Fledgling film directors are often taught to mutter those words to themselves before yelling “Cut!” in order to get those magic vulnerable moments when the actor has run out of words or instructions. (I have tried this myself and it works, sometimes anyway.)
Why Robert Wise? I don’t know. Perhaps because he was such a superb craftsman. In any case, the man who edited Citizen Kane and directed The Sound of Music is now gone. One of the greats.
PJ Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that PJ Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pjmedia.com.
Directing the actors and getting the performance I wanted was the biggest challenge because I was used to working with them only on celluloid. Getting the proper coverage was easiest. There is a misconception that having been an editor you would shoot less coverage. It’s not true! You shoot more because you know how useful the footage is.
—Robert Wise
In my minority opinion, the two best movies he directed are The Day The Earth Stood Still and The Sand Pebbles.
His place in film history was secured when RKO assigned him to Welles and Welles was pleased.
If you could’ve found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would’ve explained everything.
No, I don’t think so; no. Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything… I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a… piece in a jigsaw puzzle… a missing piece.
—Herman J. Mankiewicz & Orson Welles, Citizen Kane