"Curiosity is how you're going to find your stories." - James Cameron
James Cameron directs Hollywood epics - The Terminator, Alien, Titanic, Avatar, and more. He advises potential directors to immerse themselves in all aspects of film. It's the same for sport. Learn across domains.
"Before you can radiate, you have to absorb...it's a law of thermodynamics."
"Learn the language..." In fact, every team develops its own language.
Sometimes we reach an understanding with silence (sometimes not). Aliens 1986
"Understand all the jobs on the set..."
"It's a fusion of both of the sides..." of the craft (creation and technical)."
"The art of film directing is the art of making it happen in real time." (What we and others choreograph in practice, opposition seeks to disrupt.)
"It's hard to be a film maker without being conversant in simple visual effects (e.g. green screens)."
"Fortune favors the prepared mind..." (preparation is more than practice, it's practicing the right way at the right time. Preparing against multiple zones differs from preparation versus full court man pressure.)
"You're laying track in front of a moving train."
"What's your preparation...your pre-imagining of the scene?" (When it goes well, our vision and reality converge.)
"Know your most important scene?" (Bob Knight said the first five minutes of the second half were critical.)
"Be a sponge." Make friends with people in different parts of the craft.
"The only way to really learn is by doing."
"It's a collaborative...the director is like a war President."
"Everybody serves the movie (game)." (How are you advancing the story by excelling in your role?)
"People don't do their best work if they're not respected and appreciated and have a voice." (Eric Spoelstra discusses collaborative conflict.)
"Somebody like Ron Howard is a team player...he's great at it...he takes a lot of time complimenting people."
"You have to inspire and you inspire by communicating." (But aspiration and inspiration are fulfilled by preparation and perspiration.)
"You've got to see the wonder of it in front of you."
"Share the joy of creation."
"Film is about compromise...decisions are binary...and forever." (Practice devoted to A takes time away from B and C. It's the competition among scarce resources.)
"Keep your heart in the game...and you make it fun."
"It's the sum total of all of your inputs." (Experience, reading, dreams, movies, etc.)
An iconic view of the tundra from Kirosawa's Dersu Uzala
"Keep your eyes open for the magic." (Project not only what is by what might be.)
"How do you bottle the lightning?"
"You've got to be that flowing water..." (Water cuts through rock over millennia. Powerful irony emerges in his water quote as he directed Titanic...)
Summary:
- Immerse yourself in the craft.
- Learn the language.
- Be a sponge.
- Know your most important scene (be good at what we do most).
- Everybody serves the game.
- At our best, vision and reality converge.
- People don't do their best work if they're not respected and have a voice.
