Denis Villeneuve Quotes

The most important thing for a director is being able to communicate.

A good director has to be a captain - he has to work with a lot of people every day.

Good leaders need to be able to connect to all of those around them. This is especially true at Whole Foods, where we have a very team-oriented culture.

I'm learning more and more to share creativity with the crew and actors. A film crew is more powerful if you listen to them, but it does make my job more tough because I have to listen.

For me, the director is the most important thing. He is steering the boat. If you don't trust him, you won't be able to give him your all.

Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.

As you develop relationships in your team you have to learn how your teammates react to being yelled at or how to put your arm around them and show them how to do things. You have to build those relationships up and understand who that person is and how they respond and choose your way to lead them to hopefully help everyone out.

I was a pretty good coach and working with marketing was like coaching.

The smartest thing a director can do is surround himself with really good people.

Mel is a great director because he's not just a director, he's an actor, so he knows how to direct actors. I loved working with him. He's great as a director. He's so intelligent. He's generous. I really loved him.

We need a leader able to project his or her personality and present our policies in today's media environment. All this is true - but we also need a leader capable of building a team, inspiring loyalty from colleagues, and one genuinely open to ideas.

All good leaders are connectors. They relate well and make people feel confident about themselves and their leader.

Well, the first quality of being a good leader is you have to be able to follow. See, a good leader can't just be the leader all the time, I have to be able to follow.

There's no way a director can communicate with every single person on the set and yet they need to motivate and instill an ambition to want to do their best work.

One of the things that I think I do well as a CEO is that I'm present. When I'm with my employees, I'm there in the moment.

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

As a leader, these attributes - confidence, perseverance, work ethic and good sense - are all things I look for in people. I also try to lead by example and create an environment where good questions and good ideas can come from anyone.

Even as an 18-year-old, I had to grow comfortable with my leadership style, which is that I was really impatient with under-motivated people - extremely impatient, to the point where I was counterproductive as a manager of underproductive people. And that hasn't really changed. If people need to be motivated, I'm no good.

I've been directed by other actors, and being an actor doesn't make you a good director.

Directing, I just feel comfortable. I know what I want. I know what I want from my crew. I lead by example. I have limitless energy as a director.

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 need to build my team around my weaknesses.

I don't put together cars, I put together people.

The hardest part about directing is getting everyone on the same page.