Directing is a nice job. It's the best job for me. If i had to pay money to do it, I would do itIt's problematical. It's disapointing often. It's very challenging. It's frustrating as hell. It's extremely demanding and totally satisfying work. And if I wasn't doing this, I would have to do legitimate work for a living. There are guys out there really working for a living, cleaning streets or coal mining, teaching. Directing is playing. Acting.
William FriedkinIve never seen a more terrifying film than 'The Bababook'. It will scare the hell out of you as it did me.
William FriedkinThe informing idea of what you want to say and do, that's what will take you from film school to professional - the idea. That's what is original to you.
William FriedkinStyle is something that's extremely important, but it must grow naturally out of who and what you are and what the material calls for. It cannot be superimposed.
William FriedkinIf you're a movie star, the studios don't want you to act. They just want you to show up and look good and chase girls and have a lot of laughs.
William FriedkinThe first work of the director is to set a mood so that the actor's work can take place, so that the actor can create. And in order to do that, you have to communicate, communicate with the actors. And direction is about communication on all levels.
William FriedkinNone of the chase scenes that I did had any opticals. We had to do all of that physically. The first thing you have to do is see it in your mind's eye. You have to envision it. Imagine someone knitting a sweater or a scarf. They either have a pattern in front of them, or they see a pattern in their mind's eye. Then it's one stitch at a time. That's what shooting a chase is like.
William Friedkin