Norman Jewison

Birthday: 21 July 1926, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name: Norman Frederick Jewison

Norman Frederick Jewison was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Dorothy Irene (Weaver) and Percy Joseph Jewison, who managed a post office and a convenience store. His mother was an English immigrant, and his father was of English and Ulster-Scots descent. Jewison got his BA at Victoria College, University of Toronto, and after moving to London, where he wrote scripts and acted for the BBC, he returned to Toronto and directed TV shows for the CBC (1952-1958), then musicals and variety in New York, before embarking on a film career. In 1986 he established the Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies in Toronto. Show less «

[2004] This is not a business you want to lose your confidence in.

[on Steve McQueen] I can honestly say he's the most difficult actor I've ever worked with.

[on Judy Garland] Judy Garland was the most exciting sheer talent I ever worked with. She was so unp...Show more »

[on Judy Garland] Judy Garland was the most exciting sheer talent I ever worked with. She was so unpredictable, very child-like, very difficult to work with at times, but the rewards were immense. Show less «

[on Cher] Her comic timing is natural and almost infallible. I'll say so even though she nicknamed m...Show more »

[on Cher] Her comic timing is natural and almost infallible. I'll say so even though she nicknamed me "the curmudgeon." Cher thinks all directors are mad and crazy. She's right. of course. Show less «

People always tell me, "Gee, you direct so many movies" as if that's unusual. But I made my mind up ...Show more »

People always tell me, "Gee, you direct so many movies" as if that's unusual. But I made my mind up when I was young that what's most important for a director is to keep working. Because how else are you going to learn how to do new things, which - to me - is the whole point. So I make a lot of different movies and I love them all . . . The movies that address civil rights and social justice are the ones that are dearest to me. Show less «

[on one reason he wanted to bring A Soldier's Story (1984) to the screen] I hitchhiked through the S...Show more »

[on one reason he wanted to bring A Soldier's Story (1984) to the screen] I hitchhiked through the South in 1945 when I was eighteen, and passed the Missouri town where the last lynching had taken place. They told me I rode in the pick-up truck that had dragged the victim through the streets. That was said with a great deal of pride, which astounded me. Show less «

Directing, in many ways, is manipulation because you're dealing with a lot of egos. You have to mani...Show more »

Directing, in many ways, is manipulation because you're dealing with a lot of egos. You have to manipulate people into thinking it was their idea, to get them to do what you see as being the best, to edit them without their knowing they're being edited. Show less «

[on working with Rod Steiger on In the Heat of the Night (1967)] I've never seen a man become a role...Show more »

[on working with Rod Steiger on In the Heat of the Night (1967)] I've never seen a man become a role so much. Two weeks after we started the picture it was almost impossible to talk to [him] because he was in a Southern dialect night and day. Show less «

[on directing movies] It's you against the world. It's like going to war. Everybody is trying to tel...Show more »

[on directing movies] It's you against the world. It's like going to war. Everybody is trying to tell you something different, and they're always putting obstacles in your way. You have to fight for what you believe in, and you have to defend yourself constantly. It's a matter of confidence. It's when you get indecisive and you lack confidence that you get into trouble, because everybody else will take over. Show less «

Norman Jewison

Norman Jewison's FILMOGRAPHY

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