Robert Wise Quotes


Robert Wise

Of all the stars whom I worked with, I think Steve knew better what worked for him on the screen than any other. He had such a sense of what he could register, and that helped a lot in terms of shaping the character and the script.

You know, people always think if you start out as a film editor, you shoot less footage. Actually, just the opposite is true. I tend to grab as much coverage as I can because as a former editor I know how important it is to have those few frames.

I`ve always been proud of being a Hoosier. When I talk to people, I tell them that.

You look back on films sometimes and if they have not been as all-out successful as you anticipated you try to find reasons why maybe it didn`t come off for audiences as well as you would have liked.

The Sand Pebbles has always been one of my favorite films, I suppose because its the most difficult film - from a physical and logistical standpoint - that I`ve ever made.

As I`ve always said, preproduction is so important. When you cast the actors, you`ve done much of the work. Now, you may need to guide them a little, take it up or down, have them go faster or slower, but the casting process is crucial.

You can`t tell any kind of a story without having some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines.

A Mac is a closed box, so Apple can make decisions about things that they don`t include. That makes, it in some ways, simpler for them.

I think one of the major things a director has to do is to know his subject matter, the subject matter of his script, know the truth and the reality of it. That`s very important.

My three Ps: passion, patience, perseverance. You have to do this if you`ve got to be a filmmaker.

Not true there was a cabal preventing Orson (Orson Welles) from making more films. He simply never fulfilled himself after that magnificent start, His own fault - lack of self-discipline.






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AFI Life Achievement Award
Robert Wise
Academy Awards Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Robert Wise
Presidents of the Screen Directors Guild and the Directors Guild of America
Robert Wise
Academy Award for Best Director
Robert Wise
Films directed by Robert Wise
Audrey Rose (1977)
Born to Kill (1947)
Helen of Troy (1956)
Robert Wise
Rooftops (1989)
So Big (1953)
Star! (1968)
The Haunting (1963)
The Set-Up (1949)
Three Secrets (1950)
Two People (1973)
Academy Award for Best Director (1961–1980)
Robert Wise