Jeffrey Donovan Quotes

As a means of supporting experiential element in film, once I begin to work on a particular movie I consider myself to be the tool of the director.

From film to film, I realize my strengths and my weakness, and I realize how much better I get. I learn the lingo, I ask questions and I'm on set trying to figure out which shots they're going to use. For me, it's exploring the art. It's not just making a movie.

Much of directing [a movie] is not directing but just listening and being present in the moment and just keeping your eyes open.

The type of producing that I did for many years involved working very closely with directors.

I like to just work with great directors.

I've discovered just how symbiotic the relationship is between writers, directors and actors. They ask the same questions and strip down texts in exactly the same way.

I love to do very long and complicated scenes.

I think actors do make really, really wonderful directors.

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 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 don't believe in development. I believe in pre-pre-production, so when I sit down with an idea for a movie, I'm thinking I'm going to make this film. I don't think about anything else.

I've always really respected directors. As much as I was interested in acting, whenever I watched a film, it was always the directing that really stood out to me.

I don't think you can be a great director without knowing a lot about editing.

I love telling stories. But I believe that nobody could teach you to direct a movie.

Half of 'Mudbound' were shots I stole in between other scenes.

I remember walking into the editing room when I was a junior in college, and I watched the guy make cuts, and I didn't know what the hell was going on. He was just putting these shots together and telling the story, and it was amazing.

I guess, as a director, you sort of take the script, and you find ways to interpret it.

I learned about making films by going into advertising, making commercials.

When I make a film, the yardstick is my mind. If I laugh at the jokes and feel sad at the serious undersides, then the subject works.

I am eternally impressed and amazed by what directors do.

I know there are people who can direct sitting down away from it all at a video monitor. But I can't do that.

I'm really fascinated by other directors' methods. I've done a lot of learning by observation.

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

Working with George Miller was an education. It was eight college degrees in character development and directing all at once.

I want to do content-driven film, powerful roles which I've never done before.