Sydney Pollack Quotes

I thought we were making a nice little movie. That's how it was regarded by everyone else, too.

He wasn't directing it, of course, so I didn't work with Hitchcock.

He was an amazing - John McTiernan really was an incredible director, probably the best I've worked with because he constantly busted me when he wasn't getting what he wanted.

You have to really work with someone who you think is going to be a collaborator, who you think understands what you want to do with this movie and how you want to do it.

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

Working with and collaborating with and for Peter Jackson was an incredible experience because he is such a phenomenal filmmaker.

You need these experiences. Just know that sometimes, the director has a specific look in mind.

When there's a clear vision, and you've got the creative teams working toward that goal, each on their own, it can then come together quite elegantly at the endpoint.

As a director or writer, you have to be so controlling.

I believe that the director is really the soul. It is a collaborative effort, but the director is the one who needs to have that vision. It could be a great script, but it starts from there. You need to have good material, at least, but if you don't have someone with vision, it's just words.

I think that, again, filmmaking is the director's medium in the end, and the best thing a producer can do is stay out of the way and support the director one hundred percent.

I've worked with Terrence Malick, Werner Herzog, Olive Stone and David Gordon Green, and Damien Chazelle on 'First Man.' When you have someone at the helm like that, they're gonna make something great.

I'd like to have coffee with Farhan Akhtar. He's an all-rounder in the film industry, and I have heard many good things about how he goes about planning all his productions.

We tend to see films as artifacts of one mind. The reality of it is, I think, when you come out here and start working, you have to learn pretty quickly that it's a very collaborative process.

I used to once believe that the script is the most important thing, but now I also believe that the kind of people you are working with also matters a lot, and moreso, to see how the film will be promoted.

You see, I believe a producer's job today is as important as that of a director.

I've worked with a lot of great directors and often times they solicit your ideas.

No actor can give his best performance without the help of the director.

When I'm acting, I'm just worried about that piece of the pie, contributing to the whole. But when you're directing, you... get the vision out of your head and on the stage.

So you know, as a filmmaker you have to get it all right in the writing stage. After that, one has to leave it on the judgement of your trusted ones and the audiences.

There are more women editors than people realise. I think we're more able to keep our eye on what the film needs. Between men, sometimes it's a real ego battle, and that's very bad for the film.

There are films that look very interesting when on paper, but things change while shooting. At times, things changed during post-production, and I see no reason to blame anything on anyone. It is a collaborative effort. If it failed, we should face it.

Alexander Payne is one of those directors who is completely in charge and knows exactly what he wants, which is really fun. It's fun when a director is very specific. He knows totally the tone that he's going for. It makes it easier than if everyone's just guessing and trying to figure it out.

Film is a team thing. There is no auteur.

I want to make my kind of films but make them work commercially, too. When my presentation meets the director's imagination, the result will be great.