Famed German filmmaker Werner Herzog, the legendary auteur behind films like “Grizzly Man” and “Fitzcarraldo,” has offered some key tips to aspiring directors.
Participating in a masterclass on Thursday during the Venice Film Festival, the 82-year-old New German Cinema director spoke to a packed room and revealed he only watches around five or six films a year.
He also said when it comes to filmmaking, the best advice is to just do it – even if it involves somewhat questionable methods:
“You have to know how to forge a shooting permit in a country with a military dictatorship, how to pick locks. To make films, you have to be a borderline criminal. If you do not have that [in you], don’t even think about starting to become a filmmaker.
Independent cinema does not exist. You are dependent on production systems, you are dependent on distribution, and you are dependent on permits. But there is such a thing as self-reliance. Make some money somehow. But don’t rob a bank, because that’s counterproductive. They usually catch you.”
He also says don’t get too caught up in specific projects, as quite a few could be stuck in a rut for a long time. One key one for him was a movie about the Spanish conquest of Mexico – from the perspective of the Aztecs. He and Francis Ford Coppola were trying to make the film, but the money never came together:
“Of course, there are projects I have not been able to make. We spent many sleepless nights over it, but it never materialized because it could not be financed.
The industry functions in a specific way. But instead of trying to push for financing without success for the next twenty years, I actually made 28 films [since then] and I wrote seven books in that time. That’s what I did.
That unmade script? It doesn’t matter. I never stop working and always have more than one project in mind. But if there is too much on, I cannot follow it all the time. So I follow whatever comes at me with the greatest urgency.”
Herzog is in Venice this year, premiering his new out-of-competition documentary “Ghost Elephants”. He’s also been busy filming “Bucking Fastard” starring Kate and Rooney Mara, and lent his voice to Bong Joon Ho’s new animated undersea film.
Source: Variety
