It shouldn’t be a surprise that Zoe Saldana wants to get behind the camera and direct. She’s been slowly getting her feet wet, directing episodes of Vin Diesel’s web series The Ropes, last year.
She also helmed one of the shorts that made up the Glamour Reel Moments short film series, which was aimed at increasing the number of women directors in Hollywood.
Zoe joined Olivia Wilde and Eva Longoria, also be making their directorial debuts, working with established industry actors.
The films were based on 3 of the many thousands of stories submitted by Glamour magazine’s readers, with themes of empowerment, wisdom and beauty standards.
In a new interview with Reuters, Saldana seems even more determined to make the shift from acting to directing, with a potential project imminent.
Here’s a snip:
Q. How have your ambitions changed from five years ago?
A: Five years ago I didn’t have ambitions. I would just live day-to-day. It is not like I am a happy-go-lucky person. I am very determined and if I get an audition to go for a role that I really want I will give 150 percent. But I was never the man with the plan until recently, maybe two years ago. It is only because of my desire to make that transition and become a director and that is one of the reasons why I wanted to work with Guillaume (Canet) because he is an actor and now he has been making a very graceful and solid transition into directing.
Q: What appeals to you about directing?
A: It is much more satisfying. You are more of a participant in the conception and making of a story, of a movie, as opposed to being an actor that’s hired and shows up and says your lines. Obviously you collaborate with your director and your producer but as soon as you leave you are at everybody’s mercy and that is too much of a loss of control for me, of my craft.
Q: Have you had issues with your work being changed?
A: I have been working in this business for over 10 years and, especially as a woman, you are disappointed because by the time you get to see your work it has changed so much. I don’t like to be disappointed. I like having control. I think I have capability, and as a woman I can’t be at too many people’s mercy. It is not OK for me. I am a story teller and an artist and I love what I do so I want to be a part of it more and not just show up and say my lines.
By the way, Guillaume Canet is the director of the upcoming film Blood Ties, which Zoe co-stars in.
As for what she might be looking to direct, she doesn’t say explicitly, but last year, she mentioned that she was in the running to direct a film in Montreal, though she was greedy with the details.
And also last year, via their production company Saldana Productions, Zoe and her sister Cisley Saldana, optioned the mystery/thriller novel Hell Or High Water (the debut novel from Joy Castro) to adapt for the screen.
Let’s see where this goes. She’s certainly busy in front of the camera, with a handful of films in theaters this year, including her much-debated Nina Simone bio.
