Michael Mann(I)

In 1985, sued William Friedkin for plagiarism, claiming that Friedkin stole the entire concept of Deux flics à Miami (1984) when he made the movie Police fédérale, Los Angeles (1985) (which, ironically, starred William Petersen, who later played Will Graham in Le Sixième Sens (1986)). Mann lost the lawsuit. Despite this, the two directors are close friends nowadays. Friedkin even tease Mann in several interviews by saying "Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors because he tries to make films like mine!".

[on whether he operates the camera] The criterion is when I want to see what's going on through the lens. Usually, it comes down to performance more than technique . . . I've also worked with the same camera crews, even down to the assistants, on the last four films. So, we've developed a family in camera. A family that picks right up where they left off every few years. I see the world from the perspective of a 5'8" person, not someone who is 6'4". so naturally, I'm going to choose certain lens heights over and again . . . Sometimes nature makes choices for you. [1999]