Did you find that being an actor was helpful in your direction?
I did. I know what bad direction feels like and how it just makes you feel self-conscious, so I could at least avoid that. I knew the whole story really well and I knew what pieces were important, so I did the best I could to communicate it to the actors in a language that I would wanna hear if I were them.
What was it like working with the kids in the movie?
I auditioned them and I found it excruciating, but I also knew that one bad line reading by a kid can ruin a movie. I don't know, I didn't feel very comfortable. But the kids who walked in wanted to be there. Maybe that was the difference — it wasn't some mom dragging them in. They were excited to be part of a movie, so that helped. And the little girl gave a great audition and looked like Colin, so it was perfect.
"I know what bad direction feels like."
You and Matthew Broderick [read Babble's interview with him here] worked together on a movie twenty years ago, Project X. What was it like to be reunited with him on a set?
I've been friendly with him all this time, so mostly it was nice just to have a supportive, friendly face there.
What's next for you?
I wrote another movie that I will direct and act in, though I'm so tired by the thought of it now that I don't know if I will. Or someone will come in and give me a really good part in something, and I'll be able to put it away and not think about it for a while.
As a mother, do you try to do projects that are near home?
So far I've been mostly home. I haven't had that [experience] where it's like, "Okay, it's four months in Prague! Pick up your life and go!" I don't feel that thing that a lot of actors have, like, "We'll be fine, we'll just be gypsies, and we'll jump on a plane." She probably would be fine, but it makes me really nervous to break up our little routine.
©2008 Mina Hochberg and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Mina Hochberg is a movie critic at amNewYork. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn. |
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