A YOUNG DIRECTOR IN HOLLYWOOD
First lessons - nuts and bolts
First lessons - nuts and bolts
1. FIRST LESSON
One day I arrived on set 12 minutes late. My AD took me aside, “Look around, how many people do you see?” “60?” I guessed. “And they’ve all been waiting,” he said, “now multiply those 12 minutes by 60. That makes you 12 hours late.” I’ve never been late again.
One day I arrived on set 12 minutes late. My AD took me aside, “Look around, how many people do you see?” “60?” I guessed. “And they’ve all been waiting,” he said, “now multiply those 12 minutes by 60. That makes you 12 hours late.” I’ve never been late again.
2. THE AD KNOWS
Skip had been a Ranger in Vietnam and had worked on huge movies. For years until he retired, we’d drive to work together at dawn and plan the shooting day. I’d sometimes make fun of his endless lectures but damn if I wasn't prepared by the time we arrived.
Skip had been a Ranger in Vietnam and had worked on huge movies. For years until he retired, we’d drive to work together at dawn and plan the shooting day. I’d sometimes make fun of his endless lectures but damn if I wasn't prepared by the time we arrived.
3. ANXIETY
Everyone on the set would have been so much happier if they only knew how anxious I was. That it often sucks being the authority figure. Lonely, too. And remarkable how much goodwill can be had by revealing your vulnerability. …Occasionally.
Everyone on the set would have been so much happier if they only knew how anxious I was. That it often sucks being the authority figure. Lonely, too. And remarkable how much goodwill can be had by revealing your vulnerability. …Occasionally.
4. CASTING
is second only to the script. The phrase, “the die is cast” pertains to directors as much as to Julius Caesar at the Rubicon. You soon learn that no scene is better than the worst actor in it. Doesn’t matter where you put the camera, no movie is better than its cast.
is second only to the script. The phrase, “the die is cast” pertains to directors as much as to Julius Caesar at the Rubicon. You soon learn that no scene is better than the worst actor in it. Doesn’t matter where you put the camera, no movie is better than its cast.
5. THE SCRIPT
Even if you didn’t write it, the script is your responsibility. If your collaboration with the writer(s) hasn’t produced a screenplay that works, sorry, it’s your fault. Fix it yourself. This isn’t auteur theory. It’s about owning the storytelling.
Even if you didn’t write it, the script is your responsibility. If your collaboration with the writer(s) hasn’t produced a screenplay that works, sorry, it’s your fault. Fix it yourself. This isn’t auteur theory. It’s about owning the storytelling.
6. STOP LOOKING AT YOUR WATCH
The best gift you can give actors is the illusion of having all the time they need. If you’re more concerned with ‘making your day’ than making the scenes work, it always shows. Nobody ever said, ‘that was the best movie ever made on schedule.’
The best gift you can give actors is the illusion of having all the time they need. If you’re more concerned with ‘making your day’ than making the scenes work, it always shows. Nobody ever said, ‘that was the best movie ever made on schedule.’
7. ON THE OTHER HAND
Time is money. It takes a while before you learn how long it takes to pull a wall or light a reverse. Most of all, to trust that what you've got is good enough and to move on. Consider wabi sabi. The perfect is the enemy of the good.
Time is money. It takes a while before you learn how long it takes to pull a wall or light a reverse. Most of all, to trust that what you've got is good enough and to move on. Consider wabi sabi. The perfect is the enemy of the good.
8. IN THE EDITING ROOM.
Shoot red hot. Cut ice cold. Kill your darlings in the service of driving the narrative. Today’s streaming audience holds the remote in one hand and their iPhone in the other. The minute someone’s finger hits “pause,” the movie dies.
Shoot red hot. Cut ice cold. Kill your darlings in the service of driving the narrative. Today’s streaming audience holds the remote in one hand and their iPhone in the other. The minute someone’s finger hits “pause,” the movie dies.
9. STOP. LOOK. LISTEN.
I once spent a two-hour plane ride sitting beside The Maraschino Cherry King. He couldn't stop talking about red dye petroleum distillates and his battles with the FDA. He was the star of his own life, just as every actor is the star of the movie.
I once spent a two-hour plane ride sitting beside The Maraschino Cherry King. He couldn't stop talking about red dye petroleum distillates and his battles with the FDA. He was the star of his own life, just as every actor is the star of the movie.
10. BEST CAREER ADVICE I EVER GOT
1) “Keep your nut small.” 2) “Only make movies you want to see. 3) Don't chase money, let money chase you.” 4) “Working in Hollywood is like trying to fuck a porcupine. It’s a million pricks against just one.”
1) “Keep your nut small.” 2) “Only make movies you want to see. 3) Don't chase money, let money chase you.” 4) “Working in Hollywood is like trying to fuck a porcupine. It’s a million pricks against just one.”
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