Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

by Tom McArdle | Published February 3, 2007

Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale star in Tom McCarthy's The Station Agent.

Have a lot of screenings.

Show the rough cut every week or two to a bunch of people who haven't read the script. Then listen to their feedback about what isn't working and what isn't clear. It may be painful to hear the critiques, but get over it. Then take all the info back to the edit room and figure out what to do.

Be flexible.

Things change. And change. And change. Roll with it.

Make sacrifices.

If you haven't edited a feature yet and you want to, you may have to cut your rate or edit in some far-off country in order to get a good opportunity.

Listen to that little voice.

Sometimes you get this tiny feeling, like the hint of a twinge of a feeling that something is off with a scene or a storyline. Listen to it. Mull it over. There may be some issue that wouldn't surface for months, if ever. Other people aren't going to tell you everything. The film is counting on you to search for the right answer.

Filmography for Tom McArdle

Bottleneck (2004)
The Killing Zone (2003)
The Station Agent (2003)
Lone Hero (2002)
Boys On the Run (2001)
Whipped (2000)
Poor White Trash (2000)
Loving Jezebel (1999)
QM, I Think I Call Her QM (1999)
A Hole in the Head (1998)
Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy (1998)
Paranoia (1998)
Hi-Life (1998)
Twisted (1997)
Star Maps (1997)
Sandman (1996)
Talk to Me (1996)
The Keeper (1995)
Hand Gun (1994)
Laws of Gravity (1992)

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