There's an alchemy that happens in my eyes when you mix it up, when you have a seasoned actor on set and your first-timer.
I cannot stand Hollywood child performances. It just reeks of artifice, and it's weird that, for some reason, Hollywood feels they have to make their child characters smarter than adults, and suddenly kids have the vocabulary of a college grad.
When you see bad acting, that's usually what it is - they're not listening to the other characters. It's always hard with first-time actors to get them in that moment where they are really listening to the other characters and reacting to the other characters.
The films that are coming out of SXSW are incredible, and they should get the same bids that films at Sundance are getting.
Like with 'Starlet,' we intentionally did not look at 'Boogie Nights' before making 'Starlet,' and I should have. Because there are one or two scenes that come too close and it looks almost like - because it's about the same industry, and you're going to be covering certain subjects.
From a filmmaker's point of view, there is something undeniably cinematic about a location like Santa Monica Boulevard, which is so chaotic and busy and over-stimulating.
'Tangerine' was less than half the budget of 'Starlet,' and 'Starlet' was already a microbudget film. A director always wants more time, and we had a limited amount of resources.
I want my films to be different, to use different techniques, not just make a calling card film.
I'm an advocate of all mediums - it's a larger canvas for us as artists - but we have to keep in mind that celluloid film is what created this wonderful art form, and we have to keep it alive.
I love celluloid. I love the look of it.
I know that 'Tangerine' is getting a lot of attention for pushing the iFilm, but I am really mourning the death of celluloid.
Digital is great; I see the benefits and beauty in both formats. But it doesn't give you that organic quality that celluloid brings.
I definitely learned a lot about how to be more communicative with my crews.
The iPhone in conjunction with the Filmic Pro app - the resolution is HD quality.
I went to NYU thinking I was going to make a 'Die Hard' sequel, or maybe action and genre films for the studios, but I ended up falling in love with personal cinema.
You know, master classes are essentially extended Q&As. That's how I always approach them. I don't mean to downplay it. It's just that I never fancy myself as someone who is taking a class. 'Master class' insinuates a teacher, and I'm not one.
Because I'm a dramatist, I'm allowed to take liberties, but I want my films to be based in truth, and it's very important to me that the community we're focusing on is happy with the film. From an ethical point of view, that's everything.
I grew up torturing friends and family by making super-8 and VHS epics.
Filmmaking has been my love since my mother brought me to see James Whale's 'Frankenstein' at the local library at the age of six.
There's always this hump, this 1-week hump where the first-time actors have to get used to the fact that there's a camera in their face. It takes them about a week to get comfortable.
