In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago, I had a great talk with Christian Niedan in the 35th edition of Screen Sounds on Radio Free Brooklyn about The Doors and my …
One of the most bizarre reactions to my films occurred on When You’re Strange. Before editing started, I spent weeks looking at all the footage from The Doors archive. Interspersed with hours of concert …
Enough about nutjobs. My only point is that they are out there, and it is absolutely certain you will encounter them. I don’t think I remember them teaching that in film school. But, most …
Filmmaking is like being in a mosh pit. Sometimes, the intimate contact with all the heaving, sweating bodies can be exhilarating. Sometimes, it just hurts and stinks. What happens when all of your careful …
Twenty-five days. That’s how long I was on the set directing Delirious. Out of six years, twenty-five days. I’ve often wondered what my job was all the other days—the days before and all the …
I moved to NYC in 1976 just as the Punk scene was erupting. It was the first cultural movement I experienced firsthand, and it completely turned me on. Although the initial blast was music, …
I went into When You’re Strange with a few naïve and stupid prejudices; for example, I liked The Doors’ music, but Morrison being so excessive kind of bugged me. I thought, “Did he really …
A few weeks ago, I was invited to speak with Ellen E Jones, who has a cool podcast on Film on BBC Radio 4. We talked about Dreams in Film, particularly the use of …
Down in Shadowland is the most personal film I’ve made. Everything in it; every shot, every cut, every dissolve, every sequence, every piece of music is there because it was something I wanted to …
What makes someone a Star? Just like everyone else who goes to the movies, I feel that some people have a certain magic that makes them supremely interesting to watch. But, what is it …
Box of Moonlight premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 1996. As I headed to the theatre, all I could think about was how, just two months earlier, the head of another festival …
In Box of Moonlight, the script called for Al (John Turturro) to jump into a pool of water and swim leisurely while acting in several scenes. John had never learned to swim and confessed …
On my last night at Sundance with When You're Strange, I introduced the film by stating, "There are no actors, no doubles, no recreations in this film. Every frame is Jim Morrison and The …
I love letting actors improvise a scene. Sometimes that spontaneous flash of imagination brings you something infinitely more alive and effective than anything you could have written. Buscemi is one of those rare actors …
Fame has become an intensely complex phenomenon, and I wanted to explore it with Delirious. What is it? Why do we crave it so much? And how do we survive in a world where …
Film is the language of Dream. Every single night in our dreams, we all compose a film entirely by ourselves. We write it, direct it, edit it, light it, shoot it, and even act …
I found this shirt in my closet yesterday. It’s one of the shirts Brad Pitt wore in Johnny Suede. Costume Designer Jessica Haston worked very closely with me to find the look for Johnny. …
I’ve received a few awards for my films, but this one for Double Whammy holds a special place in my heart. The plaque reads, “Best Restraint from Homicide before, during, and after the making …
I was asked recently about a camera teacher I had at NYU Film School. The teacher had shot several award-winning features, but his classes were two grueling hours of resentment and self-promotion. He withheld …
I got into cinematography completely by accident. One day at NYU, a professor set up a film exercise. He assigned Jim (Jarmusch) to write a five-minute film, me to shoot it, and someone else …
The Real Blonde is the only film I’ve made for a studio. The budget was higher, and so was the pressure to cast Stars in every role. The battle to cast Catherine Keener in …
I first met Sam Rockwell in 1990 when he came in to audition for Johnny Suede. The part ultimately went to another unknown and rising talent, Brad Pitt, but Sam made such an impression …
I don’t have any qualms about working with stars. There are many who are very gifted and brilliant performers who don’t bring the whole movie star baggage with them. This was our starting point …
There is a crucial scene in Delirious where Les Galantine (Steve Buscemi) comes face to face with a real celebrity. As a paparazzi, Les’ mantra about the celebrities he hounded had always been, “They’re …
When I was writing Living in Oblivion, the first and second acts came easily. But I struggled hard with the third. One day, I was expressing my frustration to my wife, Jane Gil. She …
One night in 1990, around midnight, my phone rang. When I answered it, a strange voice said, “Is Tom there.” I said, “Yeah, it’s me.” He said, “Hey, it’s Nick Cave.” That woke me …
I met over 200 actors to play the part of Johnny Suede. For some reason, most of the guys who auditioned thought Johnny was The Fonz from Happy Days and even brought in his …
Sometimes you know an actor is the only one for a role, and at the same time, you know you’re both in for a wild ride. Michael Pitt embodied all the elements that were …
I've known Scott Macaulay at Filmmaker Magazine for over 20 years. He's been at the forefront of NY Independent film, producing some of the most memorable independent films of the past few decades. One …