I once asked actor Jay Karnes (FX’s The Shield, among others) if he had any designs on directing. He looked at me sarcastically, only to say he would much prefer to have a life. Karnes would continue to act, thank you very much. And he has.
His response came to mind while reading director and producer James Ivory’s (Shakespeare Wallah, Remains of the Day, Howard’s End, A Room With a View, and many more) very interesting new memoir, Solid Ivory. Ivory has directed multiple films that were much beloved, and in his collection of memories he notes that the director “has to deal with hundreds of things going on horizontally and he must deal with all of these things confidently,” while likely not being able to deal with them in depth. While a director “can’t remember every fine nuance of every single take,” the “editor has an incredible memory for that and knows exactly where any shot goes out of focus or where an actor stumbles on a line.” Editors, actors, cinematographers, grips, and other film employees are specialists, while directors are generalists.
Read Full Article »
