Sam Taylor-Johnson
Sam Taylor-Johnson
Samantha Louise "Sam" Taylor-Johnson OBEis an English filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. Her directorial feature film debut came in 2009 with Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of the Beatles songwriter and singer John Lennon. She is one of a group of artists known as the Young British Artists...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth4 March 1967
mind taught
My mum has always been quite free-spirited, and she has taught me a lot. I think that is probably why I have the sort of mind that I do.
interests journeys life particular
I think the whole of people's psychology and where they are in life interests me, and the decisions you make that take you on particular journeys to different places.
artwork cross filmmaking films great precedent
I think, for me, Julian Schnabel set a great precedent in being able to cross over so successfully. I feel like his artwork is kind of big, grand, and bombastic, yet the films that he makes are very beautifully sensitive, and I just feel that his filmmaking sensibility is very different from his artwork.
biggest face fearless fears hospital work
My biggest fears aren't with my work. My biggest fears are walking through hospital doors. Once you can face that, being fearless about your work is easy.
bad boom quite stepfather
My stepfather was quite into opera, but he'd play it when he was in a bad mood, so you'd hear this boom through the floor, Wagner, and you'd feel nervous.
beatle exposed lennon mom playing quite
My parents were Beatle fans, but my mom was especially a Lennon fan, so I was exposed to him more. I remember her playing 'Double Fantasy' quite often.
georgia hard quite trying undo
When I was out in Georgia doing photographs, I found myself trying to undo my own sense of composition. I'd think, 'Why do I want to take it like this? Is it because I want to take a beautiful picture?' It's quite hard to try and undo it.
employ female handle hope powerful shift start studios understand women
I don't understand why there aren't more powerful female directors. I don't have the answers, but I hope that things may start to shift and that studios will employ more women to handle strong and interesting material.
worried
Today is the tomorrow I worried about yesterday.
bit carefully freedom tread
I'd like to make something about someone who hasn't existed so that I don't have to tread so carefully and can feel a little bit more creative freedom.
ahead believe follow leading process seen steps tend three truly understand until work
I always say, and I truly believe this, that my work is three steps ahead of me. I have an idea for something, and I tend to feel like it's leading me, and I'll follow the process through, and it's not until after I've seen it that I truly understand why I'm doing this.
astute clearest detail far work
Even today I work with Niall O'Brien, who is far more technically astute than I am, but I still have the clearest idea of every detail I want in my photograph.
coppola goes scorsese work
When Scorsese or Coppola cast celebrities in their work, it goes without question.
feels finding hardest mickey mouse
Finding your place as an artist is the hardest thing. You come out of college with what feels like a Mickey Mouse degree that qualifies you for nothing in the real world.