Nicolas Winding Refn Quotes

What I look for in a director is a strong point of view, a clear vision, and an ability to multitask and make decisions on the fly.

No, I wouldn't direct a movie, no. I couldn't. I don't have the patience for it, I don't have the people skills. You have to be clever. I'm not really clever in that kind of way. And you have to be able to manipulate people, but at the same time allow them to feel like they are manipulating you, to get the kind of movie that you want.

I think a first-time director always has to convince a lot of people that they're ready to do it.

To be a director, you have to be especially patient.

As a director, I never feel that I have the answers.

I think a good director is a good listener.

I think the best directors rarely lose their temper.

So yeah, a good director will be able to listen and hear everything, but have a confident vision of his own that he can say, 'oh yeah - that's a great point.' And you never know; often you can help far more than you think you can, because there's so much more that he's juggling than an actor.

A big part of the job of being a showrunner is, in my way of thinking, being a good communicator because there's really no other way to have hope for getting what you want, at the end of the day.

All of the directors I work with have their own unique gifts.

That's what I learned most about directing on my own - you've got to build a family, a filmmaking family.

There's a conventional wisdom that says that strategic thinking is much more important than relationship building, which doesn't seem to be nearly as highly valued as it should be, based on what some of the leaders that I've spoken with have said to me.

The director is the ultimate creative arbiter of what's going to happen. And as a director myself, you really appreciate collaborating with people who are trying to help you find what you need and what you want.

As a director, my job is to protect. I protect scripts, actors, cameramen, designers.

I think that in order to be a film director, one has to be a warrior who shouldn't be defeated by the daily onslaught of problems.

Great CEOs are not just born with shiny hair and a tie.

My dad is a great manager. He's not just competent - he's very clever.

Being a director, just to begin with, is just, I think, one of the hardest jobs just because you have to work in every way. You have to work with actors, you have to be involved with the producers and the writing and the action. Every department comes to you; you have to deal with everything.

Any good director, and I've worked with a few that I would call very good, they know how to disarm any anxieties very quickly.

I've certainly worked with really great directors who haven't acted.

I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.

Leaders of the future will have to be visionary and be able to bring people in - real communicators. These are things that women bring to leadership and executive positions, and it's going to be incredibly valuable and incredibly in demand.

I admire directors so much, I find them incredible: they manage such a huge number of people of different characters, think of the money involved.

Your own barometer is all you have to go by, and often what makes a good director is knowing when not to say something. On occasions you can find yourself on a film set where the person who is wearing the director's hat is only trying to justify his position.

Film is a very collaborative medium. If you're smart enough, you learn how to maintain your vision while drawing resourcefully from all the people around you.