Billy Wilder

In researching Billy Wilder, I found an enormous amount of information.  Any person who has their own “quotes” page on brainyquote.com http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/billy_wilder.html  must have something interesting to say.  As a matter of fact, anyone who has been on this earth for 96 years has important knowledge to pass along and we have a duty to listen.  Billy Wilder passed on his life experiences and knowledge in a very witty and entertaining way.  

I found video from an appearance he made at the American Film Institute in 1986. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfTZvjv7JrY  In the short excerpts I watched, I found him very informative and extremely funny.  He was quick witted and had a sense of humor that could only come from many years on earth.  For example, he was once asked if it was necessary for a director to know how to write.  His response was “No, it is not necessary for a director to know how to write, however it helps if he knows how to read.”  His entire interview was filled with exceptional information, with humor splattered throughout.  

In the same excerpt, he was asked by an audience member if he ever had any creative battles with executives.  His response was, no, they knew he was reliable.  “I work on schedule, I show up, I don’t snort (not in front of them anyway), I don’t drink, I’ve never missed a day”.  I love that he added the “don’t snort”.  This joke compelled people to pay attention and actually hear what he was saying.  They then heard his point, which I agree with.  It takes a certain kind of person to be successful.  It’s the kind of person who doesn’t make excuses.  They are dependable, honorable and they do what is expected, especially if they are being paid.  I think the work ethic of his generation is something to be admired.  As a whole, I think we have lost some of that drive and determination in America.  

One of my favorite Billy Wilder quotes from brainyquote.com  was “An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark - that is critical genius.”  This may have been true when he quoted it, but I don’t believe it holds true today.  There is such a thing as “1000 imbeciles” and that’s all they are, just a group of imbeciles. In 2013, there are many more followers than there are leaders.  I think it is vastly different today than in Wilder’s generation.  If a movie gets a bad review in the media, it is taken as truth, instead of people forming their own opinions about it.  The extreme medias (Fox News and MSNBC), social medias and the online world are filled with opinions of imbeciles.  We live in a world today that if you see it more than twice, it must be true.  

The Billy Wilder generation has so much insight and experience to share with the world, if people would just take the time to listen and then form their own opinions.