“What? Why?” Vin Diesel instructed Steven Spielberg on how he should film Saving Private Ryan
Vin Diesel talked about how, as a still-beginning actor as well as filmmaker, he instructed Steven Spielberg on how he could get even better shots for a scene from Saving Private Ryan.
When Vin Diesel got the chance from Steven Spielberg to star in Saving Private Ryan, he was only at the beginning of his career. In his filmography, his only significant role at the time was the one in Strays, a film he directed and wrote himself. But despite his inexperience, Diesel felt confident enough as a filmmaker that on the set of Saving Private Ryan he wasn't afraid to tell Spielberg how he should shoot a scene from his war movie.
During an interview with Men's Health, Diesel talked about how he instructed Spielberg on what he was missing to get good shots of the scene in which Private Caparzo, played by the future star of Fast and Furious, is heroically killed.
Diesel in the interview cited an exchange that took place between him and Spielberg on the set of Saving Private Ryan:
Vin Diesel: Hey, Steven, where’s your C camera?
Steven Spielberg: What? Why?
Vin Diesel: Put a C camera in that second-floor window.
And supposedly following Diesel's advice, Spielberg actually placed the camera in the spot mentioned by the actor, who at the time had little experience as a director – he had previously shot one short film and one feature film. According to Diesel's story, the shot was good enough for Spielberg to include it in the film's trailer, so the actor's advice actually turned out to be a good one, and the famous filmmaker wasn't shy about listening to someone with less experience than himself, recognizing that a fresh perspective on the matter could work out well for the film.