If you are in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to volunteer to help you. As a director, I point. I suggest. I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go.
In the 1986 movie,Nothing in Common, Jackie Gleason's character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max's despair about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.
Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell "The Great One" about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. "So Max is sad, right?" I said.
Gleason nodded.
"And he's probably still carrying his pens with name on them — the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?"
Gleason nodded.
"So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?"
He was silent for a moment, "Why don't I throw them overboard?"
I stood up and turned toward the crew. "Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let's shoot it."
After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and smiled at me, "Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?"
You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for whoever gets the solution first, you'll all benefit when everything turns out right.
