They want to let the audience figure things out and let the reaction shot get the laugh.
Meaning of the quote
This quote suggests that instead of directly telling the audience what is funny, the director wants the audience to figure out the joke on their own. They do this by showing the audience's reaction to the joke, rather than just telling the joke outright. This allows the audience to engage with the content more and find the humor for themselves, which can make the experience more enjoyable and memorable.
About Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld is an acclaimed American filmmaker and television director. He started out as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing iconic movies like The Addams Family, Get Shorty, and the Men in Black trilogy. Sonnenfeld has had a diverse and successful career in the entertainment industry.
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More quotes from Barry Sonnenfeld
It felt scary because there was no auditioning, no rehearsing.
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These movies are like my kids. I just love them to death. Some of them go to Harvard and some of them can barely graduate high school.
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I was seeing a lot of really good things about Get Shorty when it came out, and my wife pointed out that if you validate the good reviews, you also have to validate the bad reviews.
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I really wanted Michael Jackson to be in the first Men in Black, but he didn’t want to be considered as an alien!
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Will and Tommy Lee are the only actors I’ve ever worked with where neither of them want to say any lines.
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They want to let the audience figure things out and let the reaction shot get the laugh.
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I don’t think Will does get upstaged because his reaction is always funnier than what is actually happening. That is also the reason Tommy is funnier than Will.
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We should all relax about life because you don’t have a clue as to what’s really going on.
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Michael worked one day. Everybody was a little freaked out and nervous because he’s a really big star. We were already working with really big stars, but Michael is Michael.
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There’s a series of children’s books called A Series of Unfortunate Events, which is like an incredibly dark version of Roald Dahl. I hope to start directing it.
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I haven’t read a review of one of my films for the best part of 10 years.
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Michael Jackson wanted to be in Men in Black II. He told me he had seen the first Men in Black in Paris and had stayed behind and sat there and wept. I had to explain to him that it was a comedy.
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I play the father in the scene when Will and Tommy go back to Tommy’s old apartment. It was a big mistake. I hope not to be in the next movie I direct.
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By definition a sequel can’t be original. So you’ve got to figure out what worked the first time around.
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When Frank the Pug is singing I Will Survive, the only reason it’s funny is that Will is in that shot trying not to get angry. A shot of a dog singing I Will Survive on its own will not get a laugh.
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