What I Love Most About Making Movies May Surprise You
The Joys Of Going “Off Book”
I don’t love filmmaking for the reasons people may think.
Not for the red carpets. Or the premieres. Or even for the final product, as odd as that may sound.
What I love most about filmmaking is the middle. The making. The mess! The stretch of days when we’re all in it together, sun up to sundown, side by side. Tired as hell, but still invigorated. Wearing the same walkies. Sharing the same energy. Moving toward the same hope. Of making something worthwhile.
I love how we become something together. I always say it’s like a small town really. We have a hospital (the medic)! We have construction sites (production design!) and shopping centers (props and costumes!) and beauty salons and barber shops (hair and makeup trailers) and schools (studio teachers!). We have trucks that become kitchens. And monitors that become villages. And like any town, it needs a mayor. On a good day, that’s me.
A thousand quiet miracles have to occur to make a movie real. And the soul of it all is the collective. The crew. I love the crew.
This video is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done with one of my crews. The mighty WRINKLE IN TIME CREW giving you epic love of work vibes in the Mannequin Challenge. All departments represented. A first!
We say “crew” in film like it’s shorthand, like it’s technical. But really, it’s sacred. These are the people who show up early, who stay late, who carry the weight, the gear, the story. I often share that a film set is a sculpture being molded in real time and every single person’s fingerprints on it matter. The gaffer who shifts a light. The AD who makes the day. The PA who runs the errand that saves the hour. It’s all part of the shape we make together.
I learned early on that the highlight of my work isn’t the spotlight. The good stuff is the circle. Who is right next to you. Those shoulders you lean on when the day runs long and the light’s not quite right and you start to doubt the whole thing.
This isn’t just true for sets. This is an approach to real life too. We all need a crew. By no means, do you need a director’s chair to build yours. You don’t need to yell “action” to be surrounded by people who move with and alongside you.
You may not be making a movie. But you’re still building something, right? A life. A dream. A second chance. Best way? You need crew. People who see your vision and want to understand it and support it. Whether you’re making a film, raising a kid, launching a business, you can go it alone, sure. But why? Faster alone. Further together. That’s a truth I know by heart.
I’m launching a new series on my Substack this week about the things we know by heart. It’s called OFF BOOK.
In my world, when an actor is “off book,” it means they don’t need the script anymore. They’ve learned their lines inside and out. They’ve studied and invested their time. They’ve lived with the words. Turned them over in their sleep. They’re ready to go deeper. To play and risk and try something wild or fresh or different. It’s one of my favorite times as a director.
I’m translating that idea into a question for real life: What are you off book about?
What’s the thing you know so deeply, you don’t need notes or a script for? What’s the truth that lives in your bones?
That’s what this new series will explore.
And I’m starting with someone I love dearly: twice Academy nominated actor Colman Domingo.
Our history goes back to Selma, when he brilliantly portrayed civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy. But our bond lives far beyond the set. Since then, he’s become family. Someone who reminds me, with his life and his work, that going deep isn’t optional. It’s the way.
In the inaugural OFF BOOK, Colman tells us what he knows by heart. What he is off book about in his own life. What’s his unshakable, non-negotiable, fully embodied truth.
And now I’ll tell you mine: I know that doing it alone might be faster, but it’s never richer.
I know that my best work and my proudest moments, have come when I’ve been surrounded by my folks. By the crew.
I’ll leave you with this, from the great Toni Morrison: “You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.”
Your crew believes this too. If you’ve found them, treasure them, nurture that bond and hold it close. If you haven’t, spend the time and attention to cultivate that connection. It will make all the difference and bring you off book in beautiful ways.
So timely you have posted this. There is currently a debate on Linked In as to whether folks would rather work with ‘A great director who screams at everyone’ or ‘A nice director who can’t deliver good work.’’
Amazing how many people in the industry believe this has to be a binary choice. You are living proof that you can be a great director who values everyone and your work is a testimony to the power of that approach in the art you create, the change it makes, and the community it inspires.
May this be the norm we all aspire to in every creative endeavour.
So lovely and thoughtful. Truly made my day. As a fan of films I love when creators talk about their process. As a fan of ARRAY I see the same names on credits all the time so I know you are the Mayor of a happy town! Looking forward to this series.