Have you ever told another director that you like their work as another director?

john threat

john threat

Carbonite Member
human nature is so unpredictable! you never know how they will respond - and perhaps maybe sometimes we get too invested in wondering how they will respond! Like unmarked magnets you never know if what pole you are showing their pole and wether you will be repulse or attracted

Have you ever sent a email or twitter to a director you liked - indicating you are a director too? or vice versa? Or have you done so in person? How do you handle that?
 
I know it's easier said than done but just talk to them. Before you do gauge whether they look busy or relaxed, if they don't react well don't take it personal, apologise and give them some space. They're just people and they're entitled to a bad day. I've always found my musical heroes on the whole to be really nice guys and generally receptive to a conversation with someone starting out. Just be respectful, don't bother them in situations you wouldn't want to be bothered, when they're with their families or busy working (on a project or promotion). Take a hint if you're intruding etc.

Oh, and talk to them casually. The same old questions as well as the flipside of the highly specific question designed to show that you 'understand' their work are annoying. Be more casual and general. Don't make it a list of questions about their work. If they bite they'll guide the conversation to what's currently interesting them. If they don't realise you're just a fan and they're taking the time to acknowledge you.
 
Last edited:
it seems like being a director is like being a lone wolf - you cant really hang around other directors because they will steal your mojo - or you theres. Ideas are our currency , so its like have a friend you cant talk to about your deepest ideas because they will jack them. Terrible. You have to be friends with like street sweepers and stock brokers. directors are a funny lot!
 
I just told a quite famous DP, that his name is not on my personal top 5 list of DPs.
He took it with a smile and said, that his name is also not on his personal top 5 list.

Egg Born Son said:
Oh, and talk to them casually. The same old questions as well as the flipside of the highly specific question designed to show that you 'understand' their work are annoying.
Click to expand...

I second that. After everybody and his kid brother talked with Jake Lloyd (young Anakin‑Skywalker) about Star Wars all day, he really enjoyed some beers and some fuel talk about building hot rods with me, for the rest of the evening.

Frank
 
Last edited:
john threat said:
it seems like being a director is like being a lone wolf - you cant really hang around other directors because they will steal your mojo - or you theres. Ideas are our currency , so its like have a friend you cant talk to about your deepest ideas because they will jack them. Terrible. You have to be friends with like street sweepers and stock brokers. directors are a funny lot!
Click to expand...


Not so, many directors hang out and collaborate. At one end Indie's form collectives simply to survive. At the other end you have Lucas and Spielberg, close friends and collaborators. In the middle somewhere you have Tarantino and Rodriguez. Artists don't steal each other's mojo, they grow it. Artists of all castes benefit from interaction with other artists. Ideas that are jealously guarded choke and die. Ideas shared take root and grow. Flowers don't grow in the dark. And what can they steal? An idea isn't a movie and no two directors will make the same movie from the same idea...or even the same script, for that matter.

It's no harder than making a new friend as an adult (always kinda weird, you feel by halves like a kid 'wanna come over and play with my transformers?' or asking them on a date!). It helps you've already got something in common. Find some likeminded directors whose work you like, introduce yourself and offer to help out on their next project. I wish I could find some local filmmakers to get together with. I want to form a collective of 3-5 people to work on each others films, both to reduce expenses, get more experience/contacts and also to get to play a variety of roles behind the scenes, not just cameraman/director. Anyone in Perth, WA shoot me a PM! Any experience level.
 
Yeah? i live in NY. I dont really see much collaboration going on. filmmaking is a totalitarian exercise, and there cant be two leaders
 
Okay. But I'm a little confused. You start by saying you want to tell another director you like their work and end up saying directors are terrible people and you have to make friends with street sweepers. Did something happen or have I missed the point?

On a side note who's that in your avatar? Looks like MNDR circa 2010.
 
I live in NY too. I couldn't possibly make a movie without help, and some of my best friends are other directors. We talk and share ideas constantly, I've never had anyone "jack" my idea. They usually just help make them better.
 
Egg Born Son said:
On a side note who's that in your avatar? Looks like MNDR circa 2010.
Click to expand...

^^ haha yeah thats MNDR this year 2012! I just finished a video for MNDR. Good Eye Egg Born Son. I am very lucky she let a wild child like me lens her for her video. Some really good directors were up for it

I'm friends with two Directors, both older than me so I guess I do have some Director friends although we aren't collaborators or anything. So I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth eh?

I do know that at least with me at festivals or such usually there is a pecking order and I fall on the arse end of it! Usually they treat me like a fan even if I just said "hello, I like your film" they often times respond with the look like i asked them for an autographia with a side order of a back rub!
 
john threat said:
I do know that at least with me at festivals or such usually there is a pecking order and I fall on the arse end of it! Usually they treat me like a fan even if I just said "hello, I like your film" they often times respond with the look like i asked them for an autographia with a side order of a back rub!
Click to expand...

It's probably how you come across to other people that makes them slightly dismissive.
 
i know its me. I'm super polite, quiet, thoughtful, super large like a football player and dirty and smelly with a deep southern accent and quaint colloquiums that only make sens. I'd be put off by me!
 
If I meet a local indie director and like their work, I will definitely tell them. If I meet a local indie director who got a feature together and completed or any piece of work completed and screened, I'll congratulate them, good bad or indifferent.

One thing I will not do however, that I do see a lot of others do is tell an indie director I loved their film if I really didnt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top