When someone alludes to the fact that you might be similar to Quentin Tarantino, in some ways at least, it can be taken as a compliment or it can be taken with a grain of salt. The manner in which Brian B. of MovieWeb compares up and coming director Keith Sutliff to Tarantino seems to be complimentary since he goes into the hard work and effort that Keith has had to give in order to get as far as he is now. Of course Keith has likened his work in this manner as well so it’s easy to state that he has a good idea of which direction he wants to go in when he’s talking about his career. At this point Keith has been in show business for a little while as an actor and now a director, but has managed to direct just two films. This might not make him hall of fame material, but he’s impressed enough folks that it seems though people are taking him seriously and are wise to do so.
At this time he’s still one of those that puts on a lot of different hats when he’s making a movie, meaning that he does a lot of things on his own and doesn’t rely heavily on anyone. This is a bonus for a director but it’s also a lot of extra work to put in since having less people to deal with means that he has to shoulder the load a lot more than others. Whether this will change if he’s able to keep his career on the upswing is hard to say since until he gets to that point it’s almost impossible to tell if becoming truly famous will change him in any way. It’s a hope that he can stay as humble as he’s been throughout his first two movies since quite honestly he’s exhibited a lot of promise thus far and created a lot of belief that he can accomplish his goals and keep his feet on the ground as much as possible.
There’s no doubt he’s going to make mistakes along the way, every person in the business makes them a few times and they learn from them more often than not. The issue isn’t making the blunders, it’s when people keep making them thinking that they can eventually untangle the mess at a later date. Keith, so far, seems to be the type that wants the job to be done right before he can possibly sign off on it and make it work. What’s great about this is that he seems to have a good deal of integrity and the desire to make a quality film so that the audience can enjoy and he can look back and say that he did something special. One big hope is that his ego doesn’t eventually take over since this has happened to way too many directors, even Tarantino unless people want to argue.
In some ways getting famous is like a curse, there’s more money, more recognition, and more opportunity, but there are many more chances for an ego to inflate as someone starts to do well and continues to have their ego stroked by fans and Hollywood alike. This is a big reason why many fans will still watch movies but will show less faith in the people that make them, because the level of ego that some directors eventually display is simply insane. There are those that have confidence, and those that are simply too full of themselves and believe that they can do no wrong. At this time Keith has a great deal of confidence in himself and this is great to see since it means that he’s capable of seeing his own flaws and wondering if he could have done something better. But he’s also able to note when he might need to change something around or when something else has to be worked on to get it right. At the end of the day it’s the director’s vision that needs to be followed, as they’re the ones that are ultimately going to decide what the audience sees and will be responsible for how the audience reacts. If they’ve been honest and forthright in their vision then there’s a good chance that the audience will see this and respond in kind. If a director attempts to sneak one past the audience though a fair number of people are going to catch it, and their reputation is going to be shot to hell. So far Keith seems like a very forthright individual and should hopefully do well in the coming years.
If his third movie goes off just as well as his first and second there’s no doubt that he’ll be on his way as an up and coming director.
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