“There’s a little thing on your shoulder called intuition, and it whispers in your ear. Everyone has that. There is a voice telling you to do something. Most people ignore it, but you must listen to it. I do it every day, all day.”

Ridley Scott

There are no “sure things” when it comes to having a career as a director. The only thing we can say with certainty is that nothing ever plays out exactly as we envisioned it. A director’s career is filled with surprises—much like the journeys of the greatest film and television protagonists.

Nevertheless, setting a goal, envisioning it, and moving toward it actively and with conviction is a worthwhile plan. You may find that your efforts lead you somewhere you didn’t intend to go. Perhaps you’ll wind up making documentaries when you intended to make feature films, or vice versa. No matter the specifics, forward motion toward a meaningful goal has a better chance of bearing fruit than sitting around waiting for something to happen to you.

This chapter is all about success—keeping in mind, of course, that the definition of success is both personal and fluid. How you define success today is almost certain to be different from how you’ll define it five years from now, and different still from how you’ll define it fifty years from now.

Ultimately, for a filmmaker, the measuring stick for success typically has more to do with personal achievement and less to do with box office numbers. When asked about the films they’re most proud of, so many of our esteemed directors point to the films that grew out of something personal.

Here’s what you’re going to read about in this chapter:

• Making documentaries as compared to feature films, and the specific challenges associated with documentaries

• How luck plays into a filmmaking career, and what you can do to position yourself to be lucky

• Pursuing a goal against all odds, despite real threats and danger

• Why a willingness to find and express truth is important in screen storytelling

• The struggle to get personal stories to the screen, and weathering the ups and downs of a filmmaking career over decades

• Independent filmmaking as compared to making films for studios

• Developing a community of filmmakers

• Finding a way to be at peace with your success

• Independent film distribution

We’ll begin with advice from acclaimed director Michael Apted. But first, let’s review the span of his career and some of the celebrated highlights.