There seems to be a lot of excitement around something that, to me, is a yawn, frankly.
The universe is like a giant bank vault lock, where the tumblers are constantly moving and once in a while the tumblers line up and you have to listen for the click. So you must be prepared in that moment to step through the door.
If it was up to the studio, everything would be shot with a camcorder.
The films that influenced me were so disparate that there's almost no pattern.
Your only competitors are your past achievements.
Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee.