Film School?

[MarioAyala]

I just want to give a list name of directors that never went to film school so you can ask yourselfs if film school is really neccesary..

James Cameron
Steven Spielberg
Steven Soderbergh
Paul Thomas Anderson
David Fincher
Alfred Hitchcock
Wes Anderon
Coen Brothers
Christopher Nolan
Quentin Tarantino
Wong Kar-Wai
Stanley Kubrick
Peter Jackson
Guillermo del Toro
Ridley Scott
Jim Jarmusch
Clint Eastwood
Cecil B. DeMille
John Ford
Mel Gibson
Sydney Pollack
Kevin Smith
Robert Rodriguez
Sam Raimi
Spike Jonze
Gaspar Noe
Luis Bunuel
Alejandro Jodorosky
Alfonso Cuaron
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu
Guillermo Arriaga

I guess this list is enough to think about going to film school and pay them that tuiton.

 

[Mike_V]

and how about providing a list of ALL the directors that went to film school and came out big.
Not to mention that these people are exceptional directors who are truly gifted. Not everyone can achieve that level of skill. You also failed to take into account that today's method of entering the industry has changed, alot. Chances of taking apprenticeship are so much more rare than it is compared to their time.

So I guess your list just showed the top 1% of directors out there that made it without going to film school which still does not justify not considering film school.

Do not forget that some schools have extremely valuable professors who can teach you what they learned with their experience (some for several years, others: decades) instead of you learning it the hard way.

 

[Willi]

Someone just got their rejection letter.

 

[freakyfreddy]

Ridley Scott, Joel Coen, Jim Jarmusch, and Kevin Smith(drop-out) all went to film school. Also I like how you snuck in Cecil B. DeMille as if there were film schools around when he was beginning his career.

 

[MarioAyala]

Well lets make that list, you will see the diferent talents and those who never went to film school are far better, methods have change and it is because of technology, now you can buy a "cheap" camera and make your own demo reel in your house, im not saying that you wont learn anything in a film school, i just say that you dont need to pay that money for an education that you can learn yourself, and also lets make a list of how many people go to film school and how many really make it, maybe 1 of 40 in a single class. And i didnt received a rejection letter, i wont apply any film school, i have learnt everything by myself, through life, reading, writting, filming, all with my own willing and money. Ridley Scott, Joel Coen and Jim Jarmusch actually never went fo film school Jim Jarmusch drop-out because he didnt like what he saw . Joel Coen studied phylosofy because is more useful for movies than film education itself.

 

[MarioAyala]

Master Class Jim Jarmusch

Look at that video

 

[Willi]

1in 40? You do realize people go to film school for things otherthan directing right?
I am not arguing with you that you don't have to go to film school to get into the biz. I gotmyundergrad in chemistry. Somepeople who go to filmschool will never work on a feature. Yet they can be very successful and make an s load of money doing commercials or industrials.
one thing you miss out on is making the contacts you would normally make both fellow students and alumni.

 

[MarioAyala]

Of course not everybody direct films, actually i'm more in the DOP than directing, but the problem here is the money you pay and besides you have to pay your own shortfilms afther paying 40,000 a year. Also is not a requirement, producers dont ask you which film school you went, they ask you what have you done.

 

[Mike_V]

Mario, the fact is there are many approaches to "making it" in the industry.
You can think that you don't need film school to make it and you can throw some names of the exceptional directors who make up an extremely small percentage of all directors out there and I can throw you a list of directors who went to film school and made it.
This whole arguement can go on for centuries and the end is it is up to you to decide what you want to do.
Anyone can pick up a cheap ol' camcorder and shoot something but you talk as if there is no benefits whatsoever to be in film school. If there wasn't, these film schools wouldn't be in existence for such a long time and still be thriving.

Anyone can do quality work but it depends on how they operate. Some of the biggest and richest people in the world are college drop outs and high school drop outs. Should you now say you don't need to go to high school since it's not worth it?

Never forget: The names you put on the list are very exceptional people that have a mind that preferred something beyond school. Just because you go to film school does not mean that you can't study PHILOSOPHY on your own.

EDIT: by the way, just a notable alumni list from USC alone:
Elizabeth Allen - Director
Zeenat Aman - Actress
Thom Andersen - Film critic
Rob Kardashian - TV Personality
Judd Apatow - Filmmaker
Gregg Araki - Filmmaker
John August - Filmmaker
Kevin Bachus - Video game executive and co-creator of Xbox
John Bailey - Cinematographer
Max Bard - Film Director
Walt Becker - Filmmaker
Jack Bender - Executive Producer of Lost
Hugh Beaumont - Actor, television director, and Methodist minister
Les Blank - Documentary filmmaker
Jeffrey Blitz - Filmmaker
Laura Bialis - Filmmaker
Paul Harris Boardman - Producer and screenwriter
Robert F. Boyle - Art director and production designer
Charles Braverman - Filmmaker
Henry Bumstead - Art director and production designer
Bryan Burk - Executive Producer of Lost
Keith Calder - Producer
Trey Callaway - Screenwriter and producer
Andrés Cantor - Sportscaster
John Carpenter - Film director
Sandro Corsaro - Animator and Author
Sean Covel - Producer
Buster Crabbe (B.A. 1931) - actor
R. J. Cutler (B.A. 1993) - Filmmaker
Thomas Del Ruth - Cinematographer
Scott Derrickson - Filmmaker
Caleb Deschanel - Cinematographer
Dean Devlin - Screenwriter and producer
Susan Downey - Producer
Ellis R. Dungan - Director
Robert Elswit - Cinematographer
Rick Famuyiwa - Director
Erik Fleming - Film director and producer
Verna Fields - Film editor and sound editor
Dana Fox - Screenwriter
William A. Fraker - Cinematographer
Joe Francis - Adult film producer
Bruce Geisler - Documentary filmmaker
David S. Goyer - Filmmaker
James Gray - Film director and screenwriter
Brian Grazer - Film and television producer
Taylor Hackford - Film director and producer
Conrad Hall - Cinematographer
Curtis Harrington - Experimental filmmaker
Ron Howard - Film director and actor
George Huang - Filmmaker
Martin Hynes - Filmmaker
James Ivory - Film director
Joe Johnston - Film director
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski - Writers
Howard G. Kazanjian - Film producer
Richard Kelly - Filmmaker
Irvin Kershner - Film director
Karey Kirkpatrick - Screenwriter
Randal Kleiser - Filmmaker
Tom Klemesrud - Editor
Matt Korba - Video game designer
John Knoll (B.A. 1984) - Motion picture visual effects specialist, co-creator of Adobe Photoshop
Ben Kurland - Actor, producer
Gary Kurtz - Film producer
Barry Levy - Screenwriter
John Longenecker - Film director, cinematographer
Robert Lovenheim - Film producer and writer
Doug Liman - Film director and producer
George Lucas - Film director and producer
Felipe Marino - Producer
Gregory Markopoulos - Filmmaker
Kerry McCluggage - Film and TV executive and producer
John Milius - Film director and screenwriter
Herman Miller - Writer and Producer
Ron W. Miller - CEO and president of Walt Disney Productions
Miles Millar - Screenwriter and producer
Walter Murch - Film editor
Don Murphy - Producer
Gustin Nash - Screenwriter
Tom Neff - Film director, producer and executive
Joe Neurauter - Producer
Michael Nolin - Producer
Tommy O'Haver - Filmmaker
Tom Oesch - Director
Richard Outten - Screenwriter
Sam Peckinpah - Film director
Brian Wayne Peterson - Screenwriter and television producer
Gene Polito - Cinematographer and professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts[5]
Jon Poll - Film editor and director
Jason Reitman - director
Robert Rodat - Screenwriter
Gene Roddenberry - Screenwriter and producer
Jay Roach - Film director and producer
Barry Rubinow - Film executive and editor
Gary Rydstrom (B.A. 1981) - Sound designer
Walter Salles - Filmmaker
Josh Schwartz - Producer and creator of The O.C.
John Schwartzman - Cinematographer
Ben Shedd - Documentary filmmaker
Sigurjón Sighvatsson - Producer
Bryan Singer - Film director
John Singleton - Film director
Stephen Sommers - Film director
Dror Soref - Filmmaker
Scott Speer - Music video producer
Adam Stein - Filmmaker, editor
Tim Story - Film director
David E. Tolchinsky - Screenwriter
Ron Underwood - Film director
Lee Unkrich - Film director
Clay Walker - Film producer, director, cinematographer and editor
Jack Warner - Founder of Warner Brothers Studios
Brad Williams - Comedian
David L. Wolper (B.A. 1949) - Film and television producer
Robert Yeoman - Cinematographers
Robert Zemeckis - Academy Award Winning Film director
Laura Ziskin - Producer

 

[MarioAyala]

I never said going to fiml school is a waste of time, and you wont learn anything, i said is a complete waste of money and plus if you are not reach, also i prefer to have my own method as an artist than somebody tells me how to do something in his way and not mine, of course going to filmschool you also can take phylosophy BUT it is not about doing it or not, it is about people themselves, i mean, if christopher nolan had gone to film school or not he would be christopher nolan anyway, some people think that filmschol is a golden ticket and of course it is not.

You can get feedback from anywhere on the internet or with friends or mentors from anywhere.

Your list is long but, from those names only a few have done really good things for cinema in history, when we talk about people that has changed movies we talk about people with their own method and thoughts, true artists and what happens here is that those guys never went to film school, we are free to decide what is our way but we cannot be fooled in those propotions.

 

[Mike_V]

If you say it's a complete waste of money then it's not worth going at all. To each their own.
You can use Chris Nolan or Quentin Tarantino or any big name who were drop outs and in the end the fact remains that they are the exceptional of the bunch.
You can get feedback anywhere but the question is can you get a feedback that will make your film better? Go check youtube. How many of those feedbacks are actually worth anything?

Many of the directors that you listed does not fit your criteria as well if you're considering "changing cinema".

Most of these directors are known for creating entertainment but only a few of those actually changed film making.
Considering that list of director are famous people but you never mentioned that some of those are famous for their acting. not directing.

No matter how you argue it, there are many ways on how to get into the industry and your claim that film school is a waste of money is about as valid as only drop outs will make it big in the industry.

 

[Postaldave]

It's art..... you're doing it wrong if you are trying to do it any way other than what your heart says.

You have to make your own path..

I don't get it.... are you trying to help people who are having a hard time with film school (getting in, etc) or are you trying to berate people who (want to go/have gone/are going) to film school?

If it's the latter... perhaps you should find another forum to troll

 

[Willi]

Well put your money where your mouth is. Post your reel Mario.