Diane Keaton // "I don’t consider myself an expert on acting. For me its seduction has always come from the intensely romantic encounters I’ve shared with other actors... I shared moments with them that will last in a way my life can’t… When I find myself in the absurd position of sitting in the director’s chair…I try to leave the actors alone as much as possible. I try not to burden the atmosphere with a lot of talk... To me, endless self-involved talk kills impulse. I like to think that as a director I create an atmosphere of trust and, most important, play… I remember a few directors who tried to stampede my impulses. As much as I tried to fit their cookie-cutter mold, it didn’t work. They weren’t happy, and neither was I. Their demands struck me as completely unrealistic, because they didn’t include what I could actually give. Their 'concept' had been written in stone long before I entered the picture. I find this kind of directing lacking in humanity. It excludes a kind of graceful appreciation of the fact that life doesn’t rigidly conform to one’s desires… I didn’t respond well to that sort of pushing. On the other hand, I have appreciated directors who are genuinely interested in me…including my flaws; directors who looked forward to witnessing whatever spontaneity I had to offer, while guiding me gently. I believe my job as the director is to listen, to laugh, to empathize, to encourage and to be deeply moved by what I hope will be deeply moving performances. My job is to know when the actors are telling the truth, feeling the truth, living the truth…their truth. My job is to make it clear how much I am rooting for them in their effort to find a way, a process, a skill, that unlocks and frees them into giving the audience all their accumulated experiences and insights and feelings… I believe all actors want to go further in the exploration of what it is to be a human being. That’s what makes them so irresistible. I believe it’s amazing to have the courage to try to explore the mystery of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes… I am thrilled when they transport me out of reality. I am excited by their possibilities."