Danny Boyle admitted that he would prefer to say naïve than "a cynic when it comes to making movies." The British filmmaker learned his lesson of not letting success go to his head the hardest way possible.
According to Belfash Telegraph, Boyle stated that the biggest mistake he did in the filmmaking industry is placing the success in his head and not focusing on doing the projects with a modest outlook.
"I have thought that a couple of times about different projects, where you go, 'I know how to do this. I've done this before," Boyle said. He also said that facing the consequences of his mistakes are his biggest lessons to learn. He added that at present, he is still learning.
"But you're finished. It's terrible. You should be in an enforced and permanent state of naivety. Within that naivety, there is an essential dose of cunning that's necessary -- animal cunning -- to be a director," he added.
"But the naivety is really crucial too. You need to have big eyes about things, otherwise you feel like a know-it-all or a cynic and I hate that. You've got to look at stuff afresh constantly and learning all the time. It sounds like a cliché, but I mean it."
In his recent movie, the "Steve Jobs" biopic, he praised Michael Fassbender's "uncompromising" approach on how he portrayed the technology giant and genius in his perfect execution on showing off his "Jobsian" on screen.
He also acknowledged how Kate Winslet portrayed the role as Joanna Hoffman in the same biopic film. "She's playing this woman Joanna Hoffman who is basically the enabler; she does everything for Jobs and is equal of him, and Winslet became that."
"She did everything on set -- sorted all the problems; any tension, she'd heal. I think she's a bit like that anyway, but I realized that what she was doing was what she was playing as well."
The British filmmaker has been in the industry for nearly 30 years with some of his works acknowledged in Oscars like the "Slumdog Millionaire" and the drama 127 hours and crime thriller "Trance."
