Werner Herzog – A Guide for the Perplexed: Conversations with Paul Cronin

by Paul Cronin

There is often great frustration in this work. I say this not to discourage anyone; it’s just a way of life. One way to get through it is sheer discipline. This isn’t about physical discipline, rather a certain psychological state. Plough on no matter how many spectacular humiliations and undignified defeats you suffer. Under normal circumstances, when a human being leaps into an abyss, he shrinks back. But when a ski jumper takes off, he leans forward, head first, into the void. If he doesn’t, he rotates backwards. A downhill racer might be able to brake if he needs to, but when a jumper starts down that ramp, nothing can stop him. The same could be said of filmmaking. Learn to overcome your fears and shepherd your project to completion, no matter what. It’s the essential moments of struggle over the decades that I have learnt from and which have brought to me this point. When I think back to my earliest years in this business, I see I am nothing today but a product of my defeats. When I was burnt I learnt about heat, and when I was belittled I learnt about power structures. Instead of going to film school, for me it became a process of trial and error, and for the first few years it was mostly error.