Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

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Ethan Hawke — Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

For Ethan Hawke’s fifth feature film as a director, he directs his daughter Maya Hawke as Southern Gothic literary legend…

2 weeks ago
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Martin McDonagh: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

Martin McDonagh knows the importance of kindness on a film set. His fourth feature film, The Banshees of Inisherin, stars…

1 year ago
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Maggie Gyllenhaal: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

Sometimes Maggie Gyllenhaal has worked on films with directors who appreciated her brilliance. Sometimes she hasn’t. “I have learned over…

2 years ago
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Mahershala Ali: Things I’ve Learned as a MovieMaker

"My goal is to be a transformational actor,” says Mahershala Ali, star of Apple TV+'s Swan Song. “What I mean…

2 years ago
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Paul Verhoeven: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

Paul Verhoeven is the rare director who makes hit films that also invite deep analysis. They’re often violent, and sexual,…

2 years ago
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Spike Lee: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

When Spike Lee arrived at New York University’s graduate film program in the early ’80s, he had never heard of…

3 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Robert Downey Jr.

From Kings County State Correctional Facility to the private tutelage of the legendary Lee Strasberg, Robert Downey Jr. has blazed…

3 years ago
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Ken Burns: Things I've Learned as a Moviemaker

This fall marks the 40th anniversary of Ken Burns’ first documentary, Brooklyn Bridge. In the decades since, he’s established himself…

3 years ago
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Viggo Mortensen: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

Viggo Mortensen has disappeared into roles as a Russian mobster in Eastern Promises, a Bronx bouncer with a lot to…

3 years ago
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Abel Ferrara: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

The work of Abel Ferrara has always mixed arthouse and grit, and his two 2020 films continue that tradition. The…

4 years ago
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Quentin Tarantino: Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

Quentin Tarantino never went to film school. But he has a lot to teach, from the importance of knowing your…

4 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Jonas Mekas

"I hope you’re taping this. One day I would like to have a copy,” Jonas Mekas tells me from his New…

6 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Marc Forster

With All I See is You, director Marc Forster consciously pivots back toward the ambiguous feature, the once prevalent film…

7 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Uwe Boll

A German enfant terrible (or just plain terrible, for many critics) moves to Vancouver in the late ’90s and builds…

7 years ago
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“A New Manifesto for F(i)lm:” A (Satirical) Excerpt from Ayoade on Ayoade

Richard Ayoade is a cinephile. That much is made abundantly clear in Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey, his book…

7 years ago
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Gaspar Noé: Things I’ve Learned As a Moviemaker

Is it easy being cinema’s reigning enfant terrible? No, but Gaspar Noé wears the title well. This year, the Argentinian…

8 years ago
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My Golden Rule (For Directors): Wallace Shawn

Although I think of myself primarily as a writer, and I’ve written films, I’ve never directed a film. Most of…

10 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton is a man who has lived many lives throughout his long, consistently intriguing career. The star of…

11 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Errol Morris

In his groundbreaking documentaries, 
Errol Morris has tackled pet cemeteries (Gates of Heaven), the torture of suspected terrorists at Abu…

11 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned: Wim Wenders’ 50 Golden Rules of Moviemaking

Wim Wenders is known for his poetic and emotional films, like 1984’s Palme d’Or-winning Paris, Texas and 1987’s Wings of…

11 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Michael Ballhaus

Michael Ballhaus, ASC is an indisputable cinematography great. As a key collaborator for directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin…

17 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Ken Loach

Three short, sweet points of advice from the master English director Ken Loach. 1. You can’t be fatalistic. You can’t…

17 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Brad Gann

Brad Gann is the writer and director Black Irish, the 2007 film starring Brendan Gleason and Melissa Leo. MovieMaker interviewed…

17 years ago
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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker: Daniel Pyne

Daniel Pyne is a director, producer, novelist, and the prolific screenwriter behind Hollywood hits like Any Given Sunday (1999), The Sum…

17 years ago