tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post6270534287977471142..comments2024-03-28T06:14:54.076-04:00Comments on And So It Begins...: Top 10 Directors Who Never Wrote a FilmAlex Withrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-50233751833555737392023-01-30T15:51:18.143-05:002023-01-30T15:51:18.143-05:00Thanks so much! I'd suggest trying writing som...Thanks so much! I'd suggest trying writing something small then making it!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-24276079388621563112023-01-25T02:10:06.331-05:002023-01-25T02:10:06.331-05:00nice list man, im still in the dilemma if i want t...nice list man, im still in the dilemma if i want to direct only or also write ahahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-82089718367425655022021-03-05T10:23:56.474-05:002021-03-05T10:23:56.474-05:00Thanks so much! And oh that's such a good call...Thanks so much! And oh that's such a good call.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-9665525932178424302021-03-04T20:54:24.611-05:002021-03-04T20:54:24.611-05:00I love this. I was just thinking about the subject...I love this. I was just thinking about the subject watching Seijun Suzuki films. Never wrote a word but had a definite presence.cm_diazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13018154606990192090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-2473413936454261542017-04-14T12:52:06.557-04:002017-04-14T12:52:06.557-04:00Ha, same here. Funny how that works.Ha, same here. Funny how that works.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-88966816121648300712017-04-13T10:57:00.843-04:002017-04-13T10:57:00.843-04:00no wonder why all of my fav directors wrote their ...no wonder why all of my fav directors wrote their own movies.. JSonichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09064604411833984211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-46409922215177747702015-04-14T12:19:45.691-04:002015-04-14T12:19:45.691-04:00Mendes is a great call. I like all of this films s...Mendes is a great call. I like all of this films so much.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-9377891327230014842015-04-13T15:27:43.152-04:002015-04-13T15:27:43.152-04:00So many comments and no one mentions Sam Mendes. H...So many comments and no one mentions Sam Mendes. He is a solid director. American Beauty is perfect. I. Love. It. It's probably in the first five of 1999 for me. And Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Away We Go and Skyfall are pretty good. I enjoy them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059813680559966539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-90238934607282558282014-06-29T15:57:41.619-04:002014-06-29T15:57:41.619-04:00Thanks man! It's always surprised me that Hitc...Thanks man! It's always surprised me that Hitch never took a credit, because yeah, directors to that all the time, even when it isn't exactly warranted. Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-22488483811760303002014-06-29T15:56:59.729-04:002014-06-29T15:56:59.729-04:00Thanks Jack. Couldn't agree more about your th...Thanks Jack. Couldn't agree more about your thoughts on Clint and Hitch. Concerning the sexual abuse in Clint's films... I actually wrote an essay that I was going to post last week, asking readers <i>why</i> they thought that was such a common theme in Clint's work. But then I ditched it. Felt salacious and forced, a pretty good way to describe many such acts in Clint's films as well.<br /><br />Loach is a great call. He, like Werner Herzog, really does despise the auteur theory, which is actually kind of refreshing. Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-47342411056287735782014-06-29T12:09:04.795-04:002014-06-29T12:09:04.795-04:00Love this idea! Great picks, and who can argue wit...Love this idea! Great picks, and who can argue with your #1? Given that Hitchcock worked on the scripts with the screenwriters, it's surprising he never took a credit. I'm sure other directors have done that.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08596682195753811295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-75088341166204995222014-06-28T19:13:25.725-04:002014-06-28T19:13:25.725-04:00Great list. When I first got into Clint Eastwood, ...Great list. When I first got into Clint Eastwood, I knew he directed, starred, produced and sometimes even composed the music, so I just assumed he wrote. I think Clint (you'll surely have heard the legend that instead of "cut" he says "that's enough of that shit") probably doesn't have much time for frivolous pursuits like writing. No doubt he tends to pick scripts that suit his sensibilities though, so there are commonalities throughout his body of work - such as rape, I remember you highlighting once on this blog. Which is...weird. And I love Hitchcock as much as anybody, but I get the sense he didn't have a *whole lot* of respect for writers.<br /><br />My pick for a non-writing director would be Ken Loach - the man despises the auteur theory! From interviews I've gathered that although he himself says can't write to save his life, he thinks that a lot of people can write who you'd never expect. That's why his film about railway workers (The Navigators) was written by a railway worker, his film about manual labourers (Riff-Raff) was written by a former manual labourer, and his film about the civil war in Nicaragua (Carla's Song) was written by Paul Laverty, who was a human rights lawyer there for three years. Laverty's written almost all of Loach's films since then (1996) so there's a decent reason for a director not to write - they find a writer who's so much on the same wavelength as them that they don't need to! Can't fault them for using film as a collaborative medium.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10963537284814153368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-6531536696918393652014-06-27T11:16:32.696-04:002014-06-27T11:16:32.696-04:00Thanks Andina! Crazy about Fincher and Hitchcock, ...Thanks Andina! Crazy about Fincher and Hitchcock, isn't it? Such master filmmakers, I'm stunned they've never taken credit for a script.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-69858779953434207152014-06-27T11:04:42.763-04:002014-06-27T11:04:42.763-04:00Such a great insight! I didn't know Fincher ne...Such a great insight! I didn't know Fincher never wrote a script for his film, that's quite a shock. Also goes with Hitchcock. Great post as always!Andinahttp://www.inspired-ground.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-57297136627158049032014-06-25T17:36:06.542-04:002014-06-25T17:36:06.542-04:00Ahh gotcha. Yes, a very odd process indeed. And I ...Ahh gotcha. Yes, a very odd process indeed. And I know at some point during A Clockwork Orange, he literally stopped looking at the script and shot based off of what was in the book.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-10926744697111441182014-06-25T16:56:47.648-04:002014-06-25T16:56:47.648-04:00I was more alluding to signs pointing to Kubrick&#...I was more alluding to signs pointing to Kubrick's screenwriting collaborators taking on a lot of the duties that way and Kubrick almost adapting the adaptation in how he compiled scripts and then shot them. His method made...no sense. That's our Stanley!Tokarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02807042060473464015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-23187728799942969732014-06-25T13:12:49.471-04:002014-06-25T13:12:49.471-04:00Thanks Dan! What a great comment here. I couldn...Thanks Dan! What a great comment here. I couldn't agree more on your points. I so respect writer/directors, but some of them do need to learn the benefit of tightening. And, at the same time, I wholly respect directors who find a script and make it their own. Many pros and cons to both sides, really.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-29283627488289606462014-06-25T11:55:38.527-04:002014-06-25T11:55:38.527-04:00Another brilliant idea for a top 10 Alex. And a fa...Another brilliant idea for a top 10 Alex. And a fascinating one given the great creative minds that didn't write their own material. But I suppose it goes to show the talent needed to write a film and the challenges that go along with that. Without belittling the work of this talented bunch, you have to give extra credit to those that manage to do both writing and directing well. That said, it can be a major flaw, especially when directors aren't willing to cut their own material - Tarantino is the best example in Death Proof which could have done with 20 minutes being cut. I also think Kevin Smith sometimes isn't willing to cut his own material. When I director works with someone else's screenplay you get that disconnect from page to screen which, certainly in Hitchcock's case, is an absolute necessity. Danhttp://www.top10films.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-81563168783223286192014-06-25T11:46:04.915-04:002014-06-25T11:46:04.915-04:00I think it's very interesting as well. I just ...I think it's very interesting as well. I just love how none of them took credit for the scripts, even though they had massive impacts on the material.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-11541305707136139782014-06-25T11:44:14.285-04:002014-06-25T11:44:14.285-04:00Loved your post!Loved your post!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-343213039659164042014-06-25T09:56:45.686-04:002014-06-25T09:56:45.686-04:00This is an interesting topic you wrote about. It&#...This is an interesting topic you wrote about. It's cool to see a director make a story come alive that they didn't write especially since the movie is their interpretation of the script.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615952399946413508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-60428184075803120812014-06-24T19:25:00.792-04:002014-06-24T19:25:00.792-04:00Thanks Chris! Your final thought is a great point....Thanks Chris! Your final thought is a great point. I too wonder that sometimes. I'd love it if a few of the men above penned a script. Who wouldn't want to know what a David Fincher script looks like?Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-8774660644665282082014-06-24T19:23:50.514-04:002014-06-24T19:23:50.514-04:00Thanks man! That is a great, great question. And I...Thanks man! That is a great, great question. And I have no idea what the answer could be. Maybe because scripts are often touched by so many different hands, especially on bigger movies. But the lack of recognition for screenwriters is baffling. I mean shit, it all starts with the script, after all.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-17198967027387645542014-06-24T19:21:59.428-04:002014-06-24T19:21:59.428-04:00Great stuff. I love Ashby, but he did kind of fall...Great stuff. I love Ashby, but he did kind of fall off in the '80s there a bit. And I've actually never seen Shampoo either.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-243608940736034792014-06-24T04:14:56.015-04:002014-06-24T04:14:56.015-04:00Well-researched list! That surprises me those grea...Well-researched list! That surprises me those great directors didn't write screenplays. I actually thought Eastwood wrote one of two of those films he directed. It does make you wonder if they HAD penned the movie,would the films have been better or worse.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395044055566348346noreply@blogger.com