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“A film director is not a creator, but a midwife. His business is to deliver the actor of a child that he did not know he had inside him.” – Jean Renoir
“There are directors who desire to be artistic. It is pathetic to compare the seriousness of their aim with the absurdity of their attainment.” – W. Somerset Maugham
“The director is the most overrated artist in the world. He is the only artist who, with no talent whatsoever, can be a success for 50 years without his lack of talent ever being discovered.” – Orson Welles
Oh, Orson: you always were rather grumpy.
One of the most repeated show-business punchlines of all time involves someone rich, powerful or famous being praised for their myriad of achievements, only to respond by saying, “Well, yes, but what I really want to do is direct.” It’s such a cliché, in fact, that you really can’t help but laugh when you hear it…and, yet, the ability to direct a good film is not something that comes naturally, nor is something that one can necessarily learn, even if they’ve worked in front of the camera for decades.
An exemplary director has to be able to look at a scene and sense what’s going to work and what isn’t. They need to have their own style, their own vision, and the ability to present that vision to an audience in such a manner that, upon leaving the theater, they’ll say, “Oh, you could totally tell that was one of their films.”
It’s a little too easy to create an Actors Hall of Fame – those people grow on trees – but it’s far more of a challenge to come up with a collection of directors whose work will stand the test of time. Now, mind you, just because it’s more of a challenge doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of potential nominees, but, as with our Standup Comics Hall of Fame, we’re keeping the inaugural class down to five inductees. After all, if we start inducting 20 people every six months, it’ll feel like a hollow victory, and we wouldn’t want that.
With that, let the clap board drop and…hey, somebody yell, “Action!”
Induction Classes
NOTE: Click the names or pictures below to read about each inductee.
INAUGURAL CLASS
Inducted: February 5, 2007
The selection process for the five members of our charter class follow the methods we’ve used in the past, where we’ve gone with a few obvious selections mixed with a few that might surprise you. Alfred Hitchcock won’t surprise anyone, nor will Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorcese, but some may question the inclusion of James Cameron and Tim Burton, if only because their résumés may not be of the level of the others. To our way of thinking, both have accomplished quite a lot in their comparably short directorial careers, making them more than worthy of induction.
Steven Spielberg
"Once a month the sky falls on my head, I come to and I see another movie I want to make." |
Martin Scorsese
"Because of the movies I make, people get nervous, because they think of me as difficult and angry. I am difficult and angry, but they don't expect a sense of humor. And the only thing that gets me through is a sense of humor." |
Alfred Hitchcock
"I am a typed director. If I made ‘Cinderella,’ the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach." |
James Cameron
"People call me a perfectionist, but I'm not. I'm a rightist. I do something until it's right, and then I move on to the next thing." |
Tim Burton
"I don't need a happy ending. I feel much happier coming out of a movie like 'Sid and Nancy' than I do 'Ghost' or something." |