We’re sort of putting a slightly different spin on Steve Rogers. He’s a guy that wants to serve his country, but he’s not a flag-waver. We’re reinterpreting, sort of, what the comic book version of Steve Rogers was.
The struggle of making a film for any studio is the fact that the producers and the studio have an idea of what the movie should be, but that is especially the case when the director is being replaced three weeks before principal photography. The challenge for me was to make sure that was my version of ‘The Wolfman.’ And I’ve done that. I think.
I’d love to make a sequel to ‘The Rocketeer.’ The film didn’t do as well at the box office as we all hoped, but it has endured and generated a following.
I had three weeks of prep on ‘Wolfman,’ a ridiculously inadequate amount of time to try to bring together the fractured and scattered pieces of the production. I had taken the job mostly because I had a cash flow problem, the only time in my career I’ve ever let finances enter into the decision process.
I’m not going to take a show unless I’m not sure I can do it. You have to have that sort of adrenaline.
With ‘Toy Story,’ which is a fantastic film but is essentially animation, you get to make all your decisions beforehand. ‘Jumanji’ is shot much like any other action film.
I had thirty weeks of prep on ‘Captain America.’ I have a small team of qualified, supportive, creative producers who are actually helping me achieve my vision of the film. I had a dream cast headed by Chris Evans. I had the best designers, artists, sculptors, craftspeople.
Anonymity is a wonderful thing if you can hang on to it. I live in Pasadena where we try to keep the movie people out. We discourage them from moving in our neighborhood and if they do we burn effigies on their lawns.
Casting Captain America is really casting two roles… Steve Rogers before and after the transformation from 98 pound weakling to perfect physical specimen. I can’t divulge how we’re going to do it, but the performance will be Chris Evans from beginning to end.
Maybe it’s every kid’s dream to go into a pod and come out looking like Captain America. And you don’t even have to exercise or lift weights! It’s great!
I think it tends to be overused and can be a little bit gimmicky. A lot of people are using 3-D now because they feel have they have to… that will come and go and the pictures that deserve to be in 3-D will continue to be. When it’s done bad, it can make you carsick.
‘Captain America’ was probably the most universally positive experience I’ve had in this mad business.
I think we’ve always been fascinated with the idea of the romantic outlaw. John Gotti could be in one instance a charismatic, kind and loving family man, and in another, deadly to his enemies. The opportunity to tell the true story of Gotti with John Travolta is a director’s dream.
All actors bring something unexpected to the role because they have to translate what’s on the page and make a real character out of the black-and-white text that’s there in the script.