Watch the Best Directors of the Year Talk About Movies for an Hour
The Hollywood Reporter sits down with many of the leading candidates for this year’s Best Director award (take your pick of the particular awards show). Here’s the lineup: Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Mike Mills (Beginners), Steve McQueen (Shame), Jason Reitman (Young Adult), Bennett Miller (Moneyball) and Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). There are a lot of terrific moments here:
Some of my favorite quotes/exchanges:
Alexander Payne: “editing is the ongoing process of disguising how bad the film really is.”
Jason Reitman: “Watching The Godfather makes me not want to make movies… why would I possibly try to make a movie after watching something as brilliant as that?… The instinct to make movies doesn’t come from watching movies, it comes from experiencing life.”
Steve McQueen: “I’m running, I”m not chasing… I’m trying to do as much as I can before I fall down. I’m interested in stuff which is in the air, that you can’t see. But how can you put it on film? It’s like catching butterflies.”
Mike Mills: “If I’m going to die tomorrow, this is the best story I’ve got. This is my best chance to try to communicate something about being human.”
I’ll let the directors speak for themselves on film school… there is no wrong answer. Any favorite quotes of yours?
[via THR]
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32 COMMENTS
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Surprised that David Fincher(Girl with Dragon Tattoo) and Nicolas Winding Refn(Drive) didn’t make the cut.
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Jesse on 12.5.11 @ 12:43PM
Why? Their perspectives on filmmaking are well documented in hundreds of other places (BTS extras, magazine articles, etc…) Better to hear from fresher voices… and not ones who are part of the highest echelons of the Hollywood elite.
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Really wish it had subtitles :/ but thanks Koo for typing some of the quotes. Really appreciate it.
Just posted a couple videos that started some of today’s best director’s careers- http://artofthestory.com/?p=923
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Angelo on 12.2.11 @ 12:18PM
Looks great, to bad I have to go to an editing session today… for tonight though.
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I want hear something from christopher nolan , HE is my all time favourite director !! :) ..
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Matheo on 12.2.11 @ 2:09PM
“Most directors make films with their eyes; I make films with my testicles.” – Alejandro Jodorowsky
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O'Ryan on 12.3.11 @ 2:30AM
The host asked some kind of awkward questions… I almost wished they would have just had the directors sitting around talking maybe with a few prepared questions… or at least have an actual director host it, this way the questions aren’t the same “what’s your influence” type questions they get asked by everyone all the time.
He reminded me of this guy a little bit:
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c.d.embrey on 12.5.11 @ 10:45PM
That is the worst interview I’ve ever seen. This should be required viewing for all people interested in doing interviews!
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David on 12.3.11 @ 4:24PM
What was the french dudes name? I’m interested in seeing his silent film..
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You may not like his work, but Michael Bay should be considered one of the best at the moment.
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Michael Bay can be perhaps considered on of the best pyrotechnics, But overall I could´t place him even close to the top of current directors. I had never fallen asleep while watching a movie (even terrible films, as I always find myself learning something, even if its ´not´how to make a film) until I watched the recent transformers. Fireworks are great for 15 min tops, but without a good story it grows old really quickly, when there isn´t anything to be emotionally invested in or attached to. I haven´t made a film yet, but when I finally do I hope it isn´t like a Michael Bay film. I understand the appeal they have however, but find them very shallow investments.
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Angelo on 12.6.11 @ 3:26AM
Michael Bay is a studio’s dream: anything he touches as a director or producer has made the budget back in the box office (not to mention the insane amount of tail end money all the films make). It’s lowbrow but he picks his projects carefully and knows how to entertain an audience. He’s the McDonalds fast food of directors but I still give him respect for that.
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adrian on 12.7.11 @ 3:59PM
it’s kinda funny how two of those directors have the same name as two other celebrities, Steve McQueen(Actor), and Mike Mills (Bass Player for REM) lol. Aside from that, there’re really all talented in my opinion.
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Alexandra on 12.8.11 @ 4:06PM
I haven’t even watched this yet, but it’s insanely depressing to pull up an article that says, ‘The best directors of the year’ and once again (again and again) see an image full of mostly white dudes.
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So…who the hell is that guy on the far left? An intern? But yeah, very interesting, terrible interviewer…
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MARK11 on 12.9.11 @ 8:16PM
Why make a movie after THE GODFATHER? Uhhhh…because I’m a storyteller working in the written and moving image mediums called movies. Because Copolla is an influence and most importantly; with the increasing changes in technology, etc., there’s no way I’m gonna let the Nepotism of Hollywood stop me from proving myself.
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ken.d on 12.21.11 @ 6:31PM
That is some crappy camera work. Was that wide shot on a wobble cam? And how ’bout some labels so we don’t have to figure out who’s talking. Still it’s cool to hear from these guys. Thanks for posting…
I was hoping for Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, James Cameron but this one was still good tough