Actor Morgan Freeman is known as the forever wise old man of Hollywood. The actor has played roles in Bruce Almighty, Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, and Now You See Me. The actor has worked with acclaimed directors in his six-decade-long career, including filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan, Clint Eastwood, and Steven Spielberg.
Due to his sprawling career, the actor has been able to observe each director’s style and process. The actor mentioned that he sees similarities in the way directors Christopher Nolan and Clint Eastwood work, as both are taskmasters who quickly get through shoots. He mentioned that Nolan and Eastwood also shared disdain for multiple takes.
Morgan Freeman On Christopher Nolan’s Directing Style
Morgan Freeman has worked with director Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight trilogy. The actor played the role of Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne’s manager at Wayne Enterprises and his weapons and suit provider. Freeman played the role in all three films and had a major role to play in the events of the films, being Batman’s tech guy.
Freeman has also worked with acclaimed directors such as Clint Eastwood, David Fincher, and Rob Reiner. The actor mentioned in an interview with Collider that he found directors to be great due to what they made and not by how they made it. He said,
“Great directors are great directors by product, not by process. You work with some great directors that drive you nuts, because they’ll shoot seventeen or twenty-five takes. Other great directors move through a production like shit through a goose, they just don’t stop, they keep moving and they come up with good products. They’re under budget and on time, or a little quicker than on time.”
Morgan Freeman also mentioned the similarities between directors Christopher Nolan and Clint Eastwood. Both directors are known for their tight schedules and quick turnaround time. Both filmmakers are also reportedly known for not using multiple takes for shots, and prefer the first take. Freeman said,
“Here, I speak specifically of people like Clint Eastwood. You have Chris Nolan. Chris Nolan is quick. Huge movie, but he’s going through it quickly. Three takes, he’s irritated if he has to do four.”
The actor then went on to speak about David Fincher and Stanley Kubrick’s processes, which are notorious for the exceeding number of takes they use.
Clint Eastwood’s Efficient Filmmaking Process
Actor-director Clint Eastwood is known for his efficient and production-friendly filming practices. The filmmaker was reportedly tired of Hollywood’s practice of perfecting a performance by doing multiple takes of the same scene and reportedly wanted his films to stray away from such methods.
Many actors who have worked with Eastwood have spoken about his extreme commitment to his process of avoiding multiple takes. Actor Matt Damon once recalled that he got shouted at by Clint Eastwood while they were working on the film Invictus. He said to First We Feast,
“It was a little terrifying ‘cause I was playing a South African and that’s a really hard accent to do…Clint says, ‘Cut, print, check the gate,’ which means, ‘We’re done here, let’s move on.’”
Matt Damon then reportedly asked Eastwood for another take as he was not sure if he got his accent right. However, when he asked for another go at the scene, Eastwood reportedly called him out. He said,
“I say, ‘Boss, do you think maybe we can get one more?’…He just turns and he goes, ‘Why? Do you want to waste everybody’s time?’ I was like,’ OK, we’re done! Alright, let’s move on.’”
Clint Eastwood has been known for not even saying ‘action’ and ‘cut’ most times, as recounted by Tom Hanks. The filmmaker also reportedly did not stop filming in the studio despite a wildfire approaching.