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Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 1, 2017 13:41:10 GMT
Who were some of the Directors who had actors lining up, waving their hands and shouting "Pick me! Pick Me!" hoping to be chosen to be in their pictures ? (Figuratively speaking, of course)
What do you think was it about them that made the director / actor relationship work so successfully ?
Any who worked extremely well with particular actors ?
(Yes, this is the flip side to the "horrible directors" thread.)
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Apr 1, 2017 15:12:28 GMT
Most would agree that Elia Kazan was the best actor's director in American films to this day. He treated each actor with great respect and guided them carefully and respectfully to his destination, all the while making them believe they were doing it on their own. He never talked to actors in public; rather whispered direction in their ear. He brought out the best in every actor and discovered so many great talents who became formidable stars: Marlon Brando, James Dean, Warren Beatty, Eva Marie Saint, Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, among others, and directed so many in Oscar winning or nominated roles. He was revered by actors (with the exception of three actors in his early Studio films, who were more interested in being stars than being actors). Brando, whom Kazan also directed on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire once said that he grew weary of acting once he stopped working with Kazan, who challenged him to greatness in Streetcar and On the Waterfront. On Broadway Kazan also directed, among others, Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sweet Bird of Youth, Tea and Sympathy, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.
Mike Nichols - in the vein of Kazan, a director that actors loved to work with and who always gave wonderful performances under his direction, even in his less than stellar films. Nichols' skill was evident in the beginning of his career when he directed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to amazing heights in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He had a special connection to and working relationship with Meryl Streep, with whom he made Silkwood, Heartburn, Postcards from the Edge, and Angels in America, in which she played three roles. Nichols was also a Broadway director. His last directing job before he passed away was a revival of Death of a Salesman. Before beginning that he said he was nervous about competing with his idol, Elia Kazan. He shouldn't have been. He won a Tony for it.
Sidney Lumet - he began as an actor on Broadway as a young boy and when he began directing, given his experience and his training, of course understood the needs of actors and how to accomplish his goals with extraordinary skill. He began his directing career in live television in the days of Playhouse 90, et al, one of the most difficult of all venues, and which he managed exceptionally well. Many Lumet films feature great roles by famous and not so famous actors, and there are a lot of Oscars or Oscar nominations in their resumes, because of their work with this decidedly "actor's director."
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 1, 2017 15:33:48 GMT
Woody Allen. Movie stars DO line up to be in his movies even if most are "small" films. By my rough count, actors in his movies have won seven Oscars with five others nominated.
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Post by mattgarth on Apr 1, 2017 15:34:24 GMT
On the other hand, Kazan encouraged the animosity between Raymond Massey and James Dean during filming of EAST OF EDEN to elicit performances from them both for the sake of the picture.
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Apr 1, 2017 15:56:08 GMT
On the other hand, Kazan encouraged the animosity between Raymond Massey and James Dean during filming of EAST OF EDEN to elicit performances from them both for the sake of the picture. Yes, I know, but that was in each actor's best interest, particularly Massey's, who was having trouble reaching the conflicts about his screen son that he needed to reach, because he was trying to control the frustration he felt because of Dean. And in doing so, Kazan made each actor feel that they were in the right in their choice. He didn't share his direction, but did it privately, with praise. This is an example of what I mean by directing actors to his destination and making them feel that it was their decision. It has some relationship to a comment that Barbara Loden, Beatty's sister in Splendor in the Grass and later Kazan's wife, once made. She said she thought Kazan often directed people indirectly, because if he asked them directly they wouldn't know what to do. Another story I love is when Lee Remick talked about working with Kazan on Wild River. She mentioned the scene on the porch in the rain with Montgomery Clift, somewhat early in the film. It was a particularly bad day for her, because her husband had been in an auto accident (he was okay, but hospitalized). And Kazan gave her no direction at all, because he knew she was already where she needed to be. He simply came up behind her, put his hand on her shoulder, and stood with her for a moment in silence. Then they began to shoot, and in the end created one of the most beautiful scenes in the film. Part of being a good director is knowing when not to talk, and Kazan, Nichols, and Lumet knew that very well.
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Post by marshamae on Apr 1, 2017 17:19:18 GMT
Clint Eastwood and Jodie Foster are reputed to run very efficient friendly sets where people like to work.
In his Actors studio interview, Francis Ford Coppola tells how much he loves actors, and how he enjoys bringing theater games and treats to keep them up.
On the other hand, Apocalypse now and The Godfather have the reputation of being two of the most god awful shoots in film history , only being bested by Mutiny in the Bounty. So Coppola may be engaging in a bit of fantasy there.
I think actors line up for Woody Allen, as they did for Hitchcock, because both directors tended to have pictures that won oscars. From what I've read , Woody doesn't direct, he just shoots. The one story I've heard is that woody tried to correct Kenneth Branagh shooting Celebrity, pointing out several times that Branagh was imitating Woody. Either Branagh didn't get it, or chose not to, and Woody took to sitting with his head in his hands.
Hitchcock , of course was the opposite, pre-selecting every move.
Another director that many actors loved was George Cukor. He gave lots of direction and support , and actors felt safe taking risks. Two notable exceptions were Clark gable and Barbra Streisand. Both complained about Cukor and he was replaced on Gone with the Wind and Funny Girl.
Ernst Lubitsch had a nice way with actors, endlessly encouraging, full of admiration after each take, then just one tiny suggestion.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 1, 2017 22:32:02 GMT
Mitchell Leisen . A Man of & Director of "exacting standards" A creative artist, Leisen was most popular with cast and crew, who all worked enthusiastically with him, he was able to extract the best talent from all those concerned . This reflects in his timelessly appealing, marvellous romantic comedies & his glossy romantic dramas (weepies), in which he drew out heart and humanity from the many stars with whom he worked, who gave all for him.
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Post by hi224 on Apr 1, 2017 22:43:24 GMT
Gaspar Noe and Lars Von trier are known for being nice and easy working with as well.
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Post by petrolino on Apr 1, 2017 23:33:54 GMT
Ron Howard seems to be very popular on set. How can you hate Richie Cunningham?
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 2, 2017 0:10:06 GMT
I almost included Hitchcock in my reply about Woody Allen. I would have had to say, of course, Tippi Hedren excepted. I didn’t want to start anything off-topic. But, you are correct, many – if not most – actors who worked with Hitchcock had no complaints about the experience. Hitchcock tried to be as meticulous in his casting as in his pre-production storyboarding. He picked the actors he thought could do the job and then let them do it. After an initial location shoot in Marrakech, when “The Man Who Knew Too Much” production moved back to Los Angeles, Doris Day, as she wrote in her autobiography, confronted Hitchcock because, although off-set at dinner or in other social situations, he was talkative and friendly, he almost never said anything to her during filming. Day told him she was afraid that she wasn’t giving him what he wanted from her performance. Hitchcock was astonished. After she explained further, he said, in summary, “You are doing fine. It is when you are not doing what I expect that I will talk to you.” It put her mind at rest.
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 2, 2017 1:14:20 GMT
I almost included Hitchcock in my reply about Woody Allen. I would have had to say, of course, Tippi Hedren excepted. I didn’t want to start anything off-topic. But, you are correct, many – if not most – actors who worked with Hitchcock had no complaints about the experience. Hitchcock tried to be as meticulous in his casting as in his pre-production storyboarding. He picked the actors he thought could do the job and then let them do it. After an initial location shoot in Marrakech, when “The Man Who Knew Too Much” production moved back to Los Angeles, Doris Day, as she wrote in her autobiography, confronted Hitchcock because, although off-set at dinner or in other social situations, he was talkative and friendly, he almost never said anything to her during filming. Day told him she was afraid that she wasn’t giving him what he wanted from her performance. Hitchcock was astonished. After she explained further, he said, in summary, “You are doing fine. It is when you are not doing what I expect that I will talk to you.” It put her mind at rest. Love the Doris Day story. That's actually a very good directing style, depending upon the actor; it's good to reassure the ones who get nervous. That said, sometimes actors just need a director's attention to feel safe. But I think you're right - he was meticulous in his casting, which is two-thirds of the battle. Btw, you've credited my quote to marshamae. You may want to fix that, as I don't know how she feels about this subject. It won't let me remove marshamae's name from the quote block nor cut and paste the quote to your name in the block - so, I just deleted all the text. One does what one can.
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Post by hi224 on Apr 2, 2017 21:10:56 GMT
Ive heard good stuff regarding Nicolas winding Refn, except regarding Bronson.
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Seto
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Post by Seto on Apr 5, 2017 2:54:21 GMT
Rob Reiner is often cited as a great actor's director. I remember watching an interview about the train dodge scene in Stand by Me. Apparently Wil Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell, weren't acting scared enough, so Rob yelled at them making them feel really bad about wasting everyone's time. After that he got the emotion he was after, then later he gave the boys a big hug, saying how proud he was, lol
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Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 5, 2017 4:56:21 GMT
SetoThe Stand By Me story reminded me of this about The Champ (1931)King Vidor, feeling that Jackie Cooper "didn't seem to get into the spirit of the part," pretended to fire assistant director Alfred Golden because Cooper was fond of him. After Cooper burst into tears, the article continues, Vidor shot the scene he wanted, then rewarded him for being a good boy by re-hiring Golden. Cooper's autobiography makes no mention of this incident, but notes that as a child Cooper cared neither for Golden or Wallace Beery. There's also a tale of him being told that his dog had died being used to make him cry. OR that might have bee some other kid ?
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Apr 7, 2017 5:31:59 GMT
Who were some of the Directors who had actors lining up, waving their hands and shouting "Pick me! Pick Me!" hoping to be chosen to be in their pictures ? (Figuratively speaking, of course) What do you think was it about them that made the director / actor relationship work so successfully ? Any who worked extremely well with particular actors ? (Yes, this is the flip side to the "horrible directors" thread.) Morgan Freeman has stated that he learned from Kevin Costner that Clint Eastwood possessed this Western script ( Unforgiven) that Eastwood was looking to cast. Freeman let Eastwood know that he was interested and asked to be kept in mind. Freeman received the part of Ned Logan. Here are other comments from Freeman on Eastwood the director, starting at the 6:05 mark of this video: Morgan Freeman discusses his best movie experiences
As Eastwood has stated, "I'm an actor first." Hence he is sensitive to actors' feelings, understands their insecurities, and knows how to create an optimal environment that will bring out their best—one that respects them, offers quietude and calm, and values their instincts and perspectives.
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Apr 8, 2017 19:24:32 GMT
Here's an interesting interview with Kim Hunter about how Kazan directed her and Vivian Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire. It illustrates a bit of what I was talking about earlier. Then, of course, he also directed each actor separately when necessary, again by whispering to them.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Apr 9, 2017 5:25:30 GMT
joekiddlouischama said: As Eastwood has stated, "I'm an actor first." Hence he is sensitive to actors' feelings, understands their insecurities, and knows how to create an optimal environment that will bring out their best—one that respects them, offers quietude and calm, and values their instincts and perspectives. Even Meryl Streep was impressed with how Eastwood ran a set - and at how few takes he did. From what I have read, Streep possessed a reputation as a "technical" actress, meaning someone who—for all her technical mastery—lacked for spontaneity. She always disliked this reputation, instead feeling that the first, fresh "encounter" usually trumped anything that came afterwards. So when she found that Eastwood approached manners in the same spirit, she found his style to be "heaven." And from an acting perspective, that affinity makes sense. If you are prepared, the first take should potentially constitute a destination, not a starting point. Unless something is lacking, then, why do it again? Eastwood himself encountered this dilemma during the first week of shooting The Outlaw Josey Wales in the autumn of 1975. He had put up his own money to purchase the rights to the unsolicited novel, and his company was producing the movie, making Eastwood the ultimate and de facto producer. (In those days, he did not take a producing credit, something that he would start doing in 1982.) After two of his usual associates (Sonia Chernus, his story editor, and Dean Riesner, who worked over a number of his scripts) adapted the screenplay, Eastwood felt that it was still lacking. Thus he turned to writer-director Phil Kaufman. Eastwood felt that Kaufman perfected the script, and impressed with the latter's directorial work on two recent movies, the star asked Kaufman to direct Josey Wales as well. Eastwood had by this time directed four films, at least two of which have proved memorable, but he was weary after the fatiguing location shooting of The Eiger Sanction, for which Eastwood had needed to learn the rudiments of actual hardcore mountain climbing. But when shooting began on Josey Wales, Kaufman called for repeated takes. When Eastwood asked Kaufman what he wanted done differently, Kaufman told the star that he was unsure, but he felt that repeated takes would bring them deeper into the material. For Eastwood, this approach seemed incoherent. As a producer, he knew that it would mean wasted time and wasted money. As an actor, he knew that repeating himself for no real reason—without any imperative to make adjustments—would potentially deaden his performance and that of the other actors. Eastwood and producer Robert Daley also disliked Kaufman's visual approach to the material. So Eastwood fired Kaufman after one week—later calling the decision the hardest that he had ever had to make—and took over as director himself, reshooting Kaufman's footage. The biggest co-starring role in Josey Wales belonged to Chief Dan George, who was elderly and not a trained actor and who thus sometimes struggled to remember his lines. At those times, Eastwood would allow Chief Dan George to improvise, knowing that the Native American's instinctive pathos and humor would represent an improvement over what had been written. Had a director—Kaufman or anyone else—sought an excessive number of takes and exact renditions of the character's scripted dialogue, who knows what would have become of that performance?
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Apr 9, 2017 5:41:13 GMT
Brando, whom Kazan also directed on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire once said that he grew weary of acting once he stopped working with Kazan, who challenged him to greatness in Streetcar and On the Waterfront. ... intriguing, and it makes sense.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 9, 2017 12:40:28 GMT
Incredibly interesting write-up about Eastwood, joekiddlouischama . I especially liked the info about Chief Dan George. It's a pleasure reading the "making-of" material about films, especially when as well written as yours are. Having watched Eastwood "grow up" because of knowing him since his days on Rawhide, it's nice knowing that his tough guy spaghetti sauce stained persona is truly not the real off screen Clint (well, most of the time, anyway).
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Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 9, 2017 12:51:36 GMT
spiderwortDo you know if Ron Howard also does the tv influenced one-take style of directing ? I remember seeing pictures of him on the set of Happy Days hanging out with and asking questions of the directors and various and sundry technicians on the set. He was getting a head start on his PhD in filmmaking. Really like knowing that tv director techniques will sometimes carry over to the big screen. It's just something I would never have noticed without it being pointed out. Thanks for sharing the special insights you have into movie making.
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