David R. Ellis Quotes

• Chris Columbus was really interesting to watch how he works with children.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Children, Work

• Comedy. I think that’s something I’d really like to do.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Think, Like

• Fourth Law of Thermodynamics: If the probability of success is not almost one, then it is damn near zero.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Success

• I felt that if there wasn’t going to be a good opportunity, then I would just go back to second units which I love, keep working with great directors, keep learning and knowing that the opportunity would come when the time was right.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Love, Opportunity, Work

  Tags in Good

• I jumped 18 cars on a motorcycle, so I did almost everything.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Jumped

• I like Soderbergh, Spielberg, Lucas. There’s a lot of talented guys out there obviously, and if you’re a fan of films, you have to look at that stuff and learn from them.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Like, Learn

• I mean, you have a general tone of it but it’s pretty much you get to come in and you’re going to flip this car and it’s going to blow up and you’re going to come out on fire and you go oh, that’s cool, and then you get paid a lot of money.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Money

• I think my biggest break though came probably on Patriot Games because it was the biggest, longest second unit up to that point. It was like five months of shooting and a huge crew.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Think, Like, Game

• It was great. I mean, it’s a blast directing underwater stuff.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Great

• It’s just about going out and getting the shot, so I have a great understanding of how to execute it, so that really helps me, and also having a good understanding of all the action that I’m shooting, it helps me in determining how I’m going to capture it.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Good, Great

• Its pretty rare for companies to have a snooping policy, although it is getting more common.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Policy

• No, in Lethal Weapon I was a taxi cab driver that Mel jumps in front of the taxi and pulls me out of the car and steals the taxi. Then I did some other indie driving for some of the car sequences.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Weapon

• No, we always had something to do because I did all the wave runners and jet skis and boats approaching the atolls and stuff like that, so you could do that without showing the actual atoll or the set that you’re going towards, but detailing all those guys racing towards it.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Like, Actual

• So then I started doing a lot of episodic TV, just car chases or helicopter chases or whatever.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Started

• So there was always a stunt coordinator on those films that was from Stunts Unlimited and I was just one of the young warriors from Stunts Unlimited that got to be a part of it because it was a big show and they needed a lot of guys.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Warrior

• They do think it is a big summer movie and that’s why they want to give it a great chance, but they don’t want to go up against Spider-Man 2 or some of the other big movies, the $100 million films that are coming up.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Movies

  Tags in Great

• They had some really cool rigged cars and things that were different that they would tow behind the camera car that were actually on these trailers that manipulated side to side and stuff like they were getting hit, and actually put the actor right in the middle of the chase.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Cool

• Unless you go out and say what you stand for, other people will do it for you.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in People

• Waterworld was the best time of my life. It was physically demanding, but it was fun. I mean, you’re in Hawaii for nine months shooting on the water every day.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Life

  Tags in Time

• We’re talking to New Line. They’ve got a couple projects they’re interested in me doing and I’m having meetings at MGM. There’s a lot of available projects.

  David R. Ellis

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Talking

David R. Ellis (24)

Birth:	8th September, 1952
Death:	7th January, 2013
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Film Director, Stuntman

About

David Richard Ellis is an American film director and former stuntman. Ellis was born in Hollywood, California. He began his career in the film industry as a supporting actor in juvenile roles; his big screen debut was in the 1975 Kurt Russell film The Strongest Man in the World.

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