This post was originally published on here
17 February 2026
Sir Sam Mendes has “no outlet” during a film shoot.
Sir Sam Mendes has reflected on the challenges of directing
The acclaimed director loves his work, but Sam isn’t able to fully express his thoughts and feelings on set.
Speaking to Chloe Zhao at a screening in London, Sam explained: “You’re rolling a camera and there’s an actor giving something amazing, and you feel triumph and excitement and the heart starts to beat faster, or whatever it is, however you manifest your moment of creativity and discovery, but you can’t say anything because you’ll ruin it. You’ll f*** up the take.”
Sam, 60, is currently working on The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, a series of interconnected movies based on the lives of each member of the Beatles, and he recalled a recent incident to underline his point.
The veteran director explained: “I found myself the other day, [going] ‘Aargh!’ like this.
“You can’t make any noise and only when your script supervisor sees you punch the air or slap the chair, like ‘Yeah!’ or whatever it is. But they’re pretty great moments, but it’s a very odd art, craft, whatever you want to call it, that won’t allow you to just shout.
“The problem with directing, in many ways, is there is no outlet. You cannot shout. You know, the actor gets to shout. And I don’t mean like literally shout, I just mean express.”
Sam first announced plans to make the Beatles movies back in 2024.
The acclaimed film-maker – who is directing all four movies – told Deadline at the time: “We went out to Los Angeles just before Christmas to pitch the project, and it’s fair to say we were met with universal enthusiasm.
“The reason Sony stood out from competing offers was down to [Sony’s Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler’s] passion for the idea, and commitment to propelling these films theatrically in an innovative and exciting way.”
