Tales From The Script: Episode 1, when directors go bad

This is the first article in a series that is devoted to talking about the film industry itself as opposed to productions. These are part retrospective and part opinion but never take it as anything more than a commentary.

I appologise to any directors in advance who feel offended by these words, please note that I am not directing this at anybody personally...oh and don't let this prevent you from giving me a job (I could use the dough).

Directors are responsible members of any production, in fact they probably have the hardest job as they oversee an entire project and make important decisions that no normal person would wish to take on. Directing also instills a sense and power (this together with the fact that they are labelled on the production separately to the rest of the crew who are lumped under the studio involved). Power isn't necessarily a bad thing if you can handle it properly without becoming a little dictator.

Unfortunately this new found power can take an innocent independent or first time director and turn them into the proverbial bad egg. The director in question usually develops a tendency to threaten crew members with fear when a judgement is made on work submitted for review. let me inform "you directors" that fear doesn't get us to work harder, it makes want to quit and shoot ourselves because morale has been brought down. Authority should not be commanded with fear but rather with friendship, camaraderie and reward - take care of your team and they will take care of you. On the other extreme, don't let your team walk all over you because you're a chump as this makes them respect you even less than fear. I'll allude to one very popular example of a director with a violent streak:

I present to you, the one and only



Notorious for being a tyrant and pretty much the bane of any crews existence, however he does make movies that you want to have on your resume.
So fame over insanity and the loss of personal belongings due to knifing against a dartboard? Your choice.

I have an anecdote that can be used for this current situation. A while ago I was involved with a director and he was for lack of better words, green around the ears with a pie in the sky ambition. I jumped on board for the production as I needed the money and it wasn't a very demanding job. I have a lot of respect for directors and most of them have been supportive and understanding, not to mention good teachers. In light of my current position, I decided to give him a few hints as to how he can hold the team together and keep them in check - what a mistake that was. He now blows his own horn more than ever before and expects unrealistic results from a team who finds him to be more trouble than their meager salary is worth, in fact it had gotten so sticky that it influenced my resignation from the project.
Have I created a demon? Perhaps I have and I don't feel good about the results of my tuition but maybe working for a big studio in the future will curb his mean streak.

In the end, a director is who he chooses to be for the best of the crew and is literally just as important as the screen writer all the way down to the wardrobe assistant. We all have our jobs and remember that this article doesn't just pertain to the film industry but every aspect of the working world that we live in.

So how do you feel about all this? Do you think a good director has the permission to metaphorically rip their team members to shreds or perhaps a more sympathetic leader that will understand when you have to take the day of so as to tend to your ailing grandmothers health?