I recently listened to an old interview with film director Derek Cianfrance. The interview is from 2013 and at the time his film The Place Beyond The Pines was just released. It is really great film, you should watch it. But why I am telling you about the nearly ten years old interview? Because there was one thing he said that got me thinking. 

Cianfrance told how he was casting the the film. According to him, getting Ryan Gosling to play one of the lead roles was destiny. They were discussing about Blue Valentine, a film Cianfrance and Gosling made before The Place Beyond The Pines. Cianfrance asked Gosling is there anything he hasn’t done he has always wanted to do, and Gosling said he has always wanted to rob a bank. Cianfrance told Gosling that he was writing a film about a bank robber. And so Gosling was in.

But when he was meeting with Bradley Cooper, Cianfrance wasn’t expecting much and he thought: Who? The guy form the Hangover? But once they met, Cianfrance saw something in Cooper, a man struggling with the same demons as he did. That struck Cianfrance and he changed the script specifically for Cooper. But when Cianfrance gave the script to Cooper, he said he couldn’t do it. Cianfrance didn’t gave up and he drove five hours to Montreal to meet Cooper. Cianfrance was so sure he wants to have Cooper that he wouldn’t have done the film without him. That much he trusted in his gut and believed in Cooper. He was one hundred percent sure and he just had to tell Cooper why he was meant to be with him. 

Having a vision is one of the most important jobs of a film director. A director must have a clear idea what is the main question that leads the story throughout the film. When a director has assimilated that, they can make decisions based on their gut feeling. 

Sometimes a director can also be too stubborn with their own vision and not be able to see how to go forward unless someone else gives their opinion. This was something that happened to Cianfrance as well. His casting director offered a role for Dane DeHaan, but DeHaan saw himself in another role and put himself on a tape for that role. Cianfrance refused to watch the tape until he didn’t find anyone else for the role and DeHaan was the only option. When Cianfrance saw the tape, he realised DeHaan was the one. A good director listens to actors and to their crew, and after having the options in front of them, the director must trust their gut to make the right decision.