Duncan Jones Quotes

People think a director teaches acting. But in good films a director doesn't.

Directing was easy for me because I was a writer director and did all my directing when I wrote the screenplay.

In film, you're painting a canvas. I got really excited about that.

I think I'm drawn to films more as a director with a directorial mind even as an actor. I make movies to make the films, not to act.

Once you're directing, you're kind of in a certain mode, where you're taking whatever is on the page and forming it into the film that you think it might want to be. So whether it's my writing or not, I still try to work with it in the same way.

As the director, I try to go in and know as much as I can about the material. I really try to go in and understand what all the characters are about, what the movie's going to look like.

I started out my career as a screenwriter and quickly discovered that adhering to a script isn't always the best way to make a film. You have to take into consideration the nuances of the characters and what the actors bring to their roles.

I have always believed that when a film is being made, it has to be the director's vision.

I always try to approach a film from the point of view of the director.

I think I had my answers to the questions in 'The Witch,' and I had my answers to the questions in 'The Lighthouse;' I need those in order to write and direct them.

In a nutshell, directing 'The Gift' was all about understanding how the complex machine that is 'Game of Thrones' works.

The work of a director can be summed up in two very simple words. Why and How.

I definitely managed to do different kinds of things. My focus is usually who the director is, because at the end of the day the director is the storyteller, what the movie is all about. I don't want to participate in something that I don't think is constructive storytelling.

A script like 'Nightcrawler' gives me an opportunity to truly realize a vision that's mine, which is exciting.

Directing is creating a whole. You're able to combine different elements and create a film that is unique and true to your vision.

A film actor is just a victim of directors and editors.

But a writer's contribution is literary and a film is not literary. When you take that stuff off the page, and cast the people who are going to fit into those roles, that's what being a director is.

You ought to have a perspective when you're making a film.

On a very small scale, I kind of understand why the directors that I work with do certain things. I don't consider myself an incredible director. I'm not ready to do movies by any means. But, I feel like I can be a better actress now that I've been on the other side and kind of understand the process and more of the technical aspects of it.

I think what makes a good actor's director is the same thing that makes a good director. Acting is just one of the trades necessary to make a movie.

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

I approach film no differently than I approach a role. I want to make sure the movie is right, the characters are right, I can really bring something to it as a visionary, a storyteller. It's great to point a camera, but can you tell a story?

You - as a director, you have to do your job, you have to show things, and you don't have to ask the actors to do it, or the dialogue.

If you're a director and someone shows up and asks how I do it, I'd imagine, as a director, you're like, 'Man, I've got a million decisions to make; can you show up with an idea for the scene?'

The dream, I think, with any project is it starts with an idea, and then somebody writes it, and the writer hopes that a director comes on and makes this piece of material visual, and both the director and writer hope that they can have actors come in and bring something to it that neither one of them expected, elevating it along the way.