SUBMITTED BY MrSnuggles

December 20, 2001 — About.com's Fred Topel scores an exclusive interview with Rod Lurie, the director of; "The Last Castle." Here's a clip:

How is directing someone else's script different?

"That's a very good question, actually, because I've been thinking a lot about that. There's a big disadvantage and there's a big advantage. The disadvantage is that when you are directing somebody else's screenplay, the actors don't trust that you have the answers as much as you do when you're the writer-director. When I did The Contender, Joan Allen would come to me and talk to me about the motivation of Laine Hanson, her character. I would have the answers and I would tell her why she's doing this and why she's not doing something else. Joan just accepted it and so would all the other actors in the film. When you're working with somebody else's screenplay and they want to discuss the motivation of characters, we're all sort of guessing it together. You have to be much more convincing as a director."