Films like 'The Godfather,' 'Chinatown' and 'The Exorcist' brought a realism and currency and understatement to their genres that we wanted for 'Mildred Pierce.'
I came out of a sort of experimental background, and I didn't ever really expect - or even desire - a career as a feature filmmaker.
I figured I would be teaching my whole life and making experimental films on the side.
All actors are protecting something, in their own way, that happens in front of a camera.
I'm used to always having struggles getting finances together and keeping precarious budgets alive in the independent film world.
A key part of the process for me is having screenings: not official test screenings, just gatherings of people, some I know and some I don't. We ask what is working and what isn't. So it's not as if I'm shutting out input.
I find movies rely upon dialogue too much sometimes, and you lose the power of what really the most basic cinematic language is, which is the visual language.
I had really loving parents and a happy childhood.
I love visual mediums, and I've always painted and drawn.
The way I sort of approach my work is that the historical and socioeconomic and cultural worlds that the music is exploring dictate the visual experience and the way that we approach it specifically on film.
The best love stories on film are rooted in the point of view of the more woundable, vulnerable party, the more amorous party.
'Carol' takes place in the really early '50s, before Eisenhower has taken office. It's based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, her second and most autobiographical book and the only one outside of the crime milieu.
I'm always interested in what classic crime writers got into when they stepped away from the genre stuff they were known for. That's why 'Mildred Pierce' is like noir without any real crime.
I felt I would have the most creative freedom making experimental films and teaching, as I had many good examples of people around me who did just that.
I don't know if I ever entertained an academic career, nor did I ever think I'd become a feature film-maker in the market.
I live in Portland. I'm a man of the world, and I live in Portland.
I'm a lover of cinema, and I don't want that to completely expire.
Every actor comes with their own experience, method, methodology.
