Screenwriting and Filmmaking:"But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct"

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Great thread, thanks for taking the time to do this.

After seeing Star Wars at the age of 7 I've had a life long fascination with movies and for a long time I've wanted to work in the field. I imagine directing is what I would want to do.

Considering that I'm in the fortunate position of being able to take an unpaid job for an extended period of time (a year or more if needed), what would be the best way to learn the trade?

I don't mind starting at the bottom, but I have no need or desire to grind out a living. I just want to learn as quickly as possible and see how far I can go.

Also, being 37 would I face any issues due to being older than most people who are starting out?

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As far as taking a year of unpaid work goes: just remember someone who 'makes it' in TEN YEARS is considered an overnight success in Hollywood (example: Quinten Tarrrantino). So unless you can take a decade without getting paid...

But my advice would be to take work as a paid or unpaid PA (production assistant) on an independent film (don't know where you're located). You need to understand how a set is run and being on one is the best way to do this. This doesn't have to be a big film with a union crew, just any feature/short that has at least a some kind of budget (i.e. enough to spend AT LEAST $2500/day on production costs). Get a few PA gigs and watch the director as much as you can. You'll quickly be able to separate the good ones from the bad ones.

As far as the age goes, unfortunately that is a bit of a handicap, but not one significant enough to stop you. Most working directors start pursuing their career in their early twenties and begin to enjoy steady work when they're in their early to mid thirties. But there have been a lot of great directors who started out late and made a name for themselves through independent film. David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) didn't become interested in filmmaking until he was thirty-two.

It takes a lot of committment: emotionally, psychologically, and (if you're going the independent route) financially. So only make a serious pursuit of this if you really want to direct films and want nothing else, not if you just imagine directing is what you want to do.

As an aside, watch Elanor Coppola's documentary 'Hearts of Darkness' about Francis Ford Coppola and the making of 'Appocalypse Now'. If you're still interested in directing after seeing that, then you might be crazy enough to make it.