The Martian has already won several awards, and it was recently nominated for seven Academy Awards.
Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard must have found the magic formula to making movies, as the movie has gained a ton of praise by critics and fans alike. And in a recent interview with Variety, Ridley Scott gives some amazing acting and directing advice to aspiring actors and filmmakers.
Even though Scott works with Hollywood’s biggest and best actors in the game, he does say it all comes down to having a great script. Once you’re working with actors, it’s important to keep it simple. The best actors want to know about tempo for their delivery – faster, slower, or medium. However, no two actors are the same, but keeping it simple is very important, as everyone is already stressed out. So, if you’re doing the work in pre-production once you get on set you’re often only making minor adjustments.
Scott also talked about how important it is to have a well-written screenplay, and how it’s not all that different from musicians playing music they’re seeing for the first time.
If the words are good, that’s the music. If you get the music right, you say “OK, just read. ‘Do you want to talk about…?’ No just read.” I want to hear what decisions they’re making, because I want to see what they’re made of.
Drew Goddard also shared some amazing advice and life lessons he learned as a filmmaker:
…anything you’re writing at any given moment in this business, you’re going to hear about three other projects that are exactly the same all the time. And if you worry about it, you’ll never get anything done. Just concentrate on making yours unique.
There are a ton of tiny details when it comes to filmmaking, but keeping it simple and focusing on the end goal is the best way to direct and act, according to award-winning director Ridley Scott.
