"Obviously, if a director doesn't communicative a clear, relevant vision of the material, it will not succeed no matter how good the material"
About this Quote
It’s an actor’s polite warning wrapped in the word “Obviously” - a term that signals frustration with how often the industry pretends this isn’t true. Skerritt isn’t praising directors in the abstract; he’s describing the moment on set when talented people realize they’re rowing in different directions. Great scripts don’t fail because the dialogue suddenly gets worse. They fail because the project’s meaning gets scrambled in translation: tone, rhythm, stakes, even what the camera is supposed to believe.
The key phrase is “clear, relevant vision.” Clear is logistical and psychological: actors need to know what world they’re in, what rules govern behavior, what emotional temperature to play. Relevant is the sharper blade. It implies that “vision” isn’t just aesthetic swagger or a signature look; it has to connect the material to a reason-for-now. A director who can’t articulate why this story matters is likely to default to coverage, performance generalities, and safe choices that flatten specificity.
Skerritt’s subtext is also labor politics. Actors get blamed for “bad performances,” writers for “weak scripts,” studios for “notes,” but the director is the hub where all of that either coheres or collapses. “Communicative” (even in its slightly off phrasing) is telling: direction is less genius than transmission. The director’s job is to translate theme into playable actions and coherent images.
Coming from a veteran actor who has worked across eras of studio filmmaking and auteur cinema, it reads like hard-earned craft talk: movies succeed when someone can unify talent, money, time, and meaning into a single, speakable intention. Without that, “good material” is just raw ore.
The key phrase is “clear, relevant vision.” Clear is logistical and psychological: actors need to know what world they’re in, what rules govern behavior, what emotional temperature to play. Relevant is the sharper blade. It implies that “vision” isn’t just aesthetic swagger or a signature look; it has to connect the material to a reason-for-now. A director who can’t articulate why this story matters is likely to default to coverage, performance generalities, and safe choices that flatten specificity.
Skerritt’s subtext is also labor politics. Actors get blamed for “bad performances,” writers for “weak scripts,” studios for “notes,” but the director is the hub where all of that either coheres or collapses. “Communicative” (even in its slightly off phrasing) is telling: direction is less genius than transmission. The director’s job is to translate theme into playable actions and coherent images.
Coming from a veteran actor who has worked across eras of studio filmmaking and auteur cinema, it reads like hard-earned craft talk: movies succeed when someone can unify talent, money, time, and meaning into a single, speakable intention. Without that, “good material” is just raw ore.
Quote Details
| Topic | Vision & Strategy |
|---|
More Quotes by Tom
Add to List
