HOME TRAILERS RELEASE DATES PODCASTS REVIEWS POSTERS INTERVIEWS BOB $TENCIL NEWS FEEDS ABOUT APPS

COOL STUFF

Director Marc Forster on the Importance of Failure in Filmmaking

by Alex Billington
November 12, 2009
Source: MakingOf

I've been waiting and waiting to feature a video interview from Making Of for a long time. If you haven't ever heard of Making Of, it's an incredible new website that focuses on the filmmaking process. They post new interviews daily with some of the most talented and brilliant filmmakers out there talking about their own process and some techniques and tips. I finally found a video today that I wanted to feature and it has Marc Forster in it talking about how important failure is in filmmaking. That may sound odd at first (how can failure help?), but if that title gets you to watch this video, then all the better. Anyway, check this out.

Marc Forster previously directed Quantum of Solace as well as The Kite Runner, Stranger Than Fiction, Stay, Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball, and Everything Put Together. He's attached to a number of upcoming projects, including World War Z and Disconnect. I absolutely love his sleek visual style, I don't think anyone else can replicate it, and it really worked well in both Quantum of Solace and Stranger Than Fiction especially. And it was truly fascinating to hear him talk about how he struggles to achieve success through failure. You can find more interviews and more videos over on MakingOf.com - check them out!

Explore tags: Cool Stuff, To Watch

xerxex

Quantum of Solace wasn't too bad, it was just a little hard to follow, the plot became murk and it was just convulted, but I was able to follow it, I watched Casino Royal the day before I saw QoS, and Forster did a god job, as did Craig and Kurylenko. Forster has a pretty good track record, Stranger Than Fiction, Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, and The Kite Runner are all pretty good films. Hopefully Forster with WWZ and Disconnect will deliver, and people will notice his directing prowessand the only thing I hated about QoS was the opening song.
SlashBeast

Marc Forster should know a lot about failure.
McManus

Q of Solace failed. James Bond should never have been tampered with. It's a series of movies, not sequels.
Mr. Pants

People are too quick to poo on this guy for making a bad Bond flick. It's a Bond flick, there's over 20 of them...how many of them are really that good? I'm excited to see someone with this kind of attitude at the helm of World War Z.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

#3 - I blame the writers for writing a sequel, not Forster, he just brought his style to it. I knew everyone would call him out for Quantum of Solace... Oh well, I liked that movie.
Stefarooh

"How can failure help" ? DUH! Its only through failure that we learn success, the writer of this piece is clearly a moron as that is the most retarded comment I have yet heard.
xerxex

stefarooh why did you read the moronic piece? Just to post a snarky comment?
V

Quantum was all action and no story. THUS, the action was the most prominent element in the movie. DAN BRADLEY - second unit director, handled the action. DAN BRADLEY basically directed the whole movie. FORSTER didn't direct anything on Quantum as he has NO CLUE whatsoever about staging action, camera angles or anything a director should be involved with. He basically said "This is what I want to happen" and Dan Bradley made it happen. Unfortunately Dan Bradley is an idiot and that's why the camera shakes so much most of the movie is not even captured on film or intelligible. FORSTER DID NOT DIRECT QUANTUM.
V

I am not saying that Forster is a bad director OVERALL. He is just a TERRIBLE choice to have as director on an action movie. He just does not know how to direct an action movie. Otherwise, Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland - both movies I enjoyed quite a lot.
V

By the way. Casino Royale - pure perfection in terms of how it was directed, edited. The action was staged well, handled well.
LINKFX

Quantum of Solace was great. A wonderful flourish to the end of Casino Royale. Great style!
shadow

The action scenes in QOS were the worst pieces of shit I have ever seen. When I think that James Bond's car flew off a cliff when it was a bad guys car, and I have no idea why it went off the cliff, you are doing something very very wrong.
GorgeousAnonymous

QoS was a bad movie, not just a bad Bond movie. In trying to capitalise on Casino Royale's brooding mood, they took it too far. In trying to leverage the "shaky-cam" trend for action flicks, it ended up looking like a poor Jason Bourne step-brother. But overall Forster is brilliant. He should get more experience doing big budget films, I think he would have a lot to offer in that department...