Comments from directors about not wanting chairs on sets are usually met with derision from people online. Many are concerned that such comments are ableist because often people need to sit regularly for medical reasons. Outside of that, a regular day on a film set may exceed 12 hours, so of course, people require breaks to avoid exhaustion and future potential medical issues.
Zack Snyder isn’t the first filmmaker to have to walk back such comments. There were reports that Christopher Nolan had a bizarre rule he imposed on his movie sets — no sitting down. A spokesperson for Nolan had to clarify this, asserting that Nolan doesn’t like to use a director’s chair, but everyone else is free to sit when they want to rest. It’s basically the same explanation Snyder provided: The filmmakers don’t want (or have time) to sit, but they’re not going to force someone to stand for hours on end.
While promoting “Maestro,” director Bradley Cooper mentioned a similar rule about not liking chairs on his sets. Instead, he hinted at wanting everyone to have apple boxes for when they need to sit. Again, this may simply come down to a miscommunication, or a filmmaker wanting to seem like a real cutthroat artiste who wants everyone around them to perform at the top of their game. Regardless, it’s high time that some director comes out and adamantly declares their love of chairs. Chairs are great and don’t deserve this chronic badmouthing.
