Topic Guide
What Is Directing?
Directing is a subject covered in depth across 4 podcast episodes in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.
Key Concepts in Directing
World-building
This term, often associated with visual effects (VFX) and creating entirely non-existent environments (like superhero movies), is explored by Gyllenhaal as a tool to craft unique, blended realities in her films. She uses it to describe creating a technically 1936 setting for *The Bride* that is infused with elements of 1981 downtown New York and modern aesthetics, and sees it as a tool that few women have had the chance to utilize.
Tailored direction
Gyllenhaal's approach to directing actors involves adapting her communication and feedback style to each individual's personality and needs. She learned that a method effective for one actor (like Jesse Buckley) might not work for another (like Olivia Colman), emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence and flexibility on set to elicit the best performances.
Nepo sister
Elle Fanning jokingly uses this term to describe her entry into acting, acknowledging that her career was largely initiated by mimicking her older sister, Dakota Fanning, who was already established in the industry. It highlights the familial connection in her professional start.
Athletic-to-acting origin story
This concept explains the unexpected path the Fanning sisters took into Hollywood, originating from their highly athletic family background. Dakota's struggles with sports due to her fair skin and natural inclination for imaginative play led their mother to explore acting for her, which subsequently paved the way for Elle's career.
Equal justice initiative (eji)
Founded by lawyer Brian Stevenson, the EJI is an organization dedicated to challenging racial injustice, ending mass incarceration, and protecting fundamental human rights in the United States. Stevenson's work, highlighted in the film *Just Mercy*, focuses on defending those wrongly convicted and advocating for criminal justice reform [33:00, 35:00].
Racial bias in the criminal justice system
This concept refers to the systemic and often subtle prejudiced treatment of individuals based on their race within the legal and penal systems. Brian Stevenson illustrates this with statistics showing Black defendants are 11 times more likely to receive the death penalty and recounts being mistaken for a defendant in court himself [35:00, 36:30].
What Experts Say About Directing
- 1.Maggie Gyllenhaal prefers directing over acting, as it offers the ability to control the entire vision and create a free, expressive space for all collaborators, rather than just protecting her own performance [07:09].
- 2.She initially did not allow herself to fantasize about directing due to a lack of female role models in the field, only realizing it was a possibility after playing a director on TV [09:11].
- 3.Gyllenhaal's directorial approach to actors involves tailoring her communication style to each individual, learning to speak a different 'language' for performers like Jesse Buckley versus Olivia Colman [15:19].
- 4.The idea for her second film, *The Bride*, originated from seeing a Bride of Frankenstein tattoo and wondering about the character's perspective, specifically a person brought back to life without their consent [25:29].
- 5.She intentionally writes and directs stories that explore "dangerous" or "scary" personal emotional territory, finding that these topics allow for the most pages to be filled and the most exciting work [28:33].
- 6.Directing *The Bride* forced Gyllenhaal to learn new filmmaking tools, such as shooting for IMAX with changing aspect ratios and world-building techniques, in what she felt was a "master class" experience [42:47].