I wouldn’t use the word ‘scared’ for my role as Hitchcock, but it was my most insecure. Taking on such a formidable, giant personality such as Hitchcock; he was one of the great geniuses of world cinema. Sheer genius.
One of the main reasons I am so drawn to Hitchcock is that he planned his shots way in advance on story-boards, which he designed like classic paintings (he was an art connoisseur). It’s why he found shooting on set boring – because he had already composed the film in his head.
I suddenly realized how much I loved her when we attended Alfred Hitchcock’s 75th birthday party last August. There was something magical about that night, and it made me see how much she really meant to me.
When I was younger, all my friends were older – John Ford, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant. I loved talking to those people.
There’s something in the rhythm and roll of it that is connected to the way Hitchcock thinks and moves. Then there is everything he ingested – the cigar smoking and drinking that’s imprinted on his voice.
I could never be like Hitchcock and do only one kind of movie. Anything that’s good is worthwhile.
I kind of look at my modeling career and the Hitchcock years as stepping stones to what I’m doing now.
Alfred Hitchcock once told me, when I was analyzing a lot of things about his pictures, ‘Clint, you must remember, it’s only a movie.’
So, Hitchcock wouldn’t say anything about my work in the movie but, on the other hand, he wouldn’t complain, either.
I was in college in the sixties when movies really got good. I’m a fan of Bergman and Hitchcock and Polanski and Antonioni. Those are my gods.
You watch an old ‘Jeopardy!’ and the categories alone are very plain. ‘Poetry,’ or ‘Movies,’ or ‘Physics.’ If you watch it now, though, there’ll be a theme board where the categories are all Hitchcock movies. Lots more jokes, lots more high-concept categories and questions.
On a serious note, I just enjoy exploring the unconventional. I like Alfred Hitchcock; I actually grew up watching his films. A thriller gives you much more scope of exhibiting creativity in terms of playing with the camera and sound, as against a typical love story.
In my mid-20s, I was directing episodes of ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ and ‘Peter Gunn.’ I was pretty much on course and – as I sometimes joke – was prepared to devote my life to become the second best film director in my family.
He wasn’t directing it, of course, so I didn’t work with Hitchcock.
You can watch any Hitchcock film and be blown away.
In Hitchcock’s eyes the movement was dramatic, not the acting. When he wanted the audience to be moved, he moved the camera. He was a subtle human being, and he was also the best director I have ever worked with.
It’s one of those jobs where you go, ‘Oh no, I’ve got to play Alfred Hitchcock. I have to play him even though I know what this is going to involve.’
Tim and Fritz Lang I loved working with. Not Hitchcock so much. There was no communication.
Hitchcock loved long convoluted shots that contained a lot of tracking and camera moves.
They know you’re not Alfred Hitchcock, but you need to be enough Alfred Hitchcock for them not to be bothered by it. That’s a reassuring thing.
I’ve been given that gift of working with Jack Nicholson and James Coburn and certain people who just out of nowhere break into stories – talking about working with Alfred Hitchcock or Kubrick. That’s my real reward of my career.
I make cameos in all my movies for no particular reason other than a joke. It’s just a Hitchcock thing.
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