On 'Stranger Than Fiction,' the script was so good that I stuck to every line because it was just such brilliant writing from Zach Helm that I felt like I really just want to shoot the page.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
When I first read the script a few years ago I thought it was one of the best written scripts I had ever read.
I love the script and I just thought it was a great role. Like I say, it's like this - the script is like this sad, funny, desperate love song to the lost American man.
When I look back at it, I'm mostly amazed at how poorly it was shot. David Kelley is a great writer, and I thought the scripts were great, but it just looks so cheap.
It so depends on each script, because you can say... I always thought I wouldn't have wanted to do something that was kind of like as big and commercial as 'The Dark is Rising,' but I really liked the script. I thought it was really clever.
The only thing that gets me back to directing is good scripts.
It's fun to improvise, but I still think it's better to have a great script, you know, like a Charlie Kaufman script.
For me, the work begins with a rough cut of the film. I can't do much with the script. I've tried to write music to a script prior to seeing the film, but I've found it turns out to be a waste of time.
With some writers, the script looks beautiful on the page, but nobody actually speaks like that.
No other aspect of filmmaking has tempted me to do a film other than the script and the story itself.
My Brilliant Career was beautifully directed, but I had a bit of trouble with myself in it. It was a silly script, based on a book this 16-year-old girl wrote.