Norman Jewison

Meeting Norman Jewison was entertaining as well as educational. The class as whole had questions but I think all of us were a bit timid to ask since he was such a big director. Our instructor took the floor and asked many questions and Norman replied as a comical director usually laughing after some of the answered questions. Norman is very animated and always had a story to tell about his experiences as a director and even an actor in his youth. Roger Durling (director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival) commented on being a very dynamic director working with all types of genres of film and Norman responded with his experience of which genres he really enjoyed working on. Mostly it was with drama and he would tell us about some actors that stood out in his mind such as RodSteiger which he manipulates into getting puggy for the part of Police Chief Bill Gillespie in the film, In the heat of the night which he admits to fattening him up. Many of his stories were like that, being comical and witty.

Norman gave his advice to the class for aspiring writers, actors, and directors to practice and participate within the field one wants to get into.Norman Jewison is very down-to-earth and was very much into giving the class advice to help us on our way. His message was very enlightening and the class was very excited when getting advice from a wise and experienced director. I could honestly say that Norman Jewison was an inspiration and could go on all day just talking with us about film and the industry.