Sam Mendes makes his debut an Oscar?

I love Mendes (cannot even wait for Jarhead; going crazy) but I gotta lean on Conrad somewhat without taking anything away of course. But like Rich; I hold him in a higher regard over other Hollywood directors (not as high as Stevie of course)

Interesting year that year:

Director: Sam Mendes (American Beauty)

Other nominees: Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich), Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules), Michael Mann (The Insider), M Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense)

Man that Sixth Sense did kick ass though.
 
Voters tend to like to vote arty for awards - Something like Star Wars is just too commercial.

I thought it was a bit lame that PJ won all the Oscars for ROTK. I though that it was the weakest of the trilogy and had some serious technical weaknesses. I don't think that ROTK stands up as a film by itself that well...but just MHO. A few mates and I tried to watch the "Director's cut" on new year's day because of serious hangovers - God that films drags on and on and on - let it go Peter!!!!
 
I still maintain the point of view that unless you are there on set it is completely impossible to identify quality direction, let alone put one director above another.
 
hey i'm new here and i don't belong in the league you guys (men&women) are in, i'm just an actor. but man you guys know your films what a year john **** i had forgotten all those greats (oh by the way i've worked on kevin spacey and i work on mamet and his wife thats for E overlandproduction)massage therapy so much for name dropping. CIDER HOUSE rules no wait SIX SENSE no the INSIDER awe hell all the above.don't you just hate it when the award goes to the wrong person then the next year they try to make up for it by giving it to him (crowe) AND neglecting the actor who should of won (washington) then making up for it the next year where it should of gone to?argh! it's like waiting at a lite in los angeles going to make a left turn three cars go thru the red lite making everybody wait to go on your green lite then the cars making left turn is late and so it goes on and on. any hows, my name is KIMKO I REALLY ENJOY reading what you's talk about
 
Many directors and actors have worked in theater or continue to work in theater. Like Rich, I too think this is an excellent background, and Mendes was able to successfully make the transition to the film world. As someone mentioned earlier, this is not always the case, but for this director it was no problem at all. To show that he isn't exactly a first timer, here's some awards he's been recognized with according to IMDB:
  • He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1996 (1995 season) for Best Director for both Company and The Glass Menagerie at the Donmar Warehouse.
  • He was nominated for Best Director at the 1999 Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards for the 1998 production of The Blue Room.
  • He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Director of the 1997 season for Othello at the Royal National Theatre.
  • He was awarded the 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award: Special for his services and contributions as Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse for the past ten years.
  • He was awarded the 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Director of 2002 for Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya in repertory company at the Donmar Warehouse in London.
  • He was awarded the 2002 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Best Director for both Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night performed at the Donmar Warehouse.
  • He was awarded the 1995 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) for Best Director for The Glass Menagerie.
  • He was awarded the 1989 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Most Promising Newcomer as Director of Minerva Studio in Chichester, England.
  • He was awarded the 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director for Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night performed at the Donmar Warehouse.
  • Was nominated for Broadway's 1998 Tony Award as Best Director (Musical), along with collaborator Rob Marshall, for a revival of "Cabaret."
  • In 2003 he won his second Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for his production of Take Me Out
  • In 2000 he won his first Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for his production of The Real Thing
  • In 1999 he was Nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for Electra
Looking at that list you can see how Mendes would have been given the greenlight, and entrusted with such talent. And I believe it was Mendes who helped champion the script as well, insisting that American Beauty one day see the big screen.
 
On his commentary on the American Beauty DVD, he says he studied and learned from lots of films on DVD with filmmaker commentaries.

Obviously, he has a rare talent for working with actors, imaginative staging and using light and sound from theatre. And almost certainly he's brilliant at networking.

Then he was backed up with the advice and skills of amazingly experienced filmmakers and their talents in their particular fields, a particularly great script, and the luck (I'm SO jealous) to be in the right place at the right time for all those elements to coincide.

He deserved the Oscar, but he was also incredibly lucky too. But maybe he made his own luck too, making the right contacts to get things to happen.
 
when spielburg watched the film at the test screening alone, sam mendes walked around out side the door. when he came out he said he made a classic film and probably one of the most perfect films he'd seen.
 
Okay I can dig it..................

But i'm not just talking about 'Directing talent; or 'Helming a project'. I'm talking about blocking and framing and composition and coverage; the technical side of shooitng a film.

How? How did he do it PERFECT the first time? I say "Thank you Conrad"
 
i dunno some people just have a nack for filmmkaing and what is visually stunning i mean park chan wook made a modren day silcent film basically with Sympathy for mr. vengeance and it is beautifully shot and paced. he won on of the euro awards (vinec?) anyway peopel just know what to do. visual study is what i doo now for films mostly. the way you can capture something is very important.
 
Theatre directors are masters of blocking. Orson Welles started in theatre, and we're still ripping him off today. One advantage to being a theatre director is that you explore the space of a room. I feel like film directors block with the camera first and actors second, while theatre directors use actors as the main starting point for blocking a scene.

I don't think Mendes started American Beauty having no knowledge of the technical side of filmmaking. It just doesn't seem realistic. I don't get that sense from commentary or even on Road to Perdition either. He knows what he wants, and if you don't give him that he can get pissed off. Mendes had a problem with the rainy shooting scene in Road to Perdition. It almost didn't make it into the film. Mendes may not be a DP, but he definitely knows what he wants.
 
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