Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frearsis an English film director. Frears has directed British films since the 1980s including My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity, The Queen and Philomena...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth20 June 1941
films interested
I like making films about different cultures. I'm interested in things that I've never encountered before. I try to put myself in the audience's position.
analytical draw far films identify line strikes themes tried type whatever wish
I've tried to draw a line between my films and identify the themes that keep returning, but I can't. I wish sometimes I could identify the type of films I do, but so far I have not. Whatever strikes me, is about as analytical as I can get.
bbc developing good grew
I never thought I was very good at developing material. I grew up at the BBC where they sent you scripts.
catholic politics pretend
I'm Jewish; I'm not religious at all, and I wouldn't pretend to know anything about Catholic politics.
experience possible sit sort testimony
I teach film directing, inasmuch as you can. It's not really possible to teach film direction, but I sit there as a sort of testimony of experience and know-how, I suppose.
source strength
I've always found poverty a source of strength.
invite people
I have people around me. I have a semi-permanent crew. If I make a film, they just turn up. They don't even invite themselves. They don't ask if they can come - they just turn up!
avoid girl modern putting victorian
By putting a girl in there you immediately get a much more modern sensibility so you avoid making it a Victorian melodrama.
dirty licensed national sort
It was very very English. It was like a sort licensed national dirty joke.
began brought clothes escaping habit happened means people performing public suppose taking together tragedy truth view windmill women
These were women who did not make a habit of taking their clothes off in public before they began performing at the Windmill. I suppose we could view all of this as politically incorrect, but the truth is that what happened at the Windmill brought many people together as a means of escaping the tragedy that was surrounding them.
happily life quite remember rest script spend watching
I remember reading the script for 'Dangerous Liaisons' and thinking that I could quite happily spend the rest of my life watching this film; the story and the writing were so wonderful.
endlessly quite truth
Truth is quite constricting, in a way. You endlessly see at the start of a film 'This is a true story'.
film-directing teach testimony
I teach film directing, inasmuch as you can. Its not really possible to teach film direction, but I sit there as a sort of testimony of experience and know-how, I suppose.
way film stamps
The only way you can learn about making films is by making them, by putting your stamp on the thing.