May 7, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min · 21 segments
In this bonus episode of Talking Pictures recorded live at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, host Ben Mankiewicz chats with director and actor Eli Roth. They discuss Roth’s close…
Eli RothGuest
Ben MankiewiczHost
If you were to make a list of the challenges that you need to get past as a director, where does... working with the actors come in? Is it one? Is it two?
You know, and obviously I'm looking at, you know, I get emotional even looking at him.
And I really learned so much about acting and asking him about how do you direct the actors in Eraserhead when it's an abstract scene or an absurd concept? And he's like, well, the actors don't know that they're in a strange or absurd scene.
for their reality that they're in and he also taught me you know look at the happy accidents don't you know it's like you have a movie in your head but there's something else that's going to unfold in front of you so just be open don't be so locked in here that you miss what's right here and you know sometimes someone comes in with this kid who auditions doing crazy karate and i was like none of this is in the script and all of this will go in the movie to Screaming Pancake, it was just nuts.
So working with actors, I think now that Quentin almost lit me on fire in Inglourious Basterds, once I've been through that, I could tell that I had the confidence to direct Bruce Willis, to work with Russell Crowe, to direct Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis.
When you have that confidence Now as a director, you know, Keanu Reeves and it's a great feeling.
And also watching what Quentin did, the way he completely clears the set and he really lets the actors figure it out without the crew watching.
And the whole thing goes faster and it all comes from such an organic place that you're basically running it like a play.
I thought he would have it storyboarded like a comic book, but it's the opposite because Quentin himself is an actor and a writer.
If you were to make a list of the challenges that you need to get past as a director, where does... working with the actors come in? Is it one? Is it two?
You know, and obviously I'm looking at, you know, I get emotional even looking at him.
And I really learned so much about acting and asking him about how do you direct the actors in Eraserhead when it's an abstract scene or an absurd concept? And he's like, well, the actors don't know that they're in a strange or absurd scene.
for their reality that they're in and he also taught me you know look at the happy accidents don't you know it's like you have a movie in your head but there's something else that's going to unfold in front of you so just be open don't be so locked in here that you miss what's right here and you know sometimes someone comes in with this kid who auditions doing crazy karate and i was like none of this is in the script and all of this will go in the movie to Screaming Pancake, it was just nuts.
So working with actors, I think now that Quentin almost lit me on fire in Inglourious Basterds, once I've been through that, I could tell that I had the confidence to direct Bruce Willis, to work with Russell Crowe, to direct Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis.
When you have that confidence Now as a director, you know, Keanu Reeves and it's a great feeling.
And also watching what Quentin did, the way he completely clears the set and he really lets the actors figure it out without the crew watching.
And the whole thing goes faster and it all comes from such an organic place that you're basically running it like a play.
I thought he would have it storyboarded like a comic book, but it's the opposite because Quentin himself is an actor and a writer.
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