Film’s New Anxiety of Influence

But even with all the extensive innovation and experimentation, the debate and uncertainty as to where the industry is headed, producers keep producing and artists and crews keep imagining new worlds, new characters and new stories. Entertainment remains a major U.S. industry whose films and TV programs are seen by billions around the world. It is a window into who we are, and while some of it may not be to everyone's taste, this powerful art form continues to connect to people like no other. Who doesn't remember where he was when he first saw a favorite film … who she was with … what she felt in that moment? Everyone who experienced that magic in some theater somewhere in the world was sharing in a universal experience. That is the power and the beauty of what our industry creates and gives to the world.

But the truth is that "Hollywood" is a concept as much as a physical location. And in that sense, it is not so difficult for it to adjust to changes like the explosion of entertainment industries in Asia and the Middle East, or economic incentives drawing productions from the United States to other countries, or foreign-born directors—like the trio of Alfonso Cuar?n, Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu and Guillermo del Toro—inking major deals with U.S. studios. Boundaries are shifting, and there's something exciting about our ability to influence each other. From the beginning, Hollywood welcomed immigrants and thrived by absorbing their cultural influences. Hollywood flourishes because it changes as the world does. We can shine a light on each contributor—the writer, the director, the actors, the crew, the audience, the studios, the producers—but in Hollywood, all come together to create a whole that is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

As our world grows increasingly interconnected, the entertainment industry will continue to take advantage of the best talent and the most creative minds available. It's not about where people come from but the chemistry they make together. As a director, I work with writers, actors and crew members from all over the world to tell these stories in the best way possible. And as somebody who has been in this business for more than 40 years, I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have served in my "field of dreams" my whole working life. To have the chance to tell a story, to watch it unfold on a screen and to be able to share that vision with an audience, well … it doesn't get much better than that.

Apted is president of the Directors Guild of America and will direct the third"Narnia"movie,"Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

© 2007