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Perfect Strangers
First-time writer-director relies on his instincts to make The Strangers
I hate to admit this, but on day one of shooting The Strangers, as I drove to the set of my first feature, there really was only one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about: “Action.”
As the empty roads leading to the warehouse passed by in a blur, I repeated that one word over and over. That morning, while dressing, I’d realized that over the course of my life I had never given that command out loud in front of anyone, let alone a crew of professionals and a cast of stars all ready to judge the kid from out of nowhere who was directing his first studio movie. Besides a two-minute short in college, I’d never really directed anything at all.
“Action.”
Shit, I’m never gonna make it.
I almost had to pull over.
In reality, directing your first feature is a whirlwind of first times, repeated over and over again. Over the course of the three months prior to shooting, I storyboarded with artists, studied blueprints with art directors, held meetings, cast actors and rehearsed scenes, all the time having no idea how it was supposed to be done.
Still, I had to direct it.
It seems so simple from a distance, the concepts of finding the right cast, picking a crew, finding a location. But in reality, from the minute pre-production began, I was thrust into a world I had only read about or at least seen glimpses of in DVD bonus features. I can remember sitting in my beat-up old four-door, outside of a bar I wouldn’t have even been allowed inside of a week earlier, building the courage to take my first meeting with a Hollywood movie star.
What if my name isn’t on the list?
I remember the sweat pouring down my face as I sat down for the first time in front of someone who I had only seen on screen. But on that day, she was here to meet with me, The Director.
Over the course of six weeks, from the time I was picked to direct The Strangers to the time pre-production began in South Carolina, I was plunged into a world I had barely ever stopped to think about. A world where I was meeting people who I had heard of and seen, but to whom I was the stranger.
The process is terrifying, at least at first. A producer once told me a meeting with an actor is like a first date that could result in marriage. The only thing is, you often have to decide if you want to get married that day. I had never worked with actors before, so what was I looking for?
I learned to trust my instincts. Over and over I met with talented men and women who had an opinion on the material and over and over I told them mine. The producer was right and she was wrong. It was like a date, but more importantly it was like trying to pick a partner to dance with; you don’t have to be the exact same person with the exact same tastes.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by TLS on 6/01/08 at 6:53 am
Encouraging and inspiring article.
- Comment by Vancouver Wedding on 6/07/08 at 11:17 pm
Is the movie any good? I want to see it!
- Comment by C.A.C. on 6/10/08 at 7:15 pm
I heard the story wasn’t that great, but then again, who are my friends to say such things really! Anywho, great article! Hope to see more like these in the future!
- Comment by Free computer games on 10/02/08 at 6:13 pm
Thanks, where can I find more information about this?
- Comment by Giro Ionos on 10/28/08 at 10:33 pm
I liked the movie. Frankly, not the best, but a lot better than the majority of movies in its genre.
- Comment by Kiory on 11/12/08 at 11:42 am
heeforex
- Comment by Fogex Guidance on 12/16/08 at 4:34 am
I heard the story wasn’t that great, but then again, who are my friends to say such things really! Anywho, great article! Hope to see more like these in the future!
- Comment by casininio on 2/22/09 at 2:08 pm
I loved the “strangers”
- Comment by fashion news on 4/14/09 at 5:34 am
I would recommend the movie to anybody. thanks for the great article.
- Comment by saad on 9/22/09 at 3:01 am
Very nice post , thanks for your efforts !!
This story was published in the Future of Moviemaking 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Strange World
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