Stephen Goldblatt: Working Style

From American Cinematographer, Of Loss and Hope by Zade Rosenthal (March 1999)

"I love to be able to pre-rig, and be as prepared as I can be, but I'm always ready to throw it all away. I'm a very intuitive worker, and I like to think fast on my feet; I really want the rehearsal to drive what we're doing. My guys have gotten used to me calling for something I've said I'd never need, but I'm never in a panic. I like a really good, comfortable atmosphere. I don't think people can work well, or happily, under some kind of gun-- whether it be psychological or physical. I don't like to do it to other people. In a comfortable atmosphere, people are happy. They get up in the morning and they're happy to go to work. That's what this film was like, but unfortunately, it's not something that happens all the time. It could be, however; it just requires desire and people who are really there to work and not just throw their weight around. If everything is driven by the project, everyone can get together in a collaboration."

-Stephen Goldblatt, ASC