“Most of the time I've worked with directors who write their own scripts. The story is more important to me than the part. The project of the film has always been more important to me.” WritingImportantStoriesFilmDirectorsProjectsScripts Author:Catherine Deneuve
“Definitely the script because you want to be part of an interesting story, you want your character to be a challenge, then comes the director. But essentially it's the script first and whether it's a character that you think you can do.” ThinkingWantFirstsCharacterStoriesCan DoChallengesInterestingDirectorsScriptsInteresting Stories Author:Eric Bana
“I think the dictator director is based upon stories from the past. I don't think anyone would put up with it now. There are a lot of people on a film set with egos. So, to be completely authoritarian, you'd probably have to have a reputation like Kurosowa or somebody to get away with it.” PeopleThinkingStoriesPastFilmDirectorsEgoReputationGet AwayDictatorFilm Set Author:Colin Firth
“There's no point in it unless it's a story that you really want to tell. It's a nebulous job. Unless you're doing it well, you're not doing anything. And there are a few of those. It's perfectly possible to be a passenger on a film set because if somebody else has written it, you can make nothing of that role and that's exactly what bad directors do.” IfsWantWellsStoriesJobsFilmRolesWrittenDirectorsNo PointPassengersFilm Set Author:Colin Firth
“I think film is a director's medium and the good filmmakers that I like tell the darker stories. Therefore, I'm always inclined to follow people like David Cronenberg.” PeopleThinkingStoriesFilmDirectorsMediumsFilmmaker Author:Naomi Watts
“I'm always 100% committed to a character, a story and a director, and with Michael Mann it was 1,000%. I don't know how to explain this.” KnowsCharacterStoriesKnow HowDirectorsCommitted Author:Marion Cotillard
“Most films and directors lose their nerve and want to indicate [emotions] a bit more, to show that their story is clear. I'm not saying that's a good thing; as an actor its anathema to good acting, but to have someone with the confidence to say that should I be utterly natural and minimalist is great.” WantShouldStoriesShowsFilmActorsBitsLosesNaturalActingEmotionClearDirectorsGood ThingsNervesShould IMinimalistAnathemaGood Acting Author:Matt Damon
“Every film had its own grammar. And it's your job as a director to basically figure out a language to tell a story.” StoriesJobsFilmLanguageFiguresDirectorsGrammar Author:Darren Aronofsky
“If the audience gets everything, if they see the photography and notice that it is good, then the story goes out the window, but if you become involved with the lives of the actors and forget that you are seeing mechanical devices on a huge screen - forget the make-believe - this is the job of the director to involve the audience with the actors.” IfsBelieveStoriesJobsActorsForgetAudienceSeeingHugeInvolvedDirectorsPhotographyWindowScreensDevicesMake Believe Author:Frank Capra
“I don't really distinguish between a fictional hero and a real life hero as a basis for any comparison. To me, a hero is a hero. I like making pictures about people who have a personal mission in life or at least in the life of a story who start out with certain low expectations and then over achieve our highest expectations for them. That's the kind of character arc I love dabbling in as a director, as a filmmaker.” PeopleKindRealCharacterStoriesCertainAchieveHeroDirectorsHighestLowsExpectationsBasesMissionsReal LifeFilmmakerComparisonArcsMissions In LifeLow ExpectationsDabblingPersonal Mission Author:Steven Spielberg
“It takes great skill to tell a compelling story in under 60 seconds. These five directors have mastered the format, using their talent, craft and imagination to provide us with some of the most innovative filmmaking out there today.” StoriesTodayActorsImaginationFiveTalentDirectorsSkillsCraftsMovieSecondsFilmmakingCompellingInnovativeFormat Author:Michael Apted
“I think it's possible to be free in a big production. It's the eye of the director and the actor and the story.” ThinkingStoriesBigsEyeActorsDirectorsProductions Author:Adam Driver
“If I had not been successful as a director, then I'm sure I would still be telling stories. I would have continued on 16mm or found a different medium through which to tell them. Maybe they would have been less glamorous than films, but I would continue to tell stories.” IfsHas BeensStillsDifferentStoriesFilmFoundSuccessfulDirectorsMediumsGlamorousTelling Stories Author:Pedro Almodovar
“I think that too often we, film directors, think that a big epic novel and feature film are the same. It's a lie. A feature film is much closer to a short story actually.” ThinkingStoriesBigsFilmLyingNovelDirectorsFeaturesShort StoryEpicFilm Directors Author:Pirjo Honkasalo
“Nollywood is a genre, and not the entire Nigerian film industry. However none of the 'New wave' of directors in Nigeria would know what was possible without the Nollywood model, so I'm grateful to them for showing us that our stories are of interest to people other than Nigerians. I would describe myself as a filmmaker, period.” PeopleKnowsStoriesFilmInterestIndustryPeriodsDirectorsModelsGratefulWaveGenreFilmmakerNigeriaFilm IndustryDescribe Myself Author:Chika Anadu
“We learnt a lot because we got in with real choreographers who tell you what they need from a song, because a song has to advance the story. Then real directors like Mike Nichols tell you where you can have 'B themes' and 'C themes', and we go oh yes, B themes and C themes! So we were taught in the finest school amongst the finest people. And also by the school of experience.” PeopleNeedsRealStoriesSchoolSongTaughtDirectorsThemeFinestMikeChoreographersLike Mike Author:Eric Idle
“I walked around my apartment with food in my mouth asking myself: "How do I come up with this voice?" Then I found the voice. I called the director and said on the phone: "Guess who you're talking to Chris? Sid, that's right Sid!" And that's how I came up with the voice. That's a true story.” SaidStoriesFoundVoiceTalkingDirectorsMouthsAskingPhonesCome UpApartmentTrue StorySids Author:John Leguizamo
“With my personal work I prefer not to work from storyboards because being a director, producer and animator in one person I don't have to communicate my idea to anyone else, I can keep the feeling of the story, the story arc and structure in my head.” PersonsI CanIdeasStoriesFeelingsDirectorsStructureCommunicateProducersArcsAnimator Author:Signe Baumane
“There are so many female directors coming into the industry and a lot of them have important stories they want to tell that seem to fall a little bit more on the indie level.” WantLittlesImportantStoriesSeemsFallBitsLevelsIndustryDirectorsLittle BitFemale Author:Anne Fletcher
“I wanted to know as the director how the actors wanted to tell this story I wanted to know what they thought.” KnowsStoriesWantedActorsDirectors Author:Paul Bettany
“To the documentary director the appearance of things and people is only superficial. It is the meaning behind the thing and the significance underlying the person that occupy his attention... Documentary approach to cinema differs from that of story-film not in its disregard for craftsman-ship, but in the purpose to which that craftsmanship is put. Documentary is a trade just as carpentry or pot-making. The pot-maker makes pots, and the documentarian documentaries.” PeoplePersonsStoriesFilmPurposeBehindsAttentionDirectorsApproachTradeAppearanceShipsCinemaSignificanceMakersPotSuperficialDocumentariesDisregardCraftsmanCraftsmanshipCarpentry Author:Paul Rotha
“I don’t want to be an editor! I don’t want to direct; I’d be a horrible director. I don’t want to write - I have a “story by” credit on one film I did. And I don’t want to edit at all.” WantWritingStoriesFilmDirectorsDirectCreditHorribleEditorsEdits Author:Topher Grace
“I love telling truthful honest stories. I suppose I'd love the opportunity to be a superhero within a realistic dramatic piece. It would have opportunity for humor too of course. And ideally I would be the writer/director? (Though I suppose if I was, it is POSSIBLE I would give myself a meaty but smaller part so I could focus on the latter of my duties... Maybe).” IfsGivingStoriesWould BeCoursesOpportunityFocusPiecesHonestDutyDirectorsDramaticLatterTelling The TruthRealisticTruthfulSuperhero Author:E.J. Bonilla
“Every director is different. One of the great things about getting to work with so many directors in one TV series is collaborating with different artistic visions and voices. And they all have something to offer and making the story better and bringing their vision to what you see in the frame.” DifferentStoriesVoiceVisionTvsOffersDirectorsSeriesGreat ThingsArtisticTv SeriesCollaboratingArtistic Vision Author:Beau Willimon
“The test for me, when I read other people's scripts, is whether I feel like there's something about me that is the best person to tell this story. I have a pretty high bar for myself. There's a lot of scripts that I read and think, "Oh, this is great, but I think there are 50 other directors who could bring this to the cinema."” PeopleThinkingFeelsPersonsStoriesDirectorsTestsScriptsBarsCinemaBest Person Author:Francesca Gregorini
“Directors go their whole career without being able to tell personal stories and to work with a cast as talented as they are.” WholeStoriesAbleCareersDirectorsCastsPersonal Stories Author:Christian Bale
“I do a film because I like the story and I want to give life to a character - I don't necessarily have to agree with the director.” WantGivingCharacterStoriesFilmDirectorsAgree Author:Kristin Scott Thomas
“A director can come from anywhere, but having a story background, if you have nothing else, is probably a good thing to have because it's really the one tool you need.” IfsNeedsStoriesDirectorsToolsGood ThingsBackgrounds Author:Dan Scanlon
“When I made 'Real Steel,' the director actually had the robots in the monitor, so he knew where everything was. So technically, there's been advancements. But at the end of the day, movies are about story and characters, so all the other stuff is great, but unless you have those two elements, then you've got nothing.” MadeTwoRealEndsCharacterStoriesStuffDirectorsElementsThe End Of The DaySteelRobotsAdvancementReal Steel Author:Hugh Jackman
“Interestingly, my first director's cut was an hour and forty-one minutes. Then, the studio actually wanted to add more to the story, so we went all the way up to an hour and forty-seven minutes. After that, I made some additional cuts and now we are where we are.” WayFirstsMadeStoriesWantedHoursCuttingMinutesDirectorsAddSevenStudiosFortyOne Minute Author:Kim Jee-woon
“The greatest directors are the greatest users. They use people's talents to tell the story that they want to tell.” PeopleWantStoriesUseTalentDirectorsUsers Author:Janusz Kaminski
“I was working with actors who were very easy to work with, but I can just imagine how, with all the other decision-making problems that come up along the way, in addition to that, the whole point of what your doing is following performance and character development. You're building your story with those building blocks, and it is not easy. I've only come out with more respect for directors, from this.” WayI CanWholeCharacterStoriesProblemActorsEasyDecisionImagineBuildingDevelopmentDirectorsPerformancesCome UpFollowingBlockDecision MakingCharacter DevelopmentBuilding Blocks Author:Rick Heinrichs
“Also, to get to work with serious filmmakers on this kind of a movie, has elevated these movies. We were so lucky, as actors, that the crew of directors that we've gotten to work with are totally really super high-end filmmakers. But, Bill Condon had a vision and it was so specific. He's really passionate. I think he's taken the story to another level.” ThinkingKindEndsStoriesActorsLevelsVisionTakenSeriousLuckyDirectorsBillsPassionateFilmmakerCrewSo Lucky Author:Elizabeth Reaser
“If I get lucky and I can choose, I would always choose a really good story and screenplay, even if I don't know the director. If there's a good screenplay, there's a chance that something good is going to happen.” IfsKnowsI CanStoriesHappensChanceLuckyDirectorsGood StoryScreenplays Author:Ayelet Zurer
“I've done so many movies with first-time directors, and honestly I just go with gut instinct. People that usually can tell me a good story, and talk to me about why the movie is the movie they want to make. I just go with my gut.” PeopleWantFirstsDoneStoriesDirectorsFirst TimeInstinctHonestlyGutsGood StoryTalk To MeGut Instinct Author:Neal H. Moritz
“Some directors can tell stories and it becomes very intimate and small, and it's almost like a secret. Some directors have the gift of finding a way to show it and tell the story, in a way that brings in the audience.” WayStoriesShowsSecretAudienceDirectorsFindingsIntimate Author:Noomi Rapace
“You are the director of your own life story. Don't cast idiots or people will walk out during your 2nd act.” PeopleStoriesWalksDirectorsCastsIdiotLife Story Author:Dane Cook
“One of the things that's awesome about being an actor is that you get to do stories, live lives and have experiences that you never could have even conceived of, and that's because you're living in another writer's imagination and another director's imagination.” StoriesActorsImaginationDirectorsLive Life Author:Brit Marling
“When you're directing an ongoing series, the tone has already been set. So a director will come in and fulfill that tone - reinforce the characters and their behavior. The challenge is to find unique ways that you can visually tell the story while keeping the established tone and the pace and the characters.” WayCharacterStoriesChallengesDirectorsBehaviorUniqueSeriesTonePaceOngoing Author:Bryan Cranston
“Sometimes I'll go for something more because of the story, or more because of the director. But, generally, I have to feel like it's something that I have a real sympathy for - a person that I can completely go, "Oh, wow, oh, I'm there." Otherwise I don't feel like I will be able to pull it off at all. I know I haven't done everything very well in the past; some things have worked and some things haven't. But I need to feel like I can feel about the person, understand that person, I suppose.” KnowsNeedsFeelsWellsPersonsI CanRealSometimesDoneStoriesAblePastHavensDirectorsWow Author:Guy Pearce
“Every time you start a movie is to explore with a director and if you can with the actors and with the other collaborators and try to figure out what's the best way to tell the specific story.” IfsWayTryingStoriesActorsFiguresDirectorsBest WayCollaborators Author:Emmanuel Lubezki
“We are fortunate to have such an esteemed filmmaker join the Marvel family. The talents Ryan [Coogler] showcased in his first two films easily made him our top choice to direct 'Black Panther.' Many fans have waited a long time to see Black Panther in his own film, and with Ryan we know we've found the perfect director to bring T'Challa's story to life.” KnowsFirstsLongMadeTwoStoriesFilmChoicesFoundBlackPerfectFansTalentDirectorsLong TimeDirectFortunateFilmmakerPanthersBlack Panther Author:Kevin Feige
“Acting is always more fun for me.I love being a part of a story, I love collaborating, I love working with different directors. If I just directed more and more, it would lessen the opportunity to work with all these big directors that I've had the opportunity to work with.” IfsDifferentStoriesBigsOpportunityFunLove IsActingDirectorsCollaborating Author:John Krasinski
“Film is definitely a director's medium. They're responsible for the look and everything, and you're a part of that process as an actor, and you try to contribute to the story. But I think it might sound a little pretentious for me to say I think of myself as an artist. I think of myself as a creative person.” ThinkingTryingLooksLittlesPersonsStoriesMightFilmArtistActorsProcessSoundCreativeDirectorsResponsibleMediumsPretentiousCreative Person Author:Owen Wilson
“I have an association that director means total authority. Director means they will never let you down. Director means just trust them and fulfill their vision, and know that the story will be told in its best incarnation.” KnowsMeanStoriesVisionDirectorsAuthorityAssociationIncarnation Author:Bryce Dallas Howard
“I think that there is a real beauty to the live aspect of the theater, and the working with a director for a month on a script in the isolation of a room and really deeply delving into who are these people, what is the story we're telling, how do we want to tell it?” PeopleThinkingWantRealStoriesRoomsMonthsDirectorsAspectTheaterScriptsIsolationReal BeautyReally DeepDelving Author:Karen Allen
“I don't really think I have the personality. I am not very external. I don't want to dance on the table and do impressions. So I think that the way I approach it is really loving story. That's my first love - the words. The words and the story and how to create images. I guess I come at that as a director. I think that's much more in my personality to be a director, so that's kind of informed my acting.” ThinkingWayWantFirstsKindStoriesActingPersonalityDirectorsApproachTablesImpressionFirst Love Author:Jodie Foster
“Being a creative person. It's so much more rewarding when you find things on your own, to live whatever the writers are writing or to display what the director is looking for. You are the thing that everybody uses to get the story out.” WritingPersonsStoriesUseCreativeDirectorsDisplayCreative Person Author:Laura Bell Bundy
“First, there has been a lot of interest in The Drive-in, but, alas, it hasn't actually come to fruition. Maybe soon. Don really got Bubba and I didn't think it could be a film. I thought it was too odd to make it to film. He asked me to do the screenplay, but I declined. I didn't see that it could be a screenplay but he wrote one and proved me wrong. He was always considerate about what I thought about the film and the story's presentation, but in the end, he's the director and he had to make decisions. All good ones.” ThinkingFirstsHas BeensEndsStoriesFilmInterestDecisionDirectorsOddAlasPresentationScreenplaysConsiderateFruitionBubba Author:Joe R. Lansdale
“Some of my favorite scenes aren't in the movie. Because you, at some point, realize that your responsibility as director is purely to the story. It's not to your pleasure.” StoriesRealizingPleasureResponsibilitySceneDirectorsMy Favorite Author:Mark Ruffalo