"I like to think that we've got a plan, so let's stick to it. That said, once we've stuck to it, we're allowed as much improvisation as anyone cares to indulge themselves in"
About this Quote
Control freakery dressed up as a wink: Ritchie’s line sells discipline while smuggling in chaos, the way his best films do. He opens with the managerial comfort blanket - “we’ve got a plan” - the phrase every set, studio, and anxious financier wants to hear. Then he undercuts it with a pivot that’s basically his signature move: commitment first, mischief second. “Stick to it” is the alibi; “improvisation” is the payoff.
The subtext is less about creativity than about permission and hierarchy. Improvisation isn’t framed as a free-for-all from the jump; it’s something you earn by proving you can hit marks, serve story, and respect the machine. That’s a director talking to actors (and crew) in a way that keeps morale high while keeping authorship intact: play as much as you want, but inside the track I’ve laid. The phrase “anyone cares to indulge themselves in” carries a faintly teasing cynicism, too - as if Ritchie’s aware of how self-serious “process” talk can get, and he’s pricking the balloon before it floats away.
Contextually, it fits a filmmaker associated with swaggering structure: intricate set-pieces, clockwork editing, and dialogue that sounds loose even when it’s engineered. It’s also a quiet rebuttal to the romantic myth that great directing is pure spontaneity. Ritchie’s saying the opposite: spontaneity lands harder when it has something solid to bounce off.
The subtext is less about creativity than about permission and hierarchy. Improvisation isn’t framed as a free-for-all from the jump; it’s something you earn by proving you can hit marks, serve story, and respect the machine. That’s a director talking to actors (and crew) in a way that keeps morale high while keeping authorship intact: play as much as you want, but inside the track I’ve laid. The phrase “anyone cares to indulge themselves in” carries a faintly teasing cynicism, too - as if Ritchie’s aware of how self-serious “process” talk can get, and he’s pricking the balloon before it floats away.
Contextually, it fits a filmmaker associated with swaggering structure: intricate set-pieces, clockwork editing, and dialogue that sounds loose even when it’s engineered. It’s also a quiet rebuttal to the romantic myth that great directing is pure spontaneity. Ritchie’s saying the opposite: spontaneity lands harder when it has something solid to bounce off.
Quote Details
| Topic | Vision & Strategy |
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