My biggest role as director on the film is keeping a sense of the overview - how to cast the movie and shoot it in such a way that it will cut together. And how to design the style and tone.
David O. Russell is probably my favorite filmmaker. He's not only a great director, but he's also a great writer.
David Mamet was great to work with. He was everything that I thought he would be as a director. He's incredibly articulate, an easy collaborator. Extraordinarily knowledgeable about film and writing.
As for Tenacious D, of course it could work as a full length movie; all it requires is a great writer and great director with an ability to think outside of conventional film comedy.
I've had really great experiences working with first-time directors. They come at filmmaking with fresh ideas. I've been very lucky that way.
I would love to have a part opposite a great actor - like, say, Pacino or De Niro or Hoffman. And to work with a top director. That's my dream.
Things have changed a great deal since the days of Mr. Mayer. The studios no longer control, as they did in those days, artists or directors or producers, as the case may be.
Acting is about animality. It's great to be allowed to be animal. But I feel more alive as a director. Every morning, I have to write.
I've been lucky enough to work with some great directors, and I don't want to throw that away by doing one big horrible big budget film.
My first time playing a main character was in 'Seventeen Years.' It was directed by famous Sixth Generation director Zhang Yuan, but it wasn't a large commercial film.
The first movie I did was 'Dan in Real Life,' which was directed by Peter Hedges, the same director who did 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green.'
When you have the cast, the sets, the lights, an opera takes on its own life. I'm not one of those directors who marches in with a set of plans.
I guess confidence is the only thing that I take from project to project, but I'm always open to learning everybody's style - the director, the actor I'm working with.
When I was a kid it was much more difficult. You're trying to understand what the director wants. It's a learning process. Now, you go in and it's more of a collaboration.
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.
You go to New York or L.A., and every waiter wants to be a writer, director or actor. But there's a common thread: everybody wants to do it because they love it.
The beautiful thing about it is that no two directors or actors work the same way. You also learn not to be afraid of discussion and conflict.
When you're making a television show, it's about the story and arc of the show rather than any particular episode or director.
Other people’s lives seem better than yours because you’re comparing their director’s cuts with your behind the scenes.
Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. -Frank Zappa, composer, musician, film director (1940-1993)
To be honest, the real reason I did 'Drive' was because of Nicolas Winding Refn, the director.
