scouts. He calls me and asks me questions. In rehearsal, we never do the lines, but he wants to know something like, “Should I have a picture of my brother in my hand?” Everything’s about his preparation and the foundation of the character. When we get to the set, I swear to God, you’re prepared to do more takes because… you always have to do more takes. But Shia nails it the first time. I think, “That can’t be it, I can’t be moving on already.” You literally can, because in two movies I’ve done with him, he’s messed up a line once, one time. And it was a line that I changed the night before.
So I’ve learned to really adapt my style and figure out what kind of actor I’m working with, from the Angelina Jolies who are very cerebral, to Matthew McConaughey, who is all about action.
So how do we deal with this hotbed of distrust, egos, and competition? The entire philosophy of this book is based on one simple principle: People tend to reject the influence of someone they don’t like. Whether it’s a disliked director, doctor, or teacher, there is tremendous resistance to following their advice or learning from them. Benedict Carey, writing for the New York Times about George Steinbrenner, the tyrannical owner of the New York Yankees until his death in 2010, points out that even he mellowed substantially in his later years, having realized that the most effective leaders “find a way to mix some patience with their Patton, to persuade rather than intimidate, to convince people that their goals are the same as the boss’s.”3
And there is no need to transform oneself into a grinning ape or Uriah Heep, Charles Dickens’ obsequious, handwringing “’umble servant.” It’s mostly about respect.
D.J. Caruso: You have to be the authority figure. You can’t be just buddy-buddy because there has to be a captain. And so I’ve learned over the years how to try to choose an actor who’s really going to be your partner.
And that you can only learn by sitting with them, by talking to other people that have worked with them so you don’t step on land mines where they were sweet in the meeting and then turn into a monster on the set.
Let’s look at common mistakes that directors make — in the hopes that you can avoid them.
1 Delia Salvi, Friendly Enemies (New York: Billboard Books, 2003), xv.
2 Susan King, “Judd Nelson Interview,” Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2012.
3 Benedict Carey, “The Boss Unbound,” New York Times, July 18, 2010.
Chapter 1
Mistake #1: Directed by Anonymous
There’s always plenty of sitting around on sets, waiting for one task or another to be completed. A director can only do so much helping before having to get out of the crew’s way. They can spend this waiting time in many ways, hopefully productive. I like to talk with the actors about the upcoming scene or anything that’s concerning them. Often, an actor will tell me about a film or TV episode that they acted in. “Who was the director?” I often ask. This is frequently followed by a long pause and a bit of riffling through their mental contacts. Then I hear, “He was a tall guy, I don’t remember his name,” or “She had real curly hair,” or “He liked to shout a lot.”
I used to think that this was coming from some bobblehead who was only thinking about themself. Surely this couldn’t be the case with actors who are playing leads or major roles.
Uh… yes, it could. It’s especially true in television, where a series may have a dozen or more directors in a season. Every show starts to blur together, and the schedule is so hectic that basic niceties and courtesies go by the boards. People barely introduce themselves, and then they work together for days or even weeks on end but may never learn each other’s names.
Michael Zinberg: In series television, the smart directors know the crew before they walk on the stage. Most of them get to know the crew during prep. Man, they can help you or not help you. If you’re a dick, they’ll find out fast, and it won’t be pretty.
If we’re talking about the crew, this kind of behavior is rude, but not necessarily damaging. Crews are inured to being treated rudely by directors. This doesn’t make it right, polite, or even a good practice. Because they need the work, they swallow their pride and press on. Sure, it’s easier — or, more accurately, lazier. But we can get a much better result from people who we treat as individuals, not cogs in the filmmaking machine.
John Woo: I think if you want to work with actors, first you have to fall in love with them. If you hate them, don’t even bother…. I treat actors as though they’re part of my family. Before I start shooting, I insist on spending time with my actors. We talk a lot, and I try to see how they feel about life, what kinds of ideas they have, what kinds of dreams. We talk about what they love and what they hate. I try to discover what each actor’s main quality is because this is what I’ll try to emphasize in the film….
Once we start working, there are two primary things. First, of course, is communication with the actor. To achieve that, I always try to find something more trivial — we both like soccer. It’s very important because often, the whole communication process will rest on that. It’s something you can always fall back on when conflicts arise. The other thing I pay attention to is the eyes. When an actor acts, I always stare at his or her eyes. Always. Because it tells me if he or she is being truthful or just faking it.4
Just by knowing someone’s name and using it on a regular basis, we are making personal contact with them. They become a person who wants to help us get the job done well. They become a person who looks forward to coming to work and who feels part of something worthwhile… even if it’s just a small film or TV episode.
Martin Sheen: I had the joy of working with Steven Spielberg just last year. I couldn’t believe his character on the set. He was so available to everybody. He was so personable. He shared everything about himself and wanted to know, “Where are you from, Martin? Oh, really? I didn’t know you were from Ohio. Isn’t that something? What did your dad do?” I said, “Oh, he worked in a factory.” “I didn’t know that. Really? How many children are in your family?” You know what I’m saying? He genuinely wanted to know who I was when I had only met him socially here and there. I was so disarmed. You watch that set, and it’s not just the actors who will go to any lengths for him. It’s the whole set. The whole crew will break their back for this guy — anything. He sits behind that monitor. He knows exactly what he’s looking for, and he’ll get it in the shortest amount of time, but he won’t leave until he gets it. Then he invites everyone involved to come and look at the replay, and if someone’s not happy? “All right, let’s try it again.”
Whenever I step on a set for the first time, I make it a point to know the names of all the actors, heads of departments, and the names of their “best boys.” I will know the camera operators, their assistants. and their dolly grips — all this without having met most of them. I use mnemonic tricks, rote memory, anything to be able to address them by their first names as quickly as I can. This is not to be popular. This is just good business.
Gary Busey: One thing that’s very important to others is remember their name. You have an ally. The name is so important. People don’t realize how important the name is. Maybe they do, but not so much as to take two seconds to learn one. “I’m terrible with names” is just a lazy excuse for
