September 11, 2008
I saw this article in the latest edition of MovieMaker Magazine and thought it was pretty good. In the article, director Paul W.S. Anderson (Death Race), explains his list of rules for directing an action movie.
- Bodycount, bodycount, bodycount
- Remember to kill someone or blow something up every 12 minutes.
- Paint with broad brush strokes. “Finely observed” and “elegantly crafted” are for Swiss watches, not American action movies.
- Never make a movie in a country where they don’t have Starbucks. It’s hard to get your blood/caffeine ratio to the required level without a venti triple shot.
- Drink Red Bull on the set, but never in the editing room. It will make you feel like you are having a heart attack.
- Never have a driver who looks more tired than you do. Closest I ever came to being killed on a movie was when my driver fell asleep at the wheel and almost drove us off a cliff. Fortunately I was still awake. This is where adhering to rule #4 really pays off.
- Always learn some of the local language. Most of my movies are made abroad.
- Always shave during the shoot. It makes you look prepared and in control.
- Never shave during post-production. An unshaven, slightly disheveled look reassures the studio that you are putting in long hours in the cutting room.
- Try and wrap early once every week. Finishing just 10 minutes early earns forgiveness for all those hours of overtime every other night.
- Always book a super techno crane - 60 foot, not 30.
- Never shoot with 12 cameras when 15 will do.
- Whoever said “less is more” was wrong. More is more.
- Never apply these rules to anything other than action films. The results could be disastrous.
no comment until now