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Poll: Directors on Directing

A poll by yrnej.
Which of these quotes about the specific mechanics of filmmaking by a director is the most interesting?

Discuss the list here

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Make Your Choice

  1. Vote!

    John Cassavetes

    “In directing you’re really like a host, that everyone’s going to your party, and it’s very difficult for [the crew] to help you get glory. Once they trust that you really are interested in the work, and not in your own perfection, they will work very hard for you. The actors are the same. We all work quietly, and hopefully efficiently, and get it done.”
  2. Vote!

    Alfonso Cuarón

    “When I finish a movie, I don’t ever see the movie again. The moment I finish the color correction and the mix, I never seen any of my movies ever again. I just try to explore what I can learn from the experience and move on.”
  3. Vote!

    Ossie Davis

    “Directing calls for a vision and an itch, a dedicated focus, energy, the ability to be mean and stubborn if you have to, and at times, a little devious.”
  4. Vote!

    Claire Denis

    “I always scout locations first. The apartments, the railway tracks, the café, the canal — I figure out the geography of the film.”
  5. Vote!

    Richard Donner

    "First cuts are a bitch for a director, because it’s been so many months and you put your trust in your editor and you’re going to see your film assembled for the first time. You look at it and go, This is terrible. I hate it."
  6. Vote!

    Atom Egoyan

    “I really prefer producing my films, because in that case you’re not helpless, and you actually do it the way you want. But the moment that you work as a director for hire, and you’re working within a system, then testing is really important for the potential investors, and when things are really not working, then you can’t just walk away from that.”
  7. Vote!

    Federico Fellini

    “A person’s clothes make up part of his character. I draw the character with his costume. Hence, costumes provide an aesthetic objectification that helps to tell the character’s story.”
  8. Vote!

    John Ford

    “When you’re able to distinguish the art of the horizon at the bottom of a frame, or at the top of the frame — but not going right through the center of the frame — when you’re able to appreciate why it’s at the top and why it’s at the bottom, you might make a pretty good picture-maker.”
  9. Vote!

    John Frankenheimer

    "Casting is 65 percent of directing."
  10. Vote!

    Greta Gerwig

    "It's like you're running a marathon and people jump in and run a few miles with you, and then they leave and you're running alone before someone else comes in. But the person who has to push it forward at every step is you."
  11. Vote!

    Jean-Luc Godard

    "A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end...but not necessarily in that order. "
  12. Vote!

    Abbas Kiarostami

    “I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.”
  13. Vote!

    Spike Lee

    “Music is, for me, a great tool of a filmmaker, the same way cinematography, the acting, editing, post-production, the costumes are. You know, to help you tell a story.”
  14. Vote!

    Terrence Malick

    “I film quite a bit of footage, then edit. Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can’t. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.”
  15. Vote!

    Yasujirô Ozu

    “I consciously did away with fade-ins and replaced them with the cut. Henceforth, I never used such editing techniques again. In fact, neither dissolve, fade-in nor fade-out can be regarded as ‘the grammar of film,’ they are no more than characteristics of the camera.”
  16. Vote!

    Kimberly Peirce

    "Be very open to the brilliant people that you hire, make it the best working environment, and let the best ideas come forward. And don’t have any ego, there’s no place for that."
  17. Vote!

    Sally Potter

    “I’ve always traveled with the films because I want the audience to be my teacher so that I can learn for the next one.”
  18. Vote!

    Martin Scorsese

    “Always get to the set or the location early, so that you can be all alone and draw your inspiration for the blocking and the setups in private and quiet.”
  19. Vote!

    Kevin Smith

    “Whenever I’m not shooting, I’m in the editing room with my footage. While the crew is taking 15 minutes to an hour to set up the next shot, I’m behind the Avid, putting the flick together.”
  20. Vote!

    John Waters

    “No comedy should be longer than 90 minutes. There’s no such thing as a good long joke.”
  21. Vote!

    Orson Welles

    “A long-playing full shot is what always separates the men from the boys. Anybody can make movies with a pair of scissors and a two-inch lens.”
  22. Vote!

    Wim Wenders

    "Before you say 'cut', wait five more seconds."
  23. Vote!

    Joss Whedon

    "If something isn't working, if you have a story that you've built and it's blocked and you can't figure it out, take your favorite scene, or your very best idea or set-piece and cut it. It's brutal, but sometimes inevitable."

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