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Veteran directors Taylor Hackford and Li Shaohong sat down for the third master class at 16th Shanghai International Film Festival, talking about the difficulties of being successful film directors.The topic of their discussion was "New Challenges to Older Directors."
Hackford is the president of Directors Guild of America while Li is president of China Film Director\'s Guild. The two shared opinions on protecting directors\' works and rights as well as the differences in producing a film in China and the U.S.
"The person who directs the movie is in charge of the movie. It\'s about making decisions. If somebody can\'t make decisions or organize people, they shouldn\'t be in the position," Hackford said.
The director\'s guild in the U.S. was founded because directors were taken advantage of by producers who treated films as products, he said.
Li explained that the system and historical background of movie directing in China is more like European model, with strong emphasis on the creators.
"However, the roles of many creative personnel changed and the focus shifted more to producers after 2003 when there was more stress on the marketing and commercial aspects," she said.
"Under this system, the position and role of directors is very different, and we face more challenges." Directors are not only in charge of the creative content and presentation, but also need to cater to the needs of investors, market and the audience.
Hackford pointed out that in Hollywood, the producer is in charge of finding and developing material.
For commercial films, 60-65% of directors are hired after the material is acquired by the producers. The screenwriters are also hired by producers, and often one film is written by multiple writers. Hackford said that less than 10% of movies are written by one screenwriter.
The producers, directors and screenwriters do not own the copyright of the films, the production company does, he said. The directors of art films have more freedom in the creativity process, but they face other problems as well.
"The problem is that art films are disappearing because no one can make a living. They work for five years on a project and immediately the film is finished, it is stolen, so they can\'t make money." Hackford said.
Li also said that the director\'s guild\'s purpose is not just giving out awards to directors. "We let everyone know about our existence, our respect for the film art, and our standards," she said. "It is very influential and we hope to continue being a voice for the art without the interference."