Read a Sequel to Edward Zwick's 10 Rules for Making Movies

Recently, the prolific director, producer, and writer Edward Zwick tweeted out his rules for filmmaking. They were generous, humble, and very informative. Later, he followed it up with more directing specific ideas and tweeted them out to the masses. 

I thought they were accessible, inspirational, and really helpful for guiding young and old filmmakers through the process. 

Check them out below. 

Hey, I'll start with the final lessons here and reiterate that putting the time in on the paper will save so much time on the set. Make your script airtight. Spend the extra days putting together something you think is as close to perfect as possible. Sure, you can screw it up. But it's better to have a concrete foundation. 

That means being merciless—take readers' notes, even the hard ones, and see if they make it better. Be humble with your own heart. 

One thing I really found myself gravitating to is the idea that every shot is an opening shot. We forget that as you cut into different scenes and need to pull people and keep them entertained. So how are you transitioning? 

Another idea would be falling in love with the actors, being passionate, and being an actor's director. While all those seem like one thing, Zwick breaks them apart and explains that it's more like an ethos of the way you carry yourself than anything else. Are you listening to what they have to say and treating everyone with respect? Are you letting yourself fall for the project and the people involved? 

There's a lot to unpack here, but I love this look at filmmaking and I love these lists. 

What did these rules say to you? Anything that stood out or anything you'd like to add? Let us know in the comments.