Don Siegel last advice to me was ‘Don’t short yourself.’ He said the tendency is when an actor’s directing is to kind of you want to work on everybody else but you’re going to short yourself. He said, take the time to do a good job with yourself so that you’re satisfied with it.
As you get older you try to do things that please you more. You get a little more selfish. You start thinking I want to do things where I enjoy myself.
Hollywood seems to succumb to fads. Well, action films do well. Give me violence. Give me a scene where there’s a couple of car chases or shooting and stuff like that. They’re forgetting the fact that there’s a basic structure to a story that is essential to making it really broad and appealing.
People love westerns worldwide. There’s something fantasy-like about an individual fighting the elements. Or even bad guys and the elements. It’s a simpler time. There’s no organized laws and stuff.
I’d say people get to work and start being more understanding of everybody – instead of calling everybody names, start being more understanding. But get in there and get it done. Kick ass and take names. And this may be my dad talking, but don’t spend what you don’t have.
