a first time feature director then a short film that demonstrates you have a grasp on the themes and concepts of the movie you want to direct is a no-brainer. Whether they are collaborators or potential investors, filmmaking is a visual art form so you obviously need visuals to show them!” IfsThinkingWayWantNeedsTryingFirstsArtShowsFilmFormArtistOpportunityVoiceWatchesAudienceMinutesEasierDirectorsConceptsFirst TimeDirectHopefullyFeaturesThemeVisualsLengthInvestorsFilmmakingVisual ArtCollaboratorsUnderratedShort FilmsNo Brainer Author:Nicholas Ozeki
“I love the variety of films. In theater, you go into a room and the director runs the room, so you all work to his or her method. On film, if an actor or an actress is in for a day or two, the director has to get out of that actor what they need, so they have to change and adapt to that actor's technique.” IfsNeedsTwoRunningFilmActorsRoomsDirectorsTheaterMethodActressesTechniqueVariety Author:Eddie Redmayne
“The thing that I think a director has to have in order to make a movie really work, and to certainly make a film that feels personal, which I hope this one does, is that you have to have a sense of the feeling that you want to create in people, the tone which you want to tell the story, and the basic themes you want to come out. You can't compromise on those because you are then not making the movie that you are going to be good at telling.” PeopleThinkingWantFeelsDoeStoriesFeelingsFilmOrderDirectorsBe GoodCompromiseToneTheme Author:George Nolfi
“You never really know what the director has got in his mind as far as the scene visually and art direction wise, etc. Even if you do, sometimes there's a side of things that don't necessarily gel the way people intend. So there a bit of a mystical entity, film.” PeopleIfsKnowsWayMindArtSometimesFilmBitsSidesWiseSceneDirectorsEtcEntityMysticalArt Direction Author:Guy Pearce
“As a means of supporting experiential element in film, once I begin to work on a particular movie I consider myself to be the tool of the director.” MeanFilmParticularDirectorsElementsTools Author:Jack Nicholson
“There's more emphasis on art and culture in Europe than there is in the United States and I think that a lot of American directors and writers are just trying to copy other American horror films, they don't pick up much in the way that European filmmakers do.” ThinkingWayTryingArtStatesFilmCultureUnitedUnited StatesHorrorDirectorsPicksEuropeFilmmakerCopiesEmphasisHorror FilmArt And Culture Author:Wes Craven
“The truth of the matter is this - I never look for films specifically, because ultimately if the fundamentals of the character and the script and the director aren't there, it makes it a moot point.” IfsLooksMatterCharacterFilmDirectorsFundamentalsScripts Author:Leonardo DiCaprio
“I believe young female directors in particular should always remind themselves of the truths of their own stories and not let outsiders influence the authenticity of their films.” ShouldBelieveStoriesFilmYoungI BelieveInfluenceParticularDirectorsFemaleAuthenticityOutsiders Author:Shahad Ameen
“Most people view female directors as female only, that we only deal with women's issues and women characters. Although most of my films have dealt with women, I do have work that deals with other matters, and I'm always open to different stories regardless of gender.” PeopleDifferentMatterCharacterStoriesFilmViewsDealsIssuesDirectorsFemaleGender Author:Shahad Ameen
“Oliver Stone is a great director and I've seen many films over the years, but I try to create stuff out of my own imagination. I want to break all the rules and mess about with it and make a different movie just for the fun of it.” WantTryingYearsDifferentFilmFunStuffImaginationMy OwnBreakDirectorsStonesMess Author:Anthony Hopkins