Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frearsis an English film director. Frears has directed British films since the 1980s including My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity, The Queen and Philomena...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth20 June 1941
began brought clothes escaping habit happened means people performing public suppose taking together tragedy truth view windmill women
These were women who did not make a habit of taking their clothes off in public before they began performing at the Windmill. I suppose we could view all of this as politically incorrect, but the truth is that what happened at the Windmill brought many people together as a means of escaping the tragedy that was surrounding them.
endlessly quite truth
Truth is quite constricting, in a way. You endlessly see at the start of a film 'This is a true story'.
book grew helped mgm
I grew up with those MGM musicals, so I have an idea what I like from a musical. It helped to read a book about making musicals, however.
experience possible sit sort testimony
I teach film directing, inasmuch as you can. It's not really possible to teach film direction, but I sit there as a sort of testimony of experience and know-how, I suppose.
opens sort
When I go and teach, it sort of opens me up in some way. And when you're open, you're more receptive.
dirty licensed national sort
It was very very English. It was like a sort licensed national dirty joke.
avoid girl modern putting victorian
By putting a girl in there you immediately get a much more modern sensibility so you avoid making it a Victorian melodrama.
happily life quite remember rest script spend watching
I remember reading the script for 'Dangerous Liaisons' and thinking that I could quite happily spend the rest of my life watching this film; the story and the writing were so wonderful.
I like a lot of takes. I just go on until the actors get it right.
invite people
I have people around me. I have a semi-permanent crew. If I make a film, they just turn up. They don't even invite themselves. They don't ask if they can come - they just turn up!
films interested
I like making films about different cultures. I'm interested in things that I've never encountered before. I try to put myself in the audience's position.
catholic politics pretend
I'm Jewish; I'm not religious at all, and I wouldn't pretend to know anything about Catholic politics.
bbc developing good grew
I never thought I was very good at developing material. I grew up at the BBC where they sent you scripts.
I want my films to get audiences. I am not interested in making them just for myself.