I have been lucky and privileged to interview some of my favourite writers, directors & actors on Kid In The Front Row. I have also interviewed some fabulous producers, composers and DOP's. Here are some of my favorites. Read them, be inspired, and share them!
SCREENWRITERS & DIRECTORS
Screenwriter: Beautiful Girls, Con Air, Gone In Sixty Seconds
"The biggest mistake I see young writers doing is thinking they are ready to be read after writing one or two scripts. Bullshit. You ain't. You are still learning your craft. Learning to crawl."
Screenwriter: Mousehunt, Zoom, Small Soldiers
Director: Look, Detroit Rock City, Look
"In Hollywood when you're pursuing a career in making movies you experience a lot of rejection. You just can not allow it to affect you one bit."
Screenwriter: Bring It On, First Daughter, Aquamarine
"In a weird way I know I'm branded that way, this female empowerment writer, but really, writing is writing to me, and I write what I am most interested in and am most enthusiastic about."
Director: Mean Girls 2
Various writing & acting credits.
"It is a crapshoot whether you get anywhere here. There are just so many very gifted people that come to Hollywood to try to realize their dreams, that the reality is it is luck, karma, destiny, whatever you believe. But you do have to be motivated. "
Writer/Director: How I Got Lost
"Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't necessarily want to do "Scary Movie 9." So if your script is good enough and he gets his hands on it somehow, I like to think that you have a shot at making an ambitious character movie."
Writer/Director: Kabluey
"Getting a movie made at all is a miracle."
ACTORS
The West Wing, Sportsnight, Backwash
"Working with actors like Nicholson and Eastwood was not difficult at all. It never struck me as intimidating; I just saw it as an opportunity to watch how they worked."
Malena
" Obviously being 14 years old, after a couple of days you will begin meetings with Monica Bellucci to fall in love"
28 Days Later, I'm Alan Partridge, Uncle Max
"I think part of the battle for any creative person is um, not to reject themselves."
The West Wing
" one key to surviving in this business is to not live in it with blinders on. Because when it comes right down to it: it is a business. And a harsh one."
The West Wing
"There have been times where I do feel that the director takes the time to talk to me about what I'm doing --and I love when that happens-- but it feels like an exception rather than a rule."
Various independent and short films.
"Success means doing what I love, and earning enough money at it to not be scared when I have to pay my bills each month."
OTHER INTERVIEWS
Director Of Photography: The Hangover, Garden State,
Paul, Due Date
"The main advice I have for anybody is: I never had a back up plan, and I think that’s kind of the only advice I can give."
Producer: Once
"I always knew it was going to be a very special film but never could have imagined how it would touch audiences around the world"
Editor: A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, Howl,
The Son Of No One
" The goal is to always get better. I just never want to lose the gut instinct that I had on Saints. I think that's where the true magic comes from."
Composer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Most Shocking
(+150 titles on IMDB!)
"You never sleep. I'm always fried. It's not just me -- you talk to any composers who are working, you never sleep. There's no holiday, no vacation."