 I always need a couple of highlights to really spark the passion for a project. |
| Many of the comedies I had made in Sweden were slightly based on semi-autobiographical experiences, so adapting novels was a very different experience. |
| I really want to have actors contribute their own ideas, with phrasings and ideas on all levels. |
| It was important on The Shipping News to have my house far enough away from each location so I had this time in the morning to think about my shots and still remain open to surprises once I got to the set. |
| My key interest in choosing scripts is character-driven stories, because there are so many stories that sacrifice character for plot. |
| I got to work with my wife, Lena Olin, for the first time, which was great. I thought it might be difficult in some way to talk to one's wife in a different way but it was so not forced. |
| I love involving actors at all levels - and they have to know that I want to hear their contributions, with dialogue, with story suggestions, with script changes, whatever. |
| I am always more interested in performance and character depiction, and my direction says as much. |
| I discovered the 7th art at home when I was kid, through Charlie Chaplin's movies and those of my father who shot documentaries. He was my biggest influence. So I took his camera and started shooting. |
| Cinema has become a global economy, totally international. |
