How did you get involved with this film? We haven’t seen you in awhile.
"I found out about this script when I was making Henry’s Crime. The producer, Alison [Palmer], was working on that picture and she showed me a script and I was like, 'This is amazing.' After that, I’ve been away a couple of years working on another movie. So that’s why I haven’t been around. I also did a documentary called Side by Side, that took some time, and I was working on 47 Ronin, which hasn’t come out yet. And I was directing a film called Man of Tai Chi."
What does the title, Generation Um... mean?
"It’s not just a decade generation or something like that. It’s X, it’s Y, it’s now, it’s the past. If anything, it’s all about the moment. And in this moment there’s an ellipsis, there’s an 'um' and there’s the word 'generation.' And I think it’s asking a question. It’s asking for interpretation, which is a kind of connection. And I think the characters in the film are seeking to connect but are damaged and have circumstance."
"John gets to ask a couple of questions, but he’s dealing with some pretty wild lions in these two ladies. I think that’s one of the problems, he has one intention and the character, Violet, says, 'Let’s make this a show! It’s my show!' And John says, 'Okay, so what is your show? What is friendship?' He goes on an expedition investigating their apartment. As we were acting a scene, another part of me was like, 'Okay, this is a really important line for this character, so make sure the headroom’s okay.'"
"Oh, well we all feel our disappointments, don’t we, somewhere at some point? Life is full of strife. No, I could completely relate to some of that."
"Haven’t been listening to much music recently, but there have been moments in the past where I’ve listened to particular music going into a scene, in preparation or for inspiration. On this particular project, I didn’t. But there are rhythms and I don’t know if it’s necessarily — certainly it could be connected to musicality, dialogue, the rhythms of a scene. We make a determination if the rhythm is right or wrong or if it feels good or bad."
You turn 49 in September. What was the best birthday gift you ever received?
"The best birthday gift I ever received? Well, my friends threw me a wonderful thirty party, a surprise birthday party when I turned thirty."
Photo: Everett Collection/Rex USA.