Sir Ridley Scott wants to make four movies in a year.
Ridley Scott
The 79-year-old director admits he gets frustrated that he is unable to be as prolific in his output as actors are and he is driven "crazy" by the fact one film takes such a long time to complete.
He told The Observer magazine: "It drives me crazy that an actor can do four movies in a year and I can't. I was saying that to('Alien: Covenant' star) Michael Fassbender."
Being a filmmaker takes up a lot of time because the veteran director admits he needs to be very well prepared for every day on set and it's essential to be decisive.
He explained: "It's fatal to turn up on set and say, 'What are we going to do?' Fatal to discuss where the cameras are going to go. You cannot do that. That's where it comes unhinged."
However, while he's not as prolific as he'd like, Scott does work quickly and made his latest film under budget and long before the estimated deadline.
He continued: "A film like 'Alien: Covenant' would normally be 100 days; we did it in 74. We made it for $111m, as opposed to $180m or $260m. It's insane the amount of money spent. When you're spending $250m on a movie, you should have been fired a year ago."
But he puts the most important filmmaking quality down to being his "own critic".
He added: "It all comes full circle to starting out as a painter. You walk in the room in the morning, where you spent all day yesterday by yourself. You stare at the canvas and you go: 'Bloody hell, I hate it.' Painting is all about what you did yesterday, how you're going to recorrect it, improve it, or go: 'Holy s**t, I got it.' It's being your own critic, that's it. That's the most important thing."
Tagged in Sir Ridley Scott