The '80s were a time of technical wonder in filmmaking; unfortunately, some colleges didn't integrate their film and theater departments - so you had actors who were afraid of the camera, and directors who couldn't talk to the actors.
McQueen is an astonishing film maker. He uses really unusual shots and builds incredible dramatic tension.
I don't think you can be a great director without knowing a lot about editing.
What I look for in a director is a strong point of view, a clear vision, and an ability to multitask and make decisions on the fly.
Any great director is also someone who is incredibly intelligent about whom they hire around them.
Television is an excellent training ground for a director. If you work consistently in television, as I did, you have to come in on time and on budget. What you are allowed in feature films are, fortunately, more time and a larger budget.
'Predator,' you know, was John McTiernan absolutely at the top of his game.
I mean, yeah, Anne Fletcher was a choreographer, but she was born to be a director. You need to have the ability to figure out people's rhythms. It all starts from the script.
I know that Madonna is not a first-time filmmaker, but I have worked with a lot of first time filmmakers and I have worked with a lot of inexperienced film directors so that never has particularly worried me - I find it quite exciting - but I have never worked with a director who has had so little experience of directing who was so prepared.
Neeraj Pandey is a very smart director.
I think all directors should be animators.
Above all, a director has to be a good captain.
I loved working with Stephen Frears. He's a really fantastic director. He knows what he wants and how to get it.
Priyadarshan has directed over 84 films and more than 150 ad films. With every film, he is growing. He knows his job well; he is thorough. His way of making a film and song or choreographing a scene is entirely different from other directors. He knows how to use an actor's talent and how to handle an actor.
In 'Se7en' and 'Fight Club,' Fincher proved his suave mastery of film violence; in Zodiac, his way of clarifying the many clues in a murder thriller. As he showed in 'The Social Network,' the director also knows that no wound is more toxic than a friend's betrayal.
I don't need a director who's 'good with actors.'...A master manipulator is heaven.
And Later I Thought, I Can't Think How Anyone Can Become a Director Without Learning the Craft of Cinematography.
I've worked with a couple of female directors now, and I think that they're amazing. As good or better than guy directors.
Finding where to put the camera is probably the most important thing you have to learn when you're a young director, and it's something that's a mixture of instinct and technique.
Alex Zamm is probably the most talented director I've ever worked with. He is so good at working with actors and crew and setting up his shots.
I think that's the key to being a director: to be able to get the shot and move on quickly.
I do think that's so much a part of what being a director is - in working with actors - to really try and be sensitive to what each actor needs to get to where he wants to be.
A good director is not an expert in anything in particular. A good director just knows a little bit about everything.
Jason Reitman is an amazing director; he's really amazing with his actors and crew.
Besides being one of the most ambitious projects I have worked on, 'Mercury' has also helped me enhance my skills as a director.
