The Film Director by David Lean

The director is the man responsible for putting the story on the screen. He is, or should be, a story-teller in pictures, and as such is the filter through which the acting and technical talents pass on their way to the celluloid.

Most movie enthusiasts think at heart that they are born directors; it is quite probable that you do, too. I am going to try and make you think again; but first let me confess it is one of the most fascinating jobs in the world.

Have you got imagination? Have you extreme tenacity of purpose? Do you like hard work? Are you the sort of person who will use most known methods to see your ideas carried through to the end? If your answer is yes, read on.

There is no short cut to direction and most of the established directors of today have come up through a succession of studio departments into their present jobs. The director has to give orders, and he must give possible orders. It is no use asking the sound-man or the cameraman to do something which is beyond the limits of sound recording or camera work. The director must also be able to protect himself from technicians who might persuade him that the possible is impossible. He must have authority, and he can only have that authority if he has a general knowledge of his craft. I should mention here that on occasions directors have come straight into the film studios from the stage, but in these cases it will always be found that a cameraman or film-editor has given him the technical knowledge which he would otherwise lack. (It is an interesting sidelight on these stage producers that I can only remember two of them who have had the grace to give their cameraman screen credit alongside their own: NOEL COWARD on In Which We Serve, ORSON WELLES on Citizen Kane. Good company!)

Rooney Mara

Last year around this time, just before my return to Istanbul, I was having my last days in Helsinki. It was around mid-December. Most of my friends were already gone to celebrate the Christmas so I was pretty much left alone and I was discovering Helsinki for the last time. I was visiting my favorite spot, Orion to watch black and white movies from the mid-fifties and I was having a cup of coffee in the bar next to the film theater. Helsinki was in a way a perfect place to discover myself. I could walk by myself in the afternoon when the city was almost in the dark but you could still spot the blues in the sky as well as warm colors coming from restaurants and bars.. which was a perfect mixture to describe being alone and not feeling bad about yourself.

Then The Social Network (2010) came around and I went to see it just before I came back. Besides the fact that I was inspired by the film, there was one thing that attracted me more than the film itself. And that was Rooney Mara who played the ex-girlfriend of the main character.

Rooney Mara was born in 1985 and this makes it my peer. I really don't know much about her except she is a very talented actress but I also believe that, deep inside, she is a very beautiful girl..

Today I had a chance to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) with my father and realized that the film was shot in Sweden. Suddenly I felt at home since I realized the filmmaker had benefited from this dark blues and warm colors that surrounds Scandinavian cities. I realized I missed being there. And Mara was there to produce this film. This connection made me happy.

Improvisational Cinema

The film you have just seen was an improvisation.

From Shadows (dir. John Cassavetes, 1959)

I made certain choices

From Hanna (dir. Joe Wright, 2011)