Taylor Hackford
Taylor Hackford
Taylor Edwin Hackfordis an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Teenage Father. Hackford went on to direct a number of highly regarded feature films, most notably An Officer and a Gentlemanand Ray, the latter of which saw him nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth31 December 1944
CitySanta Barbara, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Well I don't think I've scored my life exclusively to Ray Charles.
We all get paid very, very well, and we have responsibilities.
The whole concept of the devil is a metaphor on one level.
The SAS is the most elite of the special forces in the world. They are not people who go out and advertise; they keep it inside. They don't want anybody to know about them.
The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.
Show business is one of those things that people can use to get themselves out of the lower rung of society.
Russell Crowe is very difficult, but it's worth it. He's the real thing. I can tell you this. Russell Crowe was just as difficult before he was an international star as he was afterwards.
When Ray Charles is concentrating he's like a piece of granite, nothing twitches, nothing, ... He sat for 25 minutes solid like that, like a stone, and I thought, 'Oh my God, if he doesn't like it I'm dead.' ... And then finally, after 25 minutes he started to talk back to the screen. I heard him say 'That's right. That's the truth.' .
I also know what looks good before the camera, how to move the camera, and how to get a story on the screen.
But the process of making a film is not glamorous. Certainly not my films.
Music has always been an important thing to me in my life and understand I've worked in the music business.
I really believe you can predict when someone has a great attitude, a real well of talent.
My creative partner is a writer, and he's got an executive producing credit on this film. We've made three films together and I would never underestimate the impact of a writer.
Look at Walter Huston in The Devil and Daniel Webster: It's an incredible performance.