{"id":347,"date":"2015-02-26T17:19:30","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T01:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hollywood-nobody.com\/blog\/?p=347"},"modified":"2015-02-26T17:19:30","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T01:19:30","slug":"magnificent-obsessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hollywood-nobody.com\/blog\/?p=347","title":{"rendered":"MAGNIFICENT OBSESSIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Let\u2019s see.<\/p>\n

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So far, we\u2019ve concluded that directors are control freaks who like to play God\u2014both on the set and in real life.<\/p>\n

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They are also ruthlessly manipulative, willing to do whatever must be done to get what they want.<\/p>\n

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What else?<\/p>\n

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Oh, yes.<\/p>\n

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They tend to be a bit obsessive.<\/p>\n

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In reality, it\u2019s a requirement for the job.<\/p>\n

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A director must live, eat, breathe nothing but the film he\u2019s working on.<\/p>\n

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Totally immerse himself or herself in the project to the exclusion of everything else.<\/p>\n

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Lamont Johnson used to tell a story that casts some light upon directorial obsession.<\/p>\n

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Lamont himself was no slouch in the obsession department\u2014his films took absolute possession of him during the making of them.<\/p>\n

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But his monomania was dwarfed by that of David Lean.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s his story.<\/p>\n

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Lamont was making a wonderful film about an attempted escape from a German prisoner of war camp in Scotland. It was called The McKenzie Break<\/em>, and he decided to shoot it on location with Ireland standing in for Scotland.<\/p>\n

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As he led his convoy of actors and crew up the coast of Ireland to shoot his movie, he passed David Lean\u2019s company shooting the storm scene for Ryan\u2019s Daughter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Months later, after completing his own film, he led his people back down the coast, past David Lean and company, still shooting the storm scene for Ryan\u2019s Daughter<\/em>!<\/p>\n

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Think of it!<\/p>\n

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Lamont managed to make an entire movie in less than the time it took Lean to shoot a single sequence.<\/p>\n

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Was it worth it?<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re a Lean fan (and I definitely fall into that catergory), the answer is an easy and immediate YES!<\/p>\n

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It resulted in one of the greatest sequences in film history.<\/p>\n

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If, however, you\u2019re a studio executive\u2014say, the head of MGM, which was financing the film\u2014your answer would be a resounding NO!<\/p>\n

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The film almost bankrupted studio and was a significant factor in the subsequent sale of its legendary lot.<\/p>\n

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So\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026directors are, almost by definition, obsessed.<\/p>\n

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Monomaniacal.<\/p>\n

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But they can\u2019t be too<\/em> obsessed, or they run the risk of playing Ahab, going down with their ship and taking every one around them with them.<\/p>\n

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Think of D.W. Griffith and his grand folly, Intolerance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Erich von Stroheim and Greed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Francis Ford Coppola and Apocalypse Now!<\/em>\u2014which ultimately paid off but just about broke him financially and emotionally.<\/p>\n

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Or to choose a recent, happy example, I\u00f1\u00e1rritu and Birdman<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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I can\u2019t begin to imagine the years of obsessive planning required to make a film in what is essentially a single shot, a feat beyond the reach even of the great Alfred Hitchcock, who attempted it in Rope<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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So there you have it.<\/p>\n

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Directors are ruthlessly manipulative, obsessed, monomaniacal control freaks.<\/p>\n

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My only question?<\/p>\n

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Why did I fail in my repeated attempts to direct?<\/p>\n

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I clearly have all the qualifications for the job.<\/p>\n

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