The Directors— Take Four

Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page i The Directors— Take Four Robert J. Emery Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page ii © 2003 Big Show Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copy- right Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. 07 06 05 04 03 5 4 3 2 1 Published by Allworth Press An imprint of Allworth Communications, Inc. 10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 1(0010) Emmy® is a registered trademark of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sci- ences. Academy Awards® and Oscar® are registered trademarks and servicemarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Cover design by Douglas Design Associates Interior page design and composition/typography by Rachel Reiss ISBN: 1-58115-279-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Emery, Robert J. The directors : take four / Robert J. Emery. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-58115-279-5 (pbk.) 1. Motion picture producers and directors—United States—Interviews. I. Title. PN1998.2.E496 2003 791.43’0233’092273—dc21 2003009301 Printed in Canada Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page iii Contents Note from the Author v 1. The Films of Adrian Lyne 1 2. The Films of Tony Scott 21 3. The Films of George Lucas 41 4. The Films of Phillip Noyce 65 5. The Films of Cameron Crowe 87 6. The Films of David Cronenberg 113 7. The Films of Mike Figgis 159 8. The Films of Frank Darabont 201 About the Author 226 Index 227 iii Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page iv For Pearl, Ken, Bernadette, and Roberta Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page v Note from the Author s I indicated in the first three volumes, the interviews in these books Acome from The Directors, a television series I created, which runs on the Encore Movie Channel in the United States as well as in over fifty countries around the world. Only a small portion of each director’s interview was used in the television series. It seemed only natural, then, that we transcribe the entire interview so that we could examine the full scope of each director’s talent for making unique motion pictures. For anyone reading this book who might have a desire to become a film director, know that you have taken on a difficult and sometimes frustrating task. Directing movies is right up there with the most demanding of careers. A film director is part writer, part producer, part technician, part father fig- ure, and certainly the leader of the pack. Everyone looks to him for answers, and those answers can make or break a film. How can any one person be all of these things? It might surprise you that there is no one answer to that question. The answer lies in the interviews contained in this book as well as in the three books previously published. Each of these directors has his own way of dealing with the demands of making a feature-length motion picture. Most will tell you that it is in their blood, that they cannot wait to get up in the morning and charge full speed ahead into whatever ambushes may await them. Consider what can go wrong on any given day, and you wonder why anyone would put himself through such torture. Now, consider what happens when things go right. The result is a film that can make an audience cry or laugh, hold people in suspense, and on oc- casion change someone’s life. So, my hat is off to all film directors, because I know from firsthand experience just how difficult—and how rewarding— the work can be. When it works, it is the biggest high in the world. v Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page vi vi The Directors—Take Four I sincerely thank all of the wonderfully talented directors who participated and gave of their valuable time, along with the actors, actresses, writers, producers, and cinematographers who appeared in the television series as guests. As always, a very special thanks to the American Film Institute, who helped make all of this possible by partnering with us on the television series. In transcribing the on-camera interviews into this book, some editing was necessary. However, I have retained as much of the original interviews as possible. —Robert J. Emery Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page vii The Directors— Take Four Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page viii Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page 1 1 The Films of Adrian Lyne irector Adrian Lyne is the creative force behind some of the most talked- Dabout films of the past decade, including the haunting thriller Jacob’s Ladder, the spellbinding phenomenon Fatal Attraction, the sexually daring Nine 1/2 Weeks, the high-energy dance musical Flashdance, the international hit Indecent Proposal, and the daring Unfaithful. Born in Peterborough, England, and raised in London, Lyne attended the Highgate School, where his father was a teacher. In his twenties, he also played trumpet with a jazz group. An avid moviegoer during his school days, he was inspired to make his own films by the work of French New Wave directors like Godard, Truffaut, and Chabrol. Two of his early short films, The Table and Mr. Smith, were official entries in the London Film Festival. Lyne made his feature filmmaking debut in 1980 with Foxes, a perceptive look at the friendship between four teenage girls growing up in Los Angeles San Fernando Valley. His next film, Flashdance, the innovative blend of rock ’n’ roll, new dance styles, and breathtaking imagery, created a sensation in 1983. Lyne’s bravura visual style blended perfectly with Giorgio Moroder’s powerful score to propel the story of an aspiring ballerina who works in a factory by day and dances in a club at night. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, with the theme song, “What a Feeling,” winning the Oscar for Best Song. 1 Lyne next took on the controversial Nine ⁄2 Weeks and has not stopped challenging film audiences since. What is unique about his directing is his eye. He sees things in a way that I don’t think anyone else would or could. He has an unusual mind, but just the way he lights it and shoots makes his scenes really special. 1 Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page 2 2 The Directors—Take Four He can take an average, relatively dull moment and make it into some- thing electrifying. Woody Harrelson—Actor The Conversation I became interested in filmmaking in my early twenties. I used to anxiously await each new Jean-Luc Godard film. I really liked the French new wave more than the English new wave, although there were good English films being made by Tony Richardson and others like that. But I liked French films, and particularly Godard and Truffaut. I don’t think it’s quite the same now. For example, when you were waiting for a new Ingmar Bergman film, there was such anticipation and excitement. It really was a sort of a reverence for what they were going to do. I don’t think it’s quite the same feeling anymore. Early on, I started working as an accountant. I was maybe the least suited for accountancy than anybody you can imagine. I was a disaster. At that time, my one big passion was playing the trumpet. I played the trumpet with a jazz group and when I wasn’t doing that I bet on the horses. Then I went into advertising. I heard somebody say that if you don’t really quite know what you want to do, go into advertising because there’s so many different sides to that. So, I went into advertising and eventually got on the television side and I got to watch people like John Schlesinger make commercials. I eventually got to make them myself. There was a lady at the agency called Jennie Armstrong, who said to me one day, “I’d like to form a production company with you as director.” I’d never directed anything except one little title sequence, so she was taking me on faith. I hadn’t the slightest idea of what I was doing for at least three years. When I finally got a commercial to do, I shook with terror, not knowing what was going to happen. It was very much a trial-and-error process. I would do these very ambitious lists of what I wanted to shoot during the day and then I would miss a shot and I would think that the whole thing was screwed because of that. I would literally go into the lavatory while the crew was waiting and I’d be in tears and eventually come out and stagger through it. It was a long while before I really knew what I was doing. Directors 4_r2 6/5/03 11:55 AM Page 3 The Films of Adrian Lyne 3 I eventually did a short called The Table, which was actually quite good. It was a ten-minute piece about a man who accuses his wife of infidelity. (In fact, it was based on my first wife and myself, to be honest with you.) The man accuses his wife of doing this at a party they attended the previous night.

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