MILIUS: They don't learn. They can't – all they're learning ... their job is to keep their job. It has nothing to do with making good movies. See, we hopefully, filmmakers who are dedicated – the real filmmakers – I think are willing to die to make a good film, what they think is a good film. Once they've made that decision that this is the film, this is the way this film should be, they're willing to die out there. They're willing to put their life, risk everything – and a great example of that is Francis Coppola. He said, "I'll stay here, in the Philippines, I'll do whatever it takes. I'll go mad, I'll do anything, because this is my job and life is to make this film. This is what I'm supposed to do. It doesn't matter – if I die out here, then John will come and replace me. If he dies, then George will come and replace him. If George dies, we'll get Ken Russell."
That's very interesting! On a tangent, schools today aren't set up to teach people to "learn." They're taught to acquire knowledge, not learn to reason, think, and work things out. For the most part.
Is there a particular part of that interview that is pertinent? It is a loooooong read and they do that thing with the pages to maximize the "page views" for revenue purposes. I don't care for that. Anyway, if there's a spot that you think relates, I'd love to read it.
You pays your nickle and takes your chances, even in Lal Lal Land...
I liked this part from http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/401/401150p1.html:
IGNFF: Do you think it's because egotism has been co-opted? A lot of people look at the '70s and see it as this grand, creative time where the filmmakers were afforded an extraordinary level of control.
MILIUS: The filmmakers always have a great level of control. I mean, when I made one of my best films, which I made most recently, Rough Riders – I don't know if you've seen Rough Riders?
IGNFF: Yes.
MILIUS: Well, I think that's one of my very best films. And they had a lot of controls on me, at Turner, and I just ran over them.
IGNFF: With any rebuttal from them?
MILIUS: Oh yeah, they hated me, but I got the film made, didn't I?
IGNFF: And in the end that's what matters...
MILIUS: Well, you know, that's what you have to do. You have to be true to the vision that you start out to do, otherwise what are you even there for?
IGNFF: How did they try and restrain you? What points did they say needed restraint, when they say, "We're working with John Milius, these are the things we need to look out for." What, in their mind, were the things they needed to look out for?
MILIUS: Well, I mean, when somebody comes in and gives you script notes and ideas that they would like about certain things in there, and you don't know who this person is. They have no qualifications, you know? That's just insane. I mean, I'm willing to listen – to anybody. I always listen to anybody. But I'm not going to take orders from somebody like that.
IGNFF: Especially if you feel it's detrimental to the product.
MILIUS: And it always is. Especially when they want to take out things, or change things that will vastly change the story that you're going to do, or vastly change the realism of it, or the motivations of characters and things like that.