I started writing screenplays myself and eventually directing.
Directing is more comfortable for me because, as an actor, there's always something inherently false. Because I'm not that person.
Writing, producing and directing, I must say, is incredibly satisfying and gratifying.
When I made 'Terminator 3,' I learned something about directing actors to behave like robots. And one of the key things I learned is that if an actor tries to play a robot, he or she risks playing it mechanically in a way that makes the performance uninteresting.
When I'm directing films, I mostly try to create an environment on set that mimics what's in my mind as to the tone and feel of things. I try to create a place where you feel that anything's possible.
I don't like directing that much to want a career as a director for hire. I like to have as much creative control as possible.
I was the first woman to win a Tony for directing, but the second woman came along five minutes later.
I have this dream of directing. But as a child, I wanted to become a wrestler. Like, in childhood, we used to watch WWF; I was inspired by all of that. One of my favourite wrestlers was Rock, who has become an actor.
Showtime has given new, young filmmakers - black, white, across the board - an opportunity to make films, as well as actors who want to cross over into directing.
I have stories that I'd like to maybe one day consider directing, but you need a lot of time to write and put it together.
I've always known that I love directing but I was really aware of it while making 'Beginners.' I am my happiest when I'm on set directing. I am also my kindest. When the actors get in front of the camera, it makes them very vulnerable. I am so in love with them for trying so hard.
I was a directing student and a production design student at Carnegie Mellon. I went in as a production design student and became a directing student.
I mean, if you are directing actors to do one thing and then directing them to do something else entirely because the one thing you wanted them to do may not work, then you are just shattering their confidence in the project.
I grew up in Queens, and on Sunday evenings, my parents would drive my brother and me past the factory. We could smell the week's supply of bread baking. I always connected the 59th Street Bridge with that scent. Who woulda thunk, years later, I'd be there, directing and producing a hit TV show?
I truly enjoy directing. I enjoy looking at the words on the paper and visualizing how to make them come to life.
I love being a writer-director. I couldn't imagine directing without writing it. You have to write and tell your stories - that's what directing is to me.
I look at directing as a sporting event. It's a race, a marathon. It's great when it clicks, which is why I push my crews so hard so we can excel.
It's such a strange combination that I'd be unhappy to make anything like that without Landis directing.
When you are writing and directing and producing, there is a lot of stuff to do. I like to finish one; then while I am editing, I will think of the next one.
Acting for me is not a bad habit like smoking that I must make an effort to quit. I love acting; I love directing.
What I know is that we no longer have free enterprise capitalism in health care; it's not a system any longer where people are able to innovate. It's not based on voluntary exchange. The government is directing it.
Directing has only increased my admiration and respect for what it is that actors do.
Since I was a child, I've liked telling stories. Maybe because my father's a director, I grew up loving stories. I'm not good at spinning them at a dinner table because I do go on a bit, but I love writing them, and directing is just a way of editing the story.
I know it's good when I see a smaller film get recognized because it means more publicity for them. When you start producing and directing the movies become a little more like your children.
I'm thinking, this is Robert Redford. You know, he's won an Academy Award, he's talking to me about directing a movie he's in. So you just think that it's Hollywood stuff or whatever.
There should be more women directing; I think there's just not the awareness that it's really possible.
I got a lot of energy from directing the film 'Ladies In Lavender.' You wonder if you have the stamina because as an actor you can lounge around the trailer during the scenes you're not in, but as a director, you're there from first thing in the morning to last thing at night every day of the week. I found it incredibly energising.
Directing is creating a whole. You're able to combine different elements and create a film that is unique and true to your vision.
The good part is once I start directing, I can choose the songs I want to do. I'm just selective now when it comes to choreography.
I'm thinking about directing, but I know it's a lot of work and I appreciate what directors do and I would like to be good at it. The opportunity has presented itself four to five times, and I usually said no because of the script.
I don't get nervous when I'm directing a play. It's not like acting.
Sometimes good television doesn't depend on money, it depends on imagination and good people directing, casting and doing the job with talented people.
When I started out, there were three things that made film people look at me with condescension, I was young, I was black, and I was female. I have won a certain respect, but I think the film community still sees directing as a male job.
The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness and taking a controlling part in putting together a small world. A picture is made. You put a frame around it and move on. And one day you die. That is all there is to it.
I was on cruise control from '85 to '95, and it was my fault. There were a lot of self-inflicted wounds, when I was not doing any original material. I wasn't directing. I wasn't writing. That's not who I am.
There is no doubt that directing television has helped hone my directing skills. What television teaches you is to be efficient and to think on your feet. You have to adhere to strict deadlines and budget constraints.
