Okay, so @Briligerent asked me pretty much the greatest question ever.
I’m even going to do a two-parter on this one, starting with those I have prior experience with.
Chris McQuarrie. I’d rather work with Chris than anyone else out there by a long shot. He’s one of the smartest people I ever met and can speak authoritatively on most subjects. He’s not precious about it, though, as he’s learned so much from talking to people. He’ll gladly listen to what you have to say and appreciate it. When he makes decisions there is so much thought that goes into them that he usually gets it right. Tireless worker as well. Towards the end of production on our film he was directing first unit all day long then going to the stage to oversee the inserts that second unit set up. I had to run next to him from setup to setup so we could get them right and still have time to sleep a few hours before call time for first unit’s next day. Perhaps most important of all was that he respected my work and engaged me so thoroughly as a collaborator. He sat at a conference table laden with maps and models surrounded by studio execs, Oscar winners, a few dozen experts in their fields, looked down to the end of the table and said “Sam, what’s the solution to this problem. You know all the parameters. How de we fix it”. That kind of working relationship always brings out your very best, and I kicked some ass for the guy loving every minute of it.
Stanley Tucci. When he was first having success as an actor Stan took a shot at directing. We made three criminally underappreciated films together. All were very low budget, intensely New York movies. Stanley is also whip smart, very charismatic, and an all-around joy to work with. He is very European in his methodology, taking every waking moment as a potential for artistry. We made a movie called Joe Gould’s Secret based on the writings of Joseph Mitchell. The two of us and our Designer Andy Jackness spent several weeks just wandering around the village, reading the material and searching out the real settings of his stories. Every afternoon ended with several whiskeys in an old village dive bar or another while working through the material. I sat in on his cooking lessons at Le Madri while prepping Big Night. Those are real life experiences I was fortunate to have. And dear Lord, the casts we had. Stanley, Campbell Scott, Ollie Platt, Alison Janney, Hope Davis, Fred Molina, Ian Holm, Patricia Clarkson, Tony Shalhoub, Isabella Rosselini, Matt Malloy, Lily Taylor, the list just goes on. Regrettably he didn’t catch on as a Director but I am happy for his success acting.
