2 minute read
Jakub Kądzielski: Directorial Tidbits
How much is average?
Determining the average income for a director is difficult. If you’re looking for big Hollywood stars, you would have to cough up between $7 million and $10 million for names like Paul Greengrass and Ridley Scott, more if the film is considered a “tentpole”. Christopher Nolan is rumored to have got around $20 million Interstellar. If we look at emerging directors, they can expect from $250,000 to $500,000 for their first big studio feature.
Advertisement
Never heard of you
by Karol Mularczyk
In 1917 America, when film was becoming the new dominant medium, the status of a director was widely different than nowadays. Directors were treated as craftsmen rather than artists and their names didn’t appear on posters or at the top of the credits. Moreover, they were often “typecasted” – i.e. if a director made proper westerns, he would go on making westerns for the rest of his career. Why fix it if it ain’t broken!
…two in the bush
by Karol Mularczyk
Surprisingly, there is not a single artist who has won an Oscar in an acting category and another one in the Best Directing category. In fact, in the history of Oscar ceremonies (92 so far), only five people have won an Oscar in an acting category as well as any non-acting category (Barbra Streisand, Michael Douglas, Emma Thompson, George Clooney, and most recently – Brad Pitt).
Can the real director please stand up?
by Karol Mularczyk
If you ever happen to act in a theatre or on a movie set, you’ll quickly realize that there’s rarely a single “director” to listen to. Of course, the main voice goes to the artistic director, but there’s often a whole bunch of other executives who add their input to the production: technical director, production manager, assistant director, stunt coordinator, music director, dance coordinator, sound artist, and so on…. Now, who do I talk to about to about getting extra tickets for my mum?
The art of the cameo
by Karol Mularczyk
Before there was Stan Lee, we had another director who made a habit of appearing in his own movies. Alfred Hitchcock perfected the art of the cameo, making blink-and-you’ll-mis-them appearances in 39 of his own films. He did a pretty good job of hiding his rather large self.
Jakub Kądzielski
Cover illustration: Karol Mularczyk
