Director-Producer Relationship Quotes

Being a producer, I deal with a lot of different directors, and some of them would drive me insane with all the different histrionics, and the mystique that they carry.

The people who've done well within the [Hollywood] system are the people whose instincts, whose desires [are in natural alignement with those of the producers] - who want to make the kind of movies that producers want to produce. People who don't succeed - people who've had long, bad times; like [Jean] Renoir, for example, who I think was the best director, ever - are the people who didn't want to make the kind of pictures that producers want to make. Producers didn't want to make a Renoir picture, even if it was a success.

There are so many directors who don't like any kind of interaction on set except for producers. I am the opposite.

The producer can put something together, package it, oversee it, give input. I'm the kind of producer that likes to take a back seat and let the director run with it. If he needs me, I'm there for him. As a director, I like to have the producer there with me. As a producer, I don't want to be there because I happen to be a director first and foremost, I don't want to "that guy."

I am very pleased to be working with director Woo.

On every movie I've done as a director, I look at the producers and having done it, I don't envy them, at all.

To me the only real star of the movie is the writer. And I work with writers very closely, from outline to first draft and on to the seventh draft, whatever it takes. Then my job is to support the director to make the best movie we can. Some producers try to go past them, but my job is to support them.

All great directors or anyone who has a strong vision like Scorsese needs to have a lot of support around them. I think from the very beginning - when we met each other - he realised he could trust me to do what was right for his movies.

Usually, with me, the project is always the second thing. The film-maker comes first. Films grow out of the relationship.

I haven't been a director-for-hire for any project. I work with people who appreciate that, understand that, and want to work that way.

I'm used to working with the director and producer, and that's my relationship. It's very simple.

On Belle de Jour, the producer was very protective. It was very hard for me.