Poll: Directors on Directing

Results of 277 votes:

1. 1.
   

   Martin Scorsese

    

   “Always get to the set or the location early, so that you can be all alone and draw your inspiration for the blocking and the setups in private and quiet.”
2. 2.
   

   Orson Welles

    

   “A long-playing full shot is what always separates the men from the boys. Anybody can make movies with a pair of scissors and a two-inch lens.”
3. 3.
   

   John Cassavetes

    

   “In directing you’re really like a host, that everyone’s going to your party, and it’s very difficult for [the crew] to help you get glory. Once they trust that you really are interested in the work, …
4. 4.
   

   Jean-Luc Godard

    

   "A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end...but not necessarily in that order. "
5. 5.
   

   John Ford

    

   “When you’re able to distinguish the art of the horizon at the bottom of a frame, or at the top of the frame — but not going right through the center of the frame — when you’re able to appreciate why …
6. 6.
   

   Wim Wenders

    

   "Before you say 'cut', wait five more seconds."
7. 7.
   

   Alfonso Cuarón

    

   “When I finish a movie, I don’t ever see the movie again. The moment I finish the color correction and the mix, I never seen any of my movies ever again. I just try to explore what I can learn from th…
8. 8.
   

   John Frankenheimer

    

   "Casting is 65 percent of directing."
9. 9.
   

   Greta Gerwig

    

   "It's like you're running a marathon and people jump in and run a few miles with you, and then they leave and you're running alone before someone else comes in. But the person who has to push it …
10. 10.
    

    Abbas Kiarostami

     

    “I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.”
11. 11.
    

    Ossie Davis

     

    “Directing calls for a vision and an itch, a dedicated focus, energy, the ability to be mean and stubborn if you have to, and at times, a little devious.”
12. 12.
    

    Claire Denis

     

    “I always scout locations first. The apartments, the railway tracks, the café, the canal — I figure out the geography of the film.”
13. 13.
    

    Federico Fellini

     

    “A person’s clothes make up part of his character. I draw the character with his costume. Hence, costumes provide an aesthetic objectification that helps to tell the character’s story.”
14. 14.
    

    Terrence Malick

     

    “I film quite a bit of footage, then edit. Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can’t. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.”
15. 15.
    

    Joss Whedon

     

    "If something isn't working, if you have a story that you've built and it's blocked and you can't figure it out, take your favorite scene, or your very best idea or set-piece and cut it. It's bru…
16. 16.
    

    Richard Donner

     

    "First cuts are a bitch for a director, because it’s been so many months and you put your trust in your editor and you’re going to see your film assembled for the first time. You look at it and g…
17. 17.
    

    Kimberly Peirce

     

    "Be very open to the brilliant people that you hire, make it the best working environment, and let the best ideas come forward. And don’t have any ego, there’s no place for that."
18. 18.
    

    Spike Lee

     

    “Music is, for me, a great tool of a filmmaker, the same way cinematography, the acting, editing, post-production, the costumes are. You know, to help you tell a story.”
19. 19.
    

    Kevin Smith

     

    “Whenever I’m not shooting, I’m in the editing room with my footage. While the crew is taking 15 minutes to an hour to set up the next shot, I’m behind the Avid, putting the flick together.”
20. 20.
    

    Atom Egoyan

     

    “I really prefer producing my films, because in that case you’re not helpless, and you actually do it the way you want. But the moment that you work as a director for hire, and you’re working within a…
21. 21.
    

    John Waters

     

    “No comedy should be longer than 90 minutes. There’s no such thing as a good long joke.”
22. 22.
    

    Yasujirô Ozu

     

    “I consciously did away with fade-ins and replaced them with the cut. Henceforth, I never used such editing techniques again. In fact, neither dissolve, fade-in nor fade-out can be regarded as ‘the gr…
23. 23.
    

    Sally Potter

     

    “I’ve always traveled with the films because I want the audience to be my teacher so that I can learn for the next one.”