The Director's Idea: The Path to Great Directing

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 14
Part I: What the Director Does......Page 16
Introduction......Page 17
What Does the Director Do?......Page 18
Who Is the Director?......Page 19
How Did We Get Here......Page 20
Where Are We Today?......Page 21
The Structure of the Book......Page 23
How I Came to Write This Book......Page 24
The Director’s Idea......Page 27
The Unity of the Production......Page 30
The Competent Director......Page 39
What the Audience Wants......Page 40
Directors and Competence......Page 42
Case Study I. The Competent Director: Antoine Fuqua (“King Arthur,” 2004)......Page 44
Case Study II. The Competent Director: Simon Wincer (\"The Lighthorseman,\" 1087)......Page 47
The Good Director......Page 55
How the Director’s Idea Works......Page 56
A Case Study in Good Directing: Michael Mann’s “Collateral”......Page 62
Adding Value to a Project......Page 64
The Director’s Idea......Page 67
The Great Director......Page 69
Voice......Page 71
Three Contemporary Great Directors in America......Page 72
Three Contemporary Great Directors Outside America Outside America......Page 78
Text Interpretation......Page 87
The Case of Steinbeck’s East of Eden......Page 91
Interior/Exterior......Page 93
Young/Old......Page 95
Male/Female......Page 96
Political/Sociological/Psychological......Page 97
Tone......Page 99
The Camera......Page 101
The Shot......Page 102
Objectivity......Page 104
Camera Height......Page 105
Camera Movement......Page 106
Movement from a Fixed Point......Page 107
Movement from Movement......Page 108
Lighting......Page 109
Art Direction......Page 110
Sound......Page 111
Continuity......Page 112
Clarity......Page 113
Parallel Action......Page 114
Tone......Page 115
Story Form......Page 116
The Actor......Page 119
Casting......Page 120
The Character Arc......Page 123
An Aside about Actors as Directors......Page 125
Philosophies of Acting......Page 126
Outside In......Page 127
The American School......Page 128
The European School......Page 129
The Case Studies of Directing......Page 136
Sergei Eisenstein: The Historical Dialectic......Page 137
Text Interpretation......Page 138
Directing the Actor......Page 140
Directing the Camera......Page 143
Directing for the Edit......Page 145
John Ford: Poetry and Heroism......Page 149
Introduction......Page 150
“They Were Expendable” (1945)......Page 152
Text Interpretation......Page 153
Directing the Actors......Page 156
Directing the Camera......Page 158
George Stevens: The American Character—Desire and Conscience......Page 163
Introduction......Page 164
“The More the Merrier” (1943)......Page 165
“A Place in the Sun” (1951)......Page 166
Text Interpretation......Page 167
Directing the Actors......Page 169
Directing the Camera......Page 171
Billy Wilder: Existence at Stake......Page 177
Introduction......Page 178
“The Apartment” (1960)......Page 180
“Double Indemnity” (1944)......Page 181
Text Interpretation......Page 182
Directing the Actor......Page 184
Directing the Camera......Page 186
Ernst Lubitsch: The Life Force of Romance......Page 189
Introduction......Page 190
“Trouble in Paradise” (1932)......Page 193
“Ninotchka” (1939)......Page 194
“To Be or Not To Be” (1942)......Page 195
Text Interpretation......Page 196
Directing the Actors......Page 198
Directing the Camera......Page 199
Elia Kazan: Drama as Life......Page 203
Introduction......Page 204
“Panic in the Streets” (1950)......Page 209
“On the Waterfront” (1954)......Page 210
“America, America” (1963)......Page 211
Text Interpretation......Page 212
Directing the Actor......Page 213
Directing the Camera......Page 215
François Truffaut: Celebrate the Child......Page 219
Introduction......Page 220
“The 400 Blows” (1966)......Page 221
“Love on the Run” (1978)......Page 222
“Day for Night” (1972)......Page 223
Text Interpretation......Page 224
Directing the Actor......Page 227
Directing the Camera......Page 228
Roman Polanski: The Aloneness of Existence......Page 233
Introduction......Page 234
“Chinatown” (1974)......Page 236
“Tess” (1981)......Page 238
Text Interpretation......Page 239
Directing the Actor......Page 242
Directing the Camera......Page 244
Stanley Kubrick: The Darkness of Modern Life......Page 247
Introduction......Page 248
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)......Page 250
“Barry Lyndon” (1975)......Page 251
“Eyes Wide Shut” (2000)......Page 252
Text Interpretation......Page 253
Directing the Actor......Page 257
Directing the Camera......Page 258
Steven Spielberg: Childhood Forever......Page 261
Introduction......Page 262
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)......Page 264
“E.T.” (1982)......Page 265
“Saving Private Ryan” (1998)......Page 266
Text Interpretation......Page 267
Directing the Actors......Page 269
Directing the Camera......Page 270
Margarethe Von Trotta: Historical Life and Personal Life Intersect......Page 275
Introduction......Page 276
“The Second Awakening of Christa Klages” (1977)......Page 279
“Marianne and Juliane” (1981)......Page 280
“Rosenstrasse” (2004)......Page 282
Text Interpretation......Page 283
Directing the Actor......Page 285
Directing the Camera......Page 287
Lukas Moodysson: Empathy and Its Limits......Page 289
Introduction......Page 290
“Fucking Åmål” (1998)......Page 292
“Together” (2000)......Page 293
“Lilja 4-Ever” (2002)......Page 294
“A Hole in My Heart” (2004)......Page 296
Text Interpretation......Page 297
Directing the Actor......Page 299
Directing the Camera......Page 300
Catherine Breillat: The Warfare of Sexuality......Page 303
Introduction......Page 304
“Romance”......Page 307
“Fat Girl” (2001)......Page 308
“Anatomy of Hell” (2004)......Page 309
Text Interpretation......Page 310
Directing the Actor......Page 311
Directing the Camera......Page 312
Mary Harron: Celebrity and Banality......Page 315
Introduction......Page 316
“I Shot Andy Warhol” (1995)......Page 321
“American Psycho” (2000)......Page 322
Text Interpretation......Page 325
Directing the Actor......Page 327
Directing the Camera......Page 328
Conclusion......Page 331
Finding the Director’s Idea......Page 345
Strategy for Reading the Script......Page 346
Moving Toward Interpretation......Page 348
Choosing the Director’s Idea......Page 350
Index......Page 353