Time after time I see actors stepping into the director's chair and failing miserably. There are exceptions of course, Clint Eastwood comes to mind, but the majority of actors I've seen trying to direct typically produce fairly derivative work.
Directing is incredibly difficult, and very few people do it well, which is why I question why so many actors feel a need to try it, many of whom, quite frankly, are as dumb as a post.
For the same reason sports players believe they can coach teams and win championships. In the movie world, actors understand what is required of actors to deliver great performances.
Clint Eastwood is the only exception? What about Mel Gibson? Robert Redford? Woody Allen? Ben Affleck? Charlie Chaplin? Jon Favreau? Orson Welles? Kevin Costner? Quentin Tarantino? Sofia Coppola? George Clooney?
These actors delivered timeless movies. They were also actors in movies. That is why they feel a need to become directors. I don't see any dumb directors in this list of actors turned directors.
I saw the film today and actually enjoyed it. In all seriousness, was there a particular part(s) that you didn't think were good? I enjoy films just to be entertained so I honestly don't play close attention to camera angles, etc. I did notice she did a few of the "pan camera towards the sky, slowly..." shots but overall there wasn't anything that stood out at me as terrible.
Could you give some examples of what you thought wasn't done well?
Ben Affleck is a better director than he was ever an actor.
shareI believe some of more cut out for it than others. Clint Eastwood is a great example. He allied himself with Bernie Siegel, who was a great director, and Clint made Bernie his mentor. By the time Clint got PLAY MISTY FOR ME, he had learned enough from Bernie to carry the film and he did spectacularly. Like everything else, good directing usually requires a ton of skill that is learned, step by step, and not given as favor.
shareWhen I saw who was directing this movie I said definitely not going to go this. Too bad cause story looks good.
shareI believe you meant to say DON Seigel.
" I don't agree, but I do understand" - Chris Rock
Why does ANYONE think they can direct?
shareHollywood gives A list actors anything they want. Literally anything. They don't care about making good films. They only care about money.
PS Affleck hasn't made a single good film. His films are boring paint by numbers.
Yes, Lex, you are absolutely right. Thank you. Too much holiday good cheer for me this time of year. : ) Sorry for that error.
I agree A Listers (as long as they hold on to that coveted crown) are allowed to do a lot of things based on the fact that they generate money. I recently read about an extensive research study of why women don't make it to the big time like men. At the top, it's still a boys' club.
The reason is men make more money and know how to generate more money for those who back them. Every now and again a woman breaks through. In Angelina's case, it helped that her dad was Jon Voight and she was very beautiful. She definitely had talent in GIRL, INTERRUPTED because she stole some scenes and that's always good to enhance an actor's reputation.
Now she's a woman of a certain age, with a young family, and the way to go is like with the guys: directing, writing, producing, maybe some acting thrown in, especially in the character or supporting roles. The area they should all go into: DISTRIBUTING.
I met some producers once who told me that a guy across the room - a mousy-looking man - was a multi-billionaire distributor. He had one drink and quietly ducked out. Everybody in the room wanted to be his best friend forever except for me, because I had no idea who he was and my job was to ask if he wanted me to take his coat while he was inside the lodge. He still shivered like the poor folks that night.
This is a really dumb question, as actors usually make the best directors. And it's obvious you don't know many actor-directors. These are people that have been in front of the camera for a good portion of their lives, so they get a feel of it the most because they usually know how they like to take direction.
I haven't seen this movie to know how Angelina did, but what you've said is the equivalent of saying that a man that really enjoys hamburgers should never be allowed to cook them. Hell, there's a lot of non-performer directors who wash out more often, so...
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Pretty true. Some actors do a good job directing, and some don't. Just like some directors don't do a good job directing, while some do.
Robert Deniro directed one of my favorite films of all time, "A Bronx Tale". I have no idea how he came to direct it, but he did a great job with it, and there was no reason for some big-shot or avant garde director to screw it up. Well done film with great performances and a great story.
Peter Burg on the other hand impressed me with the "Kingdom" but then followed that up with one of the worst films of all time, "Battleship". "Battleship" is where the A-list actor/best friend of the real-life Ari Gold gets anything he wants and makes a pile of crap. The "Kingdom" however was well-done. Some movies by actors are quite well done, and some fall into the latter category. You can't make a blanker statement that all actors are bad directors.
Robert Redford is also one of my favorite DIRECTORS of all time with "Quiz Show", among others, Clint Eastwood, Jon Favrea, Ron Howard, so many Oscar winning and nominated directors that started out as Actors. So, it really doesn't matter what they started out as, or base anything on 1 film. Actors make fine directors if they know their stuff, and conversely a 'director" can pump out garbage movies as well. (Cloud Atlas- the Wachowski brothers, Transformers by Micheal Bay etc.) The Wachowski Brothers and Micheal Bay were really great actors.
Robert Redford directs a very mean movie. Quiz Show and A River Runs Through It are two of my favorite movies of all time. The Legend of Bagger Vance was flawed but ultimately enjoyable. I have heard that Ordinary People is very good as well. Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade is phenomenal.
"Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand."
Same reason some Directors think they can act. I think she is both a good director and actress. And Clint Eastwood must think she is a pretty good actress since she was the lead in the Changling. Please it is ok not to like a person but do not dismiss their work because of that. I think it is a very smart move for actress's to get into directing simply because of the nature of the business. If you are over 40 it is hard to get real good roles for women actors. Yes I know Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep get roles but they have eve complained.
Oh and I agree with the person who said that Eastwood is a better director then actor. I think Woody Allen is in that catagory too.
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Hi marbleann,
Totally agree. You make good points.
Best,
Ruben