Category Archives: Directors

“My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it’s a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it’s a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.” — Lars von Trier

It’s his birthday today. So … happy (?) birthday to this provocative sometimes-maddening always-fascinating auteur. Question mark due to the doubt that “happy” has anything to do with the Danish film director, who has been poking the bear from the … Continue reading

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Jafar Panahi at the airport??!! What a moment to celebrate.

Jafar Panahi and his wife Tahereh Saeedi. At the airport. Leaving Iran. I repeat: JAFAR PANAHI IS LEAVING IRAN. I can’t believe this day has come. I am almost afraid to believe it. Like it’s a trap. Jafar Panahi’s wife, … Continue reading

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“All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin

“The secret of Mack Sennett’s success was his enthusiasm. He was a great audience and laughed genuinely at what he thought funny. He stood and giggled until his body began to shake. This encouraged me and I began to explain … Continue reading

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“As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano

“I feel like directing is more about who the individual is rather than if they’re a man or a woman. It’s kind of hard to generalize and group all of us female filmmakers into one group, like we’re all going … Continue reading

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“I don’t think you go to a play to forget, or to a movie to be distracted. I think life generally is a distraction and that going to a movie is a way to get back, not go away.” — Tom Noonan

Most well-known for playing supernatural-style “heavies” in movies such as Manhunter and Robocop 2, he got his start in the 1960s experimental theatre scene in New York City, and in many ways he’s never really left that scene. He established … Continue reading

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“The films I find boring are the ones that have no space for the audience’s misconceptions.” — Josephine Decker

Josephine Decker is on a pretty short list of directors whose next films I wait for with impatience. What is she thinking about NOW? What does she want to turn her (very specific) gaze onto NOW? She’s only made six … Continue reading

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“I think my cinema is minimalist because so is my gaze: I’m very interested in people.” — Joanna Hogg

It’s the birthday of director Joanna Hogg, who hasn’t directed that many films (comparatively) and yet what she has done really matters, so much so that when there are gaps between films, people who always have her on their radar … Continue reading

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“A good director must be able to inspire whoever he was coaching so that the actor would live the scene. Make-believe must become reality.” — Raoul Walsh

It’s his birthday today. Raoul Wash directed a number of great films (in a career as vast as his, the names stick out), but one also thinks of the great PERFORMANCES in these great films, often from actors who were … Continue reading

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For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

These women inspire, entertain, challenge, comfort, provoke, or were “there” in my formative years as an inspiration. The list is huge. Below the jump.

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Happy Birthday, Norman Taurog

American director Norman Taurog was born in 1899. Literally during the first gasps of cinema. What an improbable journey. He’s born into a world before cinema has even cohered into an artform … and he ends his career at the … Continue reading

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