I did this thing for HBO called 'Strip Search' with Sidney Lumet, who was one of the best directors I've ever worked with. We actually had a rehearsal period before we shot, which is unusual.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
We rehearsed our 'Scarface' to the nines. Long period of rehearsal, so that by the time we started to shoot, it was almost like doing a play. We all had a grand time doing it. It was a wonderful cast.
In the past I've worked with directors who saw very much their scene in their head and knew exactly how they were going to cut it.
With movies, depending on who your director is or what kind of movie you're shooting, you kind of have more of an ability to play around with the material, go off the page, improv. It's like we did with '21 And Over.' Same thing we did in 'Walk Of Shame.' Same thing we did in 'House Bunny.' You have the freedom to do that.
I watched a couple of really bad directors work, and I saw how they completely botched it up and missed the visual opportunities of the scene when we had put things in front of them as opportunities. Set pieces, props and so on.
I did some writing and bought a book, and have been working on that as a film to act and direct in.
I did a film very quickly, and then a lot of work for television, and then I did stage work.
After I directed for the first time, I wanted to call every director I'd ever worked with and apologize. In television you are tasked with shooting 42 minutes, or whatever, in eight days. That's not a lot of time.
Directing television is really hard - it's so fast. You shoot an hour show in seven days.
I've done all sorts of different kinds of action. We did a thing in 'Blood Diamond,' the attack on Freetown, where I carefully staged the action but did not show the camera operators what we were going to film - so it has the feel of documentary, trying to capture something, and that gave it a whole different feel.
I've never let producers tell me what to do. Even when I was making television, I always did what I wanted to do, and if I couldn't, I didn't do it. It was a freedom that, these days, young directors starting out don't have.
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