Everyone's buzzing about an interview Steven Soderbergh gave to the Guardian where he says that the Che shoot was so arduous that he wishes he hadn't done it (!) and predicts that he's only got a few more films left in him. Strangely enough, I can't say I'm all that surprised -- the man works himself to the bone. Over the past ten years, Soderbergh has directed fourteen films (many of which he shot himself) and a television series (K Street), not to mention a slew of movies he simply produced. How does that record compare to some of today's other prolific filmmakers? Let's look:
The famously busy Woody Allen, who almost always stacks projects one after the other, has directed eleven films in the same timespan.
Scorsese and Spielberg? Seven each.
How about the other directors Soderbergh beat when he won his Oscar? Ridley Scott tops the pack at eight films over the last decade, while Ang Lee has made six and Stephen Daldry, three.
If there's a busier mainstream filmmaker, he's not coming to mind. Let yourself take a vacation, Steve! You've earned it, buddy.
ยท Steven Soderbergh: 'I can see the end of my career' [Guardian]