Does it ever happen that a film has two directors? I don't mean like with Gone with the Wind, where directors quit or were fired and had to be replaced. I mean two simultaneous directors that complement one another in terms of strengths. Please submit your two cents!
Anything Goes : More than one director? Does this ever happen? by Dana Moe
More than one director? Does this ever happen?
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Robert Rodriguez and creator Frank Miller in the Sin City films. The DGA doesn't allow two directors to receive credits on films so Rodriguez renounced his DGA membership because of it.
It is called a 1st AD...LOL Or a second unit like Pirates of the Caribbean, had separates. Or was it: "A man with two brains" ?
I does happen occasionally. Although it can be tricky. The Coen brothers work like two directors for all practical purposes. I personally had a directing partner for commercial work for a while. It worked pretty well. We both collaborated in all areas - but my strength was visual storytelling and his strength was working with actors. We would differ to the others strength when necessary. The problem was the perception of others - no matter how well we communicated our working relationship. Because I also ran the camera, clients and ad agencies tended to see my partner as the "real director" since he was communicating with the actors. It didn't bother me until some people wanted to hire him as a solo director. Since I was finding and securing most of our jobs, this created a business problem for me. We got along great as creative collaborators.
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I've had a directing partner on my two short films, and the experience has been great. I feel like our skills complement each other very well. And of course we get along really well. I imagine it's similar to having a writing partner: you have to really pick the right person or it could be disastrous.
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I've worked as an actor on a filming project with two Directors once before. Like any project, there were ups and downs. Sometimes their opinions conflicted, causing tension on the set. Other times they were very well in sync with one another, allowing each person to contribute their own strengths and compensating for the other's weaknesses. It definitely made for a very memorable filming experience. One thing that was very well appreciated by me as one of the actors, they never gave conflicting character direction or did anything to confuse the actors in regards to their performances.
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If there are two directors, I think that it is an absolute must to direct as one voice when it comes to working with actors. Acting is challenging enough as it is. Usually, it works best if only one director gives adjustment notes.
Well the one in a (partner situation) who is NOT the Alpha or folds without resentment is the 1st AD. Hence the 1st AD. All shoots should have a 1st AD so the director can sign off and or think of the segway. "That White elephant in the room is the 1st AD." Not a second director....or partner unless they are married and have to split everything 50/50.
I worked on a documentary with more than one director... and it was awful. They argued back and forth and no one could make a decision. There should never be more than one.
Sounds like a great challenge. If it hasn't occurred before it might be interesting giving it ago. ;-)
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The First AD isn't the directing partner who folds. The two jobs are very, very different. There are many director teams; Gene Kelly and Stanley Donan, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Josh Gordon and Will Speck. Then there are the siblings: the Wachowski's, the Coens, the Weitz's, the Russo's, the Farrelly's, The Brothers Strause, the Dardenne's, the Duplass', the Hughes'.
Coen Bros?
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My wife and I are co-directing our film, 'Flowers in the Snow-Don't Ever Tell', a film about bullying. Though we seldom agree totally on shots, we work very well together each of us listening to the others ideas.
Sure it happens. After a year of searching by the writer/director, I was invited to co-direct a feature film by him. He is committed to having a female co-direct. He's also acting in the film, so we have discussed my directing the scenes in which he is acting. He selected me after I provided notes on the script and discovered how aligned we are based on my notes and ideas. Here's a great link to an article about projects with two directors: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,313591,00.html.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. And at the other end of the spectrum: http://thedissolve.com/features/oral-history/788-the-strange-saga-of-spo...