I love directing. Directing, to me, is essentially about storytelling and vision. It is a very subjective job and subjectivity is the beauty of art and artistry. A director is either telling a story that he/she wrote or interpreting a story that someone else wrote. Once interpreted, it’s the director’s job to use his/her creativity and artistry to execute their vision on a stage or in a film project.
There are times, however, when other people will have a vision that is much different than the director and it can make the job torture. The stage mom who raises hell because she envisioned her child in the lead role. The talented actor who just can’t accept (or envision) that directors have prerogatives to choose…someone else. The annoying guy who falsely believes (or envisions) that being a huge fan also makes him a coach…or the director.
If Spike Lee or Quentin Tarantino had directed E.T., the movie would have been completely different because both, Lee & Tarantino, are very different directors/visionaries than Steven Spielberg. Every director is different; their interpretation of a story, their choices in casting, and their process of creativity are unique and their work will be a reflection of that…as it should.