Directing is a rarefied business. And you see very few women pass that Rubicon.
I know that when I'm writing, I always want to be directing.
I'm more lost when I'm not on tour. I'm in a bit of a muddle at nine o'clock - 'Where's the stage?' On tour, there are people directing and supervising you.
Acting is just playing the violin in an orchestra. Directing is being the conductor.
I like directing myself; I feel like it's one less person to give notes to. There's an efficiency in it. I'm also kind of a control freak. So I like the fact that it gives me more control in the overall picture.
I think even back as far as 'Lord of the Rings,' there was always the chance that 'The Hobbit' would be made, even way back then. Of course at that point, Peter Jackson didn't probably think at that point that he'd be directing it.
That's what's nice about directing a film and having it done: There's nothing more I can do about it. It's done. That's it. All I can do is let it go and hope that people are kind to it.
When I started producing, it was George Abbott directing and he would let me do the scenery. He just wanted to know where the doors were - the entrances, the exits; the tables, the props - and then I would hire the designer. I took charge of the visuals - scenery and costumes and so on. And, the shows looked wonderful.
I guess because I'm so young, I m not sure of what lies ahead for me. I'm more into going the route of producing and directing. I just made a little short film. I'm more excited about going the route of doing a Drew Barrymore or... what's the one from 'Star Wars?'
I definitely in filmmaking more and more find writing and directing a means to harvest material for editing. It's all about editing.
Fame is part of me and my life as an actor. I enjoy the creative aspects of my life as an actor. I enjoy directing and acting as well. But the bottom line for me is not prestige and power. It's about having an exciting, creative life.
I think that women are uniquely suited to the job of directing, and I've seen it firsthand.
Directing, what little I know, is as much knowing when to step in as when to step out.
I kind of joke that creating franchises is a lot like directing pilot episodes of TV series. You set a look and feel and kind of pass it on.
A lot of scripts that I was given I didn't feel were right for me, because I didn't feel anything for them - I didn't feel like I was going to change in life and start directing.
Any of us directing at Pixar, whether it's our first time or not, feel a lot of pressure to not make a bad Pixar film.
I mean... directing is a holy, unpleasant experience, to be perfectly honest.
It would be a great vacation to act in a movie if I weren't directing it. But to do it while you're directing interferes with your concentration, and I wouldn't do that again.
I took on the role of CEO, which involves directing the Management Team and overall day-to-day operations of 500.
For me, acting is like a holiday. When you're directing, you have a strong sense of responsibility for others. It's exciting but exhausting, especially when you're like me: always wanting to break the rules.
Directing non-actors is difficult. Directing actors in a foreign language is even more difficult. Directing non-actors in a language that you yourself don't understand is the craziest thing you can possibly think of.
People ask me if I ever thought of writing a children's book. I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you're directing the story to is anathema to me, because, in my view, fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable.
Every time I am directing, I question why in God's name I'm doing it again. It's like hitting yourself in the forehead with a hammer.
I love directing actors. In the last few years, I have started expanding my directing into workshops for actors who truly want to grow and learn. My mom was a high school drama teacher, and teaching makes me very happy. My workshops are nurturing.
Depending on what happens with my directing career, I don't think I'll stop writing, even if I crash and burn in movies and TV. I'll go back to plays. Even if I crash and burn there, I'll write a novel. That's the great thing about writing is that you don't have to wait for people to give you permission to do it.
I started making music videos in my twenties and made my first feature, 'Guncrazy,' at 29. I then spent the greater part of my thirties directing features.
Man is a spiritual intelligence, who has taken flesh with the object of gaining experience in worlds below the spiritual, in order that he may be able to master and to rule them, and in later ages take his place in the creative and directing hierarchies of the universe.
If you're directing, it doesn't really matter any more if it's going straight to TV - what matters is whether you have the resources to make a story that moves you.
I have a staff of 12 people, so it's easy for them to handle all the management and the day to day at the company while I'm directing.
I have considered the directing, actually. Not so much the writing. That is not really interesting, but the directing is really interesting to me.
Directing at seven-and-a-half months pregnant was lots of fun.
My directing style has changed over the years. I allow things to breathe a lot more.
If I had to choose between a great acting job and a good directing job, I'd choose the directing job.
It doesn't matter what I'm doing - I wish it was something else. If I'm producing, I wish I was directing. If I'm directing, I wish I was doing almost anything else!
'Evita' obviously would always be very special to me because it was the first major musical that I did on stage and created in the U.K. with Hal Prince directing.
Directing is a unique endeavor where you are in charge of so many people. As a writer, it is sort of the opposite.
