ABSTRACT
As I write this chapter we happen to be on the verge of another spring awards season. Celebrations, such as the Oscars (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), the DGA awards (Directors Guild of America), the People’s Choice Awards (Foreign Press Association), the Tonys (Broadway production), and the Obies (Off-Broadway production), which mainly have to do with the economics of our business, abound. I was startled to read an article that announced that this year-2005-the average age of the five directors nominated for the Best Director category by the Academy was sixty. And yet why was I surprised? It takes a long time and a lot of doing it to get to the point where one can really do it well. This craft can’t be mastered simply by reading about it. It takes constant exploration, experimentation, trial and error, and interaction with many different actors to develop the necessary skills required for this aspect of the work. In the old days, the bromide was “I’ve got a barn, let’s put on a show.” Today it is more apt to be “I’ve got a camera, let’s shoot a film.” This accessibility does not necessarily make for skilled results or great filmmaking.
