Film Courage: What do you think makes a great director?
Bruce Logan, Writer/Director/Cinematographer: Well for the longest time I was trying to
discern what that was because if you go on the kind of sets I like where you see everybody
working and you know the AD is shouting out all of the instructions and doing this and
that and the whole movie is really taking place in the director’s head.
For me to go on set and see what the director’s process is is almost impossible because if
he has done his job right and he’s cast the actors and he has cast the crew and when
he gets to the set except for like steering the ship (a little bit this way, a little
bit that way) there shouldn’t really be anything for him to do.
He should be able to sit back and let all of these building blocks that he’s put together
come before that camera that day to let that happen.
Now there are a lot of directors where that is not their style.
Also I always seem to get myself involved in projects that I don’t have enough time
for and then I have to be very proactive and Okay the camera is coming here.
On those kind of movies you can tell who the real director is.
But my impression for going on set with some of the great directors is you can’t really
see what their process is.
It’s really hard to know what people’s process is except for by the quality of their
product.
Film Courage: What do you think of the cliché that some directors are afraid of actors?
Is this true?
Or do you think some people operate better being removed and letting them do their thing
giving the appearance of fear?
Bruce: Well it’s funny because Kubrick has a reputation of not really someone said I
think that if he was a CGI animator he’d be able to control every aspect of his movie
because you are doing it all pixel by pixel.
I think some of his best movie performances that he got were from an actor called Peter
Sellers and I’m sure he was an actor that you could just like wind up and start shooting
and the performance is there.
I think a lot of inexperienced directors are afraid of the star power of the actors that
they are working with so they don’t quite know how to deal with that.
And I think a lot of star power actors working with those directors are saying I’m not
really getting enough from you as a director so I want to be directed.
I think there is a lot of layers going on there you know?
But if you are afraid of your actors that is not a helpful place to be because those
actors are your movie.
I don’t like to give actors direction.
I like that I’ve cast them.
I’ve seen them in the thing.
I sit back and I want to see their performance.
But if there is something that is not working for me story wise but I’ll never sit back
in the chair and yell at the actor “Hey, why don’t you do it this way?”
For me direction is all I will get up out of my chair.
I will go onto set, I’ll take the actor to one side and we will have a very personal
conversation about it so actors are your movie.