Alan Ball Quotes

A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.

Architecture and building is about how you get around the obstacles that are presented to you. That sometimes determines how successful you'll be: How good are you at going around obstacles?

An open-minded person running a business might catch a problem faster than a closed-minded person. And when they identify a problem, they can fix it much faster.

'Toybox' is that kind of game that will stretch your mental capacity by doing very simple things like solving an easy puzzle of shooting aliens. You'll just need to do everything at the same time to make it through alive. Just to make things tricky, the tasks change every week so you can't get used to any set.

Be able to meet any deadline, even if your work is done less well than it would be if you had all the time you would have preferred.

Eventually, everyone said, Why don't you direct? It would save time. And that's how it started.

Some people revel in getting their hands dirty. These are the people that make startups grow wildly. People with hustle also tend to be much more agile - they're the water that goes around the rock. These are the people you want around when everything goes wrong. They're also the people you want beside you when everything goes right.

I have ideas that I think might be amusing, and I try them, and if they look right, I carry them out, and if they don't, I throw them out and try something else. I don't agonize about it.

I love to work in all sorts of different situations.

It is Method on 'This is England;' it is. But it can't be Method on every job because it just doesn't work for everything.

If I had written something, and I had written myself into a corner, I didn't abandon it. Because I remembered: There's always more.

When I'm actually making a film and trying to find solutions, I like to watch making-of documentaries about huge films, like 'Gladiator.' That couldn't be more apart from what I'm doing, but you see Ridley Scott facing huge problems and fixing them.

Italians are great improvisers. If something unforeseen happens, they throw up their hands, and they adjust.

Once, right before a show, I realized I'd forgotten shoes. I didn't want to wear my flip-flops onstage because I could trip. I ended up going barefoot, which actually worked out because it became my 'thing.'

And I also trust that there's more than one way to do something.

I believe I can adapt to anything.

I do feel like I have a lot more confidence now. I can shot list the episode before I start, but then, as things happen on set, I know how to adjust so I can still execute the scene completely, and I still know how to make my days.

It would be a great vacation to act in a movie if I weren't directing it. But to do it while you're directing interferes with your concentration, and I wouldn't do that again.

FCA is a culture of leaders and employees that were born out of adversity and who operate without sheet music.

I think I was never home when I was directing, because you're either prepping, shooting, or editing, and then acting at the same time. It's really time-consuming, but it was great fun.

A leader has to find opportunities in any environment.

When I was younger, I was taught to be as versatile as possible.

When you're out there trying to still figure things out, it can just slow things down. So you have to kind of think on your feet, and it makes it kind of fun and exciting and challenging at the same time. But more time is always better for any movie. I think any director would probably tell you that. Any filmmaker, really.

What you have to do is work around whatever the 'circumstances are at a club.

Having a wheel mentality is paramount. It gives you time and space.