Ken Burns

It only became because the editing was going well, the nine episodes and the 11 and a half, 12 hours that it is.

And so even at five one hours, the biggest source of our funding over the years wasn't sure that it would work.

When I first wanted to be a filmmaker, my mom died when I was 11.

When I was 12, my dad, who never cried during her sickness or death or funeral, cried at an old movie.

He let me stay up and watch with him.

And I thought right then and there, I get it.

I want to be a feature filmmaker.

That means I'm David Lean.

It means I'm Howard Hawks.

I'm John Ford.

I'm Alfred Hitchcock.

And then I went to Hampshire College where they were doing nothing but social documentary still photography.

So I realized truthfully that there is as much drama, if not more, in what was and what is than anything the human imagination dreams of.

But I think about it all the time, but I don't have to.

You know, Shelby called me up in the middle.

We were editing, had this huge problem.

I called him up and I just, I can't, I can't figure out how to do Vicksburg and Gettysburg.

And he said, God's the greatest dramatist.

I said, what?

He goes, God's the greatest dramatist.