Gill: Just wanted to say I watched the film last night and it was absolutely hilarious, it’s a really really brilliant film.

Dominic: Thank you very much Gill.

Gill: You’re welcome. Just wanted to ask what was it like directing yourself in your movie because I know you starred in it for a bit?

Dominic: I have always found it quiet tricky directing myself. I always say I try not to give myself any big roles, have more of a small fun role.

I was aware that as long as we were kind of having fun and a lot of the material was improvised and as long as we were in flow of it we would get away with it. But genuinely speaking it is difficult, I wouldn’t ever consider putting myself in any leading role and directing myself. So yes it’s quiet tricky.Theres no partial technique that I use, and also I just lean on the team around me and just make sure everyone else is feeling it as well. It’s always a collaboration with it being an independent film.

So yes as long as I was feeling it and everybody else was feeling it, we just went along with it and sort of went with it.

Gill: It really comes across that everyone seems to get along really well, so quiet a close knit team.

Dominic: I mean independent films are always really, really difficult but we did really have some fun on that one, it was great. It was good fun.

Gill: So was it purely because you got on so well with everybody that made you want to sort of be in it as well as sort of direct as well, you know get involved with that fun atmosphere?

Dominic: Well it’s funny really because I started out as an actor, and acting is always what I wanted to do. So I think when it came to, weirdly, I got in to directing and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to, so I’ve always liked to keep the acting up. Also I’ve done bigger parts in other stuff as well. And it’s fun to work with other directors and learn from other directors, be on other sets and see how they come on.

So I always try and keep the acting sharp and it’s like anything, you keep practicing and keep learning and so I do try and give myself something in the films a bit. So it was just a case of in Loser it was just a fun part and obviously the biggest attraction to me was the opportunity to work with Martin Constant who you know, I’m a huge fan of his, I’ve just seen The Disappearance of Alice Creed just before we did the movie, so I was actually quite star struck when I first met him.

We got on like a house on fire, you know.

Gill: Oh yes, fantastic. What would you say was your favourite part of the movie, have you got any bits that you like watching more than others?

Dominic: I mean with Simon Phillips, he plays the physiatrist, I really like the scenes between him and James; you know it’s really good fun. Every time we cut back to that bit in the film, it always makes me smile, and also the Richard E Grant scene. I love it; I mean he was just a joy to work with.

But also the Adele Silver scene in the shop, when she plays a character called Charlotte and James attempts to chat her up, but it was her time of the month!

Gill: Yes (laughs)

Dominic: That always makes me chuckle. It’s fun you know because when we were screening it was really interesting to see which jokes and which moments went down best with a live audience

Gill: Yes that’s right

Dominic: Yes, some of the scenes really did bring the house down; it’s just such a good scene in that one. But in terms of the economical film, the whole film was really good fun, there was a great vibe, everybody got along really well, which is not always the case in these kind of movies. Yes the whole film was good fun there was no part of any shoot where I didn’t enjoy it.

Gill: Yes because I was going to ask, was there any funny or difficult moments when you had to adapt the directing?

Dominic: Definitely, we had a very tight budget on How to Stop Being a Loser and at that point it was very, very difficult. For example, on Sheridan Smith’s scene we literally got into the location 5 minutes before showing her it. Trish the producer just literally found the location, she was like right ok I’ve found it, so we could get to the location and shoot within 2-3 hours, so it’s very difficult working like that. Very little prep, and you have to think on your feet the whole time, often have to adapt or tweak the script. So yes it was very challenging.

I think anything with a tight budget is always going to be very tough. But the bottom line is everyone on the shoot had a great attitude, everybody was there because we love what we do at the end of the day and certainly everyone wasn’t there just for the money and that was what nice about the actors that we bought in as well because we had such a low budget we weren’t paying anybody a fortune, so everybody from Richard E Grant to supporting artists, everybody was there because they believed in the project and had a passion for it and that made it a really great atmosphere to work in.

Gill: Do you think the fact that it was sort of some things were spur of the moment that makes it more natural for them to come together more naturally, do you think?

Dominic: I think it can do yes, I think Loser has its faults and I think it’s aware of its faults. As a film maker, I mean me personally, I think as a film director I’ve grown hugely you know. The last project I did was a sci-fi movie, it couldn’t be more different to Loser but at the same time there is no way I would of been able to pull off that film if I hadn’t have had the experience of Loser, so the whole thing was a learning curve, so it definitely was a case of trial and error. A case of jump in with two feet and then try and make as much work as we can do.

Gill: Yes, yes

Dominic: and that’s what we all did, I do think there are definitely faults that can be picked without question but, at the end of the day, I think the nature of the shoot certainly contributed to the film absolutely.

Gill: Yes, Brilliant, So you were talking about future projects and things like that, I know you were in the film Airborne that was with Mark Hamill and Gemma and Simon are in that as well, so have you got a bit of a team together now do you think, with those actors, have you got any future plans to do any other movies?

Dominic: Yes, definitely. We’ve actually done two since loser, we did a film called Airborne with Mark Hamill. Gemma and Simon were in that as well, and we’ve also done UFO with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bianca Bree in, Sean Brosnan and Simon Phillips.

I often use the same cast members; if I click with them I very much enjoy directing performances. That’s my thing, so if I click with an actor and we get on well, and the work flows I will always want to work with them again. Obviously I enjoy meeting new people and expanding horizons and so on but Simon is so much fun and Gemma is like the least diva you’ll ever meet. She’s just an absolute scream. Gemma is so much fun, I literally can’t wait to work with her again to the point of when I look at projects now I will specifically look for a part for her because her attitude is just great, and the same with Simon. Also what helps is Simon and Gemma got on very well so you didn’t get any problems or bullshit, or you know any diva action behaviour, you know there’s just no room for it on an independent film.

The perception of film is so glamorous but it’s not, it’s tough, it’s cold, your standing out in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere snow, wind, rain. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining, and don’t want to come across otherwise.

Gill: Oh no, no.

Dominic: It is hard work, it genuinely is, and if you start getting actors or crew that start complaining or moaning, it does make the process so much more difficult. I always try and remind people that we don’t dig a hole for a living, it could be a lot tougher you know, it really could and we should be appreciative of what we do and Gemma has certainly got that attitude, there’s no wonder that she has been so successful and I really respect Gemma as well because she’s given up the modelling and a huge income, you know, so she can be taken seriously as an actress. And she’s a bloody good actress as well, and she’s got every chance of being taking very seriously.

Gill: Yes, brilliant thank you. What was it like working with people like Mark Hamill on Airborne? What was that like, was that different?

Dominic: Yes, well, Mark Hamill was an absolute joy to work with. I really do get on well with Mark, he invited me over to his house in L.A for dinner and he is literally one of the nicest guys I’ve ever worked with, and for people who are fans of Star Wars and stuff like that he is exactly how you expect him to be.

He’s got amazing stories, he doesn’t mind sharing them or asking questions. He’s very good with fans, as you can imagine there is a steady seam of people wanting photographs, autographs and autographed posters. I mean he does it all, he has no problems whatsoever, there’s no looking down on his fans at all, he’s always happy, always happy to tell a story. The only problem was of course when we were on set Mark would start telling a story and everything would just stop dead, everybody, you could just hear a pin drop and everybody hanging off his words, so the fella in charge of keeping us on schedule was hurrying everyone up. The poor guy had a nightmare because of course every time Mark opened his mouth everyone just stopped and Mark’s a fabulous raconteur as he tells a great story. But yes it was a dream come true for me, you know I love Mark and the Star Wars movies, and what was quite eye opening for us was, when the word was spreading around that we were working with Mark Hamill, some people’s reactions, especially the younger generation, was oh my god you work with the guy who does the voice of the joker, they actually jumped to that before Luke Skywalker, which I found you know very unusual

They jump to knowing him out of a Batman film, didn’t know it was as popular as it is.

Gill: No, no I thought it would have been Star Wars for any sort of generation.

Dominic: It’s amazing to think that some people thought about the joker before Luke Skywalker, but he really is great. You meet all sorts in this game but Mark is the real deal, he’s such a lovely guy I can’t praise the guy enough.

Also he’s a really strong actor and I think he likes to pick stuff that will challenge him rather than, I think, he gets offered a lot of the same stuff, not to talk out of line but I think that’s the case and I think it was nice for Mark to do something a little bit different. I mean Airborne is a twilight zone movie, just tongue and cheek really and Mark’s brilliant in it you know, looking forward to getting it out there.

Gill: Yes, I can’t wait to see that one I was reading up on that one as well I think it sounds brilliant, really good.

Dominic: Let you guys judge it when it comes out!

Gill: I was going to ask you, do you find any differences as obviously How to Stop Being a Loser has been compared with Hitch, so do you find any differences with UK and US films, rom-coms or more action and horror films, are there any differences with making those?

Dominic: Yes absolutely.

I mean that’s a very interesting question. I think comedy is probably the hardest to portray as ironically How To Stop Being a Loser has gone down better in the states than it has over here, which is strange. It’s not actually out in the states but obviously it’s been taken to market and been filtered around and the reaction we’ve had in America has been really positive, they seem to get it which is often not the case.

I think in terms of money men for example, they’re always very nervous putting money into comedy because it’s so hard for it to translate. For example, if you think about it, I mean what a lot of people don’t realise is that when you make a film, when you make an English film, fingers crossed England is only a very small part of the marketing that the film will make. You sell the film to Japan and Australia, literally all over the world, then comedy is certainly the most difficult to roll out internationally.

I think that Hollywood find the same thing, like the way Die Hard would roll out internationally would be very different to say the way American Pie would roll out internationally. Just to take to extreme examples. So yes I do think there is a distinct difference between English and American films in terms of comedy, just because of the differences in sense of humour, although there is a project that I am sort of looking at at the moment. It’s kind of an American style programme but set in England. It’s something I’ve always felt is possible. I do think that How to Stop Being a Loser does have an American sense of humour but obviously on a very low budget.

I do think generally speaking, film is different. I’ve got a lot of friends in the states that have made films, but I haven’t directly so it’s difficult for me to compare them directly, but I would say it’s very different and America is very tight on unions, where as England isn’t on that kind of stuff, but I do think if you go anywhere in the world, raising money independently or within the system it’s very difficult, but I do think what is interesting about technology is advances in digital cameras etc.

What I think is really interesting about what’s happening is that it’s becoming more accessible to make a film for younger people, well not just younger people, people with less money to make a film. I mean things like, we’ve just done this film called UFO which is an alien invasion kind of thing in the UK, and the effects in that film are going to be remarkable but for us to be able to have access to these kind of effects at the kind of budget we would need 10x the budget we had to get anything close to those affects.

And I think what’s interesting, as film making generally becomes a little bit more accessible I think that’s positive. I mean film makers and people in the industry probably want that to be the case, because of course what that does is flood the market with people that want to make films. Personally I think that’s probably a positive thing because I think it gives talent the opportunity to rise to the top, as opposed to people that are connected or people that know somebody.

Gill: Of course

Dominic: All of our group that we work with have built from the ground up and nobody got a golden hand shake out of it, the people I work with.

Not that I am aware of anyway, and we’ve all had to work our way to wherever it is we are now and I think that it is a positive thing. Having been given the opportunity to meet people who are talented just to work and go to work just to show off what they have got to offer, rather than only people that can get themselves in a privileged place to make a movie in the first place

Gill: Yes, yes. Definitely I think it might even make them better actors because they have worked their way up.

Dominic: Absolutely yes, I think that’s definitely the case. The more experience you get on screen the better you’re going to be, I mean, my girlfriend at the moment is considering whether or not going to performing arts school or not, but the thing is all the actors and actresses I audition are trained to act on stage and they don’t realize the difference between acting on a camera and acting on a stage. That’s mainly just because they haven’t been given the opportunity to act on a camera before and don’t realize what it entails. They go on courses where they think they’re getting taught to act full stop, but don’t realize the huge difference between acting in front of camera to acting on stage and screen. So if they can get experience in small films or student films, any experience on camera, it will absolutely improve their skills.

Gill: I know it’s a bit of a change of pace and genre for you perhaps with How To Stop Being a Loser with doing films like Cut, a horror film in the past, so what made you take that sort of change in to rom-com type films?

Dominic: I suppose, well Cut, I am quiet passionate about that film. It’s a tiny film on a tiny budget and we did the whole thing in one single take, and the problem with Cut was the sound was buggered, you know. The sound was, we just didn’t have enough money so the sound didn’t work and it kind of got swallowed. I mean I loved the film very much but the film never done as well as it could have done, I think because of the sound. But in Cut there are a few jokes and it’s quiet a dark script, if you know me at all I do pretty much enjoy laughing more than anything else you know I don’t take much seriously.

Gill: Yes, yes

Dominic: I like to enjoy things and have laugh so it was never really a stretch for me to do a comedy and even in Airborne and UFO there were definitely, well hopefully, laugh out loud moments even in all the chaos. So I’ve always fancied doing a comedy and Simon actually loved the script, he was actually in love with the script. Being completely honest, I would have changed a few things to be honest. But yes I adored it and thought it had a lot of potential and I felt that we could make something of it so having read the script I said ok yes, I can do this and off we went. So it’s more the opportunity found me to be honest. I mean Simon and I will often throw each other scripts and when I’ve usually written anything the first draft will go to Simon, and Andy Thompson another guy I work with. We do try to kind of get each other opinions before we go forward with anything. I mean we’ve just finished Jack Falls which was quite a serious film, quite a tough shoot and we just fancied having a laugh! And we bloody did you know, really good fun.

Gill: Yes, yes I think that really comes across in the film, everyone got on really well and there’s a great sort of vibe to it as well. Just out of interest for me really, you were talking about Cut being done in one take. Was that in any way inspired by Rope, the Hitchcock film?

Dominic: Well do you know what, it’s funny you should say that because I’ve seen Rope, but seen it after I had seen Cut, and after making Cut. I think Rope is absolutely cracking. Really I mean Cut really came from, I struggle when I write to pass a lot of time, which I know is strange but in my writing everything I’ve written sort of takes place over a short period of time, and when I was writing Cut I got about a third the way in to the script and realized that the whole thing was taking place on one night just naturally.

So I thought ok, so let’s see if we can go all the way through the film with it being in one night and maybe we can do it in maybe a 24 style but in real time. Then it occurred to me that I didn’t think it had been done before, and I asked around and people told me I was insane and as soon as somebody tells me I can’t do something , it kind of makes me just want to do it.

Gill: (laughs) Yes.

Dominic: I mean I got told that about an alien invaders movie and here I am with a post-production of UFO, you know. But the idea with Cut was how cool could it be to be a part of the cast. As an audience member, just sort of right in there with the cast. So you know that at no point it’s going to cut to day time, and everything will be safe and you get that breath of air and everything rises and rises and you know because you can’t cut that you’re stuck in that picture for the whole time. I really got on board with that concept I thought that was a really cool idea. I noticed that I think Sun Dance this year has seen a one day horror that has come out and is getting quite a lot of attention. I was thinking oh god we done that 3 years ago!

Gill: Yes

Dominic: But erm I do think the idea is a good one. I think it particularly lends itself really nice to horror, I would say that the claustrophobic feeling that you can’t escape, and the more we built on the idea the more it worked. With UFO, a film we’ve just done, we done a seven minute steady shot without cutting in the middle of that at a supermarket riot, and there is no way we would have been able to pull that off without the experience of Cut. The whole sort of one take thing is something I really want to look back into, it’s something I don’t feel I’m done with yet, you know.

An actor that we work with called Joey Ansah, who is best known as the guy who fought Matt Damon in the Third Bourne Ultimatum in Morocco.

Gill: Oh right

Dominic: He’s becoming a big actor now he’s in UFO and got this idea for a huge one take fight scene, even though it’s been kind of done before, but Joey got some really good ideas about things so Joey and I are getting our heads together now for something a little bit special.

Gill: Oh right that sounds great, Have you got any influential directors that you look to, maybe draw on some of their ideas?

Dominic: You know, I’ve just got loads, I get asked this a lot and every time I give the answer I give a handful of different names. I mean the ones that immediately spring to mind, in terms of comedy, I’d say John Hughes, Tom Phillips he’s doing great work at the moment, in terms of directors generally I mean Michael Mann, Oliver Stone. I love Chris Nolan, Peter Anderson.

You know it’s really difficult with directors as there’s some amazing guys out there but I think often with directors. I’ve got this thing where I ask somebody what their favourite film is and then I ask them who directed it and 6 times out of 10 they have no idea!

Unless you’re specifically into film people don’t know directors or follow them, which is fine by me. I’m not particularly famous but I do think there are a lot of unsung heroes that even I couldn’t tell you the names of, you know.

I’m a big fan of 80’s films and I like a lot of the 80’s humour so maybe I draw on that quiet a lot. Shane Meadows is a great writer, others that do a lot of amazing work, so yeah there’s loads. But I’m a film nut; I’m always watching films so.

Gill: Ok thank you. Ok well a light question to finish with; I was going to ask you I know How to Stop Being a Loser going out 6th February, perfect Valentine’s Day movie to watch, Have you got any tips for the perfect Valentine’s Day?

Dominic: (laughs) you’re going to get me in trouble here. The perfect valentine’s, something un expected, I always like to try and surprise my girlfriend you know, always try to do something that she didn’t see coming and as required a little bit of effort that goes beyond just popping to the shop to buy her a box of chocolates, so something with thought and something with effort.

I always think as well if you make it something special that you guys know about, something you know your partner enjoys. I mean I’m no Romeo, but yes I will always try and do something like that, something that is special.

Gill: That sounds perfect, thank you and thank you for talking to me

Dominic: You’re very welcome

Gill: I watched the film last night; it was absolutely fantastic, just really hilarious.

Gemma: Thank you

Gill: What was it like playing a character that’s so different to you, because you’re so lovely and nice and you play Hannah, who in the end isn’t very nice?

Gemma: Yes it was fun, and when I first read the script my initial thought was not to do the role because I thought Hannah was just the girl next door and the eye candy in the film. It’s as I read on that I realised that she does become a bitch, and it’s something different that will be brilliant to do, but it was fantastic. It was hard to do because I get on with Simon so well, so after every shoot I had to hug him and tell him I was sorry, but no it was great.

I’ve got an older sister so I’ve spoken to her like that a few times.

Gill: So what made you want to do this film, what made you go for it?

Gemma: Just because it was something different really, the part was offered to me which I was really flattered by and just because it was different from anything I have played before. I mean, normally I play the nice characters or the eye candy characters, which I thought this was going to be, but as I read on I thought oh right there’s more to her than I thought. Also because it’s a comedy and I’ve never done that before, just horror and gangster films, so it was a new genre I got to do as well.

Gill: Which did you prefer do you think, doing the comedy films or more horror?

Gemma: I mean they’re both amazing, but with the comedy you kind of come off set on a high, sort of really excited. After doing 13 hours every day I’d come off set with a headache because of all the crying and screaming and it was a lot more physical and running around and stuff, but they were both as enjoyable, I mean I would do both of them again.

Gill: What would you say was your favourite part of the movie, are the any bits that you enjoyed filming or that stand out to you when you watch it back?

Gemma: The montage stuff I did with Simon I really enjoyed as we were getting to know each other because we did actually film that with just me and Simon, Dom just set the camera up and we went bowling for half an hour and then we went to Nandos, had some food and a chat so he got clips of that, so I like them bits because there like the most natural bits in the film and it’s because it’s ourselves kind of relaxed and enjoying ourselves, so I think that’s the best bit for me.

Gill: Were there any funny or embarrassing moments on set that you can think back too?

Gemma: Yes there was quite a few, Simon will kill me for telling you but he’s not as tall as me so when we did the kicking scene he had to stand on a box. I mean I had high heels on and we were in this like warehouse so it was freezing cold. I said I’ll take my shoes off and Dom said no it’s freezing, we will put Simon on a box. So he will actually kill me for saying that but that was quiet funny.

And just the things in the house, they were funny; the bed scenes with me and Simon, we had to have our picture taken to let the girls look at and it was me in the bed so that was quiet funny. I mean the whole run of it really, the outtakes show how much fun we had, it was constant laughs.

Gill: Yes it does look like there’s a really good vibe on set, especially when you watch the out takes so; do you have any embarrassing pickup lines that I’m sure people have asked you before?

Gemma: Yes I always get them, it’s quiet funny when I get the Holllyoaks fans, and they say did we go to school together and they’re like 4x my age, and I’m like no I don’t think we did. I don’t know, I always get people saying I don’t know who you are but do you want a drink, and I always say well if you don’t know who they are then why would you say that to somebody, you just wouldn’t make a point of saying that they’re a stranger

Gill: No it doesn’t make sense does it?

Gemma: Or when they say I’ve not seen Hollyoaks, so they think you’re going to be more attracted to them, it’s quiet bizarre really.

Gill: I was looking into Airborne, the film you did with Mark Hamill, and I think directed by Simon and Dom wasn’t it, so have you got a bit of a team together now, have you got any future projects or anything like that coming up?

Gemma: Yes definitely. I mean we finished Airborne then were all going to start a horror called UFO, but unfortunately I got signed on to another job so I couldn’t do UFO with them but this year John’s got a few more scripts that he’s seeing to at the minute, but we have all decided to work together again, were not sure what on yet but he has got two or three scripts that are very specific, and he won’t just make a film for the sake of it. He has to kind of make sure that it’s something he’s going to enjoy and that he can make into something really good. But yes hopefully we will get started on that within the next couple of months, it will be great, can’t wait to work with them again.

Gill: Yes, why is it you think you all so well together, is there anything you can think of?

Gemma: I think it’s because everybody is on the same page really, obviously Dom’s the director but he’s an actor as well, so he’s a lot easier to be around on set and I think because he uses the same crew a lot as well, who are all fantastic, everyone kind of knows how everyone works. I mean Dom could be plotting a scene and you can see Dom and the cameraman, they have both got the same ideas on how to shoot it before even discussing it, so I just think it makes everything a lot easier when you work with a team.

Gill: Yes that sounds lovely, I mean like I say it does come across. I’m really looking forward to seeing Airborne, what was it like to work with Mark Hamill?

Gemma: It was brilliant, he was so nice. I only really met him because I literally had just one scene with him in the airport, and it was my last day of shooting, so they kind of saved it until last which was great, and he was really sweet. Again it’s weird because I embarrassingly have not seen any of the Star Wars films, so I kind of Googled him before I went on so I had an idea, but he still looks the same, you can tell its him, you know when you look, he’s still got the same face.

Gill: It’s nice to hear that he was nice to work with, though you sort of think they’re going to be these big Hollywood names.

Gemma: Yes that’s the thing. I think everyone kind of thought it would be a bit difficult but he was really nice, and I said to Dom is everything alright and Dom said he’s been absolutely smashing

Gill: That’s really good, have you got any favourite actors that have inspired you or that you would particularly like to work with in the future?

Gemma: To be honest, with British actors there is so much talent within the UK that they’re difficult to pick up now, you tend to go more towards Hollywood names. I mean, some people in the UK, like the cast of Skins, I think there all amazing. When I worked with Alan Ford, again he was in Airborne, I had also done Casualty with him and I really like Alan because again he’s such a well-known British actor and he was just really nice and I had a really good laugh with him.

Gill: So there are more British actors that you would like to work with?

Gemma: Don’t get me wrong, if the opportunity came up to work with a Hollywood star then yes, definitely, but I love Charlize Theron. I think she’s fantastic and I’d love to do a period drama, that’s kind of my aim to do something like that

Gill: That would be lovely, sort of a Downton Abbey kind of thing.

Gemma: Yes, that would be brilliant

Gill: Are there any differences between working with UK and US actors, especially with something like comedy where it’s not translated the same?

Gemma: I think with comedy yes, I think the UK and the US we have different views; like our comedy is quiet dry and US can be quiet direct. I think the UK and the US have different views, it’s like if you look at our version of The Office compared to their version of The Office, they’re both funny, just in different ways, so for me a comedy would be a lot easier with a UK cast.

Gill: Yes, Definitely. Have you got three words that you would use to descried How to Stop Being a Loser to somebody to make them go out and watch it or sum up the film?

Gemma: I’d say laugh out loud really, because I think Simon’s character James, everyone can relate to him at some point in their life, whether it’s in their teenage years or in their early 20’s or whatever, at some point they will be able to relate to them.

Gill: Ok and just wanted to ask you, as How to Stop Being a Loser comes out 6th February, it’s the perfect Valentine’s Day movie to watch. Have you got any top tips for the perfect Valentine’s Day?

Gemma: Well, I’m away this Valentine’s Day; I’m in Africa so I’m going to be in a hotel room by myself! But I always prefer little gestures really on Valentine’s Day because I’m not really in to the big spenders and stuff; I prefer something a lot more meaningful. I mean my boyfriend Liam took me skiing for Valentine’s Day and all my friends were like, that’s crap skiing – it’s too much exercise, but I told him when we met that it was something I’ve never done but would like to do, so he remembered it and that’s what we done but I think something meaningful, something a bit more, go more personal and get something your partner would like.

Gill: That sounds perfect, for the perfect day. Alright well thank you very much for speaking to me. It’s been really interesting

Gemma: Thank you very much

Gill: Thank you and good luck with everything in the future

Gemma: Thank you, Bye

‘How to Stop Being a Loser’ is available to buy on DVD from 6th February 2012

You can watch the video interview here, where the fan asking the questions actually mentioned ‘underwear modelling’ to Rosie without salivating… which seemed like a major victory for him.

1. How did you go about raising finance for the film?

Sylvia: We didn’t. We have been huge Robert Rodriguez fans for years – not only do we love his films, we love his ten minute film schools where he explains how to independently and modestly make some very cool looking tricks. He accounted his first feature filmmaking experience in REBEL WITHOUT A CREW which followed him from donating his body to science to raise seven grand to make EL MARIACHI. It really hit home with us that you can make a good film with a humble budget and that’s what we did.

A lot of that was possible because of our team. There was a writer’s strike at the time that freed up everyone’s schedules. We were able to get the best in the business coming out, donating their time to make a great project. We were very lucky.

Jen: What we did have to pay for ended up maxing out our credit cards. We had about a few between the two of us and every time we ended up with an expense that needed to be paid for, we charged it. That was for costumes, prosthetics, equipment rentals, and food for the actors. Almost everything, including the cast and crew’s time was donated to the production. We got a team together of people who love filmmaking and are passionate about it. It was amazing to have so many talented local artists coming together to bring DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK to life.

At the end of it, the real expenses came from taking so much time off and not having an income to pay for basic necessities. Our parents, Agnes and Marius Soska, and our producers, MaryAnn Van Graven and Donald Charge, knew the situation we put ourselves in and gave us the money we needed to be able to finish the film in post and get it out there. It was so kind and generous of them. We’ll never forget that kindness.

2. Making a film of this genre is very ambitious; did you encounter any obstacles with making the film, such as people who said you couldn’t do it, people who said it wouldn’t work and people who didn’t want you to do it?

Sylvia: Yes. There were quite a few people who heard the concept – the story and how we were self-financing the project – that were instant nay-sayers. Most of the original cast and crew from the fake trailer that started the project did not come onto the feature project. It was very difficult to cast the film because you wanted a strong team but at the same time you are looking for people who are the best but will work for next to nothing. So many people said it would never happen, that we were crazy for even attempting it, and that the material in the script was too offensive.

We had the actress that was supposed to play on of the lead roles, Goody Two-Shoes, drop out of the film two days before we went to camera. There were a lot of actors that were approached to be in the film that just didn’t like the material and with our timeline, we couldn’t find a single actress willing to play the role. That’s when our good friend, CJ Wallis, stepped up and agreed to play the role. We rewrote the role as a male and it was the start of our incredibly close personal and professional relationship. The people who did end up on the team are some of the most hard working and wonderful folks in the business.

Jen: Many of the people who started out saying making DHIAT independently/DIY style was a mistake, ended up coming around in the end and offering their help. However, we didn’t need their help really at that point. So many extremely talented professionals came out for the film because they truly love making movies and believed in the project.

It was quite the challenge at first as so many people are convinced that there’s only one way to make a film. The “right” way. You need a script on Movie Magic or Final Draft. DHIAT was written on Word. You should’ve seen the looks on some faces when I smilingly presented our original script, ha ha. You also need to be funded. And we very much weren’t that either. I think the whole concept of indie filmmaking can be mind boggling to someone who is so used to working on studio projects. There are so many indies that are giving the big boys a run for their money these days.

We couldn’t just throw money at our problems so we were forced to creatively tackle them. That made us better filmmakers. When you need to shoot something with failing natural light and only minutes to come up with a solution, it really forces you to either sink or swim. It’s what indie filmmaking is all about.

3. The title of the film is instantly intriguing, conjuring up a very visual image. How did you come up with the title and was this always going to be the title of the film?

Jen: It came out of nowhere. I was tossing around ideas in my head when I came up with Dead Hooker In A Trunk. Being indie, I knew the title was going to be really special. You need so desperately to have a title that’ll be instantly exciting, unforgettable, and set you apart from the rest. It’s like a first impression. You hear a title for a film and from that moment on you have an opinion based on it. Or, worse yet, no opinion at all. I wanted our title to invoke a strong emotional reaction from our audiences. I expected some bad in there with all the good, but another plus to having a title like that is that if you don’t like the title, you probably won’t like the film. It doesn’t ever present itself as something it’s not. It’s fucked up, bizarre, and utterly ridiculous.

Sylvia: Jen was brilliant by coming up with it. We were living in the movie theaters, watching GRINDHOUSE constantly while being completely disappointed by film school. Those fake trailers were so well made and fun – like the movies we grew up watching. When Jen turned to me while we were walking out of the theater and said ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’, it was perfection. I asked what the film would be about and she said that she didn’t know, but that’s one hell of a title, eh?

4. Some of the stunts in the film look like they could have been quite dangerous on a low budget – were there any injuries occurred, or stunts that went wrong?

Sylvia: Jen and I have both trained extensively in martial arts. The phenomenal stunt program segment that the film school we ended up going to was what drew us in. It was outsourced, it’s professionalism was sadly missing in the rest of the school’s set up, but we learned about taking the skill set that we had and applying it to action for the camera. There are several steps taken in stunt work to prevent certain missteps and minimize the potential for danger to the performers involved. Most of the final cast were stunt performers as well as actors because we wanted to keep that knowledge and safety always present.

During the filming of the teaser trailer, we had my character Badass dragged by a lasso around the wrist down a dirt road. At that time, we had one of the school’s instructors and a local celebrity in the role of the Cowboy Pimp that I would be doing the stunt with. The actor had a huge argument with my crew which ended with him making forcing us to choose between him and the crew – all the camera men and everything we needed to actually film the teaser. We chose the crew and he decided he would leave, unfortunately we still had the stunt to film before he could go. For whatever reason, he decided to take it out on me and when it was time to start, he had the horse running down the road with me being torn up behind it. I lost a few inches of skin which led to my not doing the stunt in the final feature.

The team that came together to work on the feature length are the best and very safety conscious. Loyd Bateman, was our stunt coordinator as well as one of our producer and camera operators, was always on set when any stunt was performed and minimizing the potential for injury was huge. We hired a stunt actress, Tasha Moth, to play the role of the Hooker because we wanted to have that sense of realism with the actors performing their own stunts.

Jen: The stunts were dangerous. I do not recommend anyone try them on their own. We had an outstanding team of stunt professionals brought onto Dead Hooker In A Trunk. Our producer, Loyd Bateman, an incredible stunt professional himself, was often looking over the stunts and action bits on set. We also brought in coordinators Jacob Rupp, Lauro Chartrand, and Kim Chiang to coordinate our stunt sequences. Lauro Chartrand did our Hooker’s death scene. It was absolutely amazing. We literally had the best of the best on the production.

Sylv and I like to do our own stunts. It’s a lot of fun, especially with such gifted professionals watching over you. I’ve been bugging Lauro to set me on fire since I’ve known him, ha ha. It’s totally on my bucket list.

5. Usually when making a film that involves guns, knives and chainsaws on such a low budget, a member of the public is going to get spooked; were there any incidents where onlookers thought the action was real, or were the police ever called?

Jen: When you’re holding a camera in Vancouver you can get away with murder, ha ha. No, not literally. There were quite a few bizarre incidents where I was so sure we were going to get it from the police. I can’t believe they weren’t ever called! During the scene where Badass is kidnapped and Sylv’s screaming at the top of her lungs I thought, “oh shit, the footage is SO good, but someone’s gotta be calling the cops.” Nope. Not even a neighbor complaint, which sort of made me worry about the building we were filming in. However, the “free” price couldn’t be beat.

We were burying our Hooker in broad daylight in a popular local park. A sweet old lady came over while we were burying her and watched us do it. On the “behind the scenes” making of Dead Hooker featurette on our DVD you can hear her saying, “oh! They’re burying her!” in an excited tone.

Our little Badass, played by Dahlia Moth, our Hooker’s real life daughter who actually also played Little Geek, was a pro with a gun. Her mother, in addition to being a wonderful actress and stunt performer, is also an armorer so she knows how to handle a gun. Of course, we used replicas for the gun play. The machete in the Triad scene was real and damn sharp, but the stunt team had no problems playing it safe.

I’m still shocked that we never got a visit from Vancouver’s finest. The production was very blessed in a lot of ways. We would quote the Blues Brothers and say we were on a mission from God.

Sylvia: I think most people were just curious about what was happening and that is natural when you have a camera out and are filming. So many times, because we couldn’t really block off streets, we had random people walk into the scene, look into the camera lens, and ask if we are filming a movie. You can’t get mad because it is a very normal reaction and it ruined a lot of takes but was also pretty funny in most cases.

We usually got quite the crowd of onlookers and that was cool. It was problematic when younger people came by and we had to have a huge, vile monologue spewed out by a cast member. We would warn people that the language was pretty bad, but they watched anyway and the parents were more interested in their kids watching a film than the material of said film. We had a part before the Badass and Cowboy Pimp showdown where my character (Badass) was peeing on the side of the road and there had to be like twenty young kids there trying to get a look at me with my pants down. Aw, independent filmmaking.

6. What are your filmic influences with regards to this picture?

Sylvia: If it hadn’t been for Robert Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo’s EL MARIACHI, this film wouldn’t exist. They were huge in low budget/no budget independent filmmaking and they always taught that out while making consistently making great films. It makes so much sense to me to use what you have at your disposal and make a film yourself.

Growing up, Jen and I watched a lot of movies. We still do – we’re total film junkies. My favorite were the ones with the badass anti-heroes that could take it all, save the day, and be totally hip while doing it. Like El in the MARIACHI TRILOGY. I loved Tarantino’s films because his female characters were always so cool, it was cool to be a Tarantino lady. I hate seeing weepy, weak, uninteresting female characters and that was the main inspiration for DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK. We wanted to make a film that shows female characters as interesting as any male character with actual crazy scenarios and not just some lame wedding or date dilemma.

In addition to watching a lot of films, namely horror, we also play video games and read comic books – which are fantastic mediums of entertainment that usually don’t get enough artistic merit. There are such all-encompassing worlds existing there and it’s impossible not to draw on those things. As long as we’ve been watching horror, we’ve been gaming, and reading comics. I think you can see those influences in our work.

Jen: We are influenced by so many filmmakers and films, but by video games and comic books, too. It’s strange, though it all makes perfect sense in our heads. As we’ve said before, we are huge fans of Rodriguez and Tarantino’s work. Those two men are geniuses. We were very much inspired by their Grindhouse double feature and the faux trailers in them. DHIAT originated as a trailer itself. We heard about the story of Jason Eisener and his HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN. We had hoped that our DEAD HOOKER trailer may make it to a Grindhouse sequel. However, our Hooker took on a life of its own.

It’s hard to name all of our influences. There’s Joss Whedon and Buffy, there’s Silent Hill and some RPG format thrown in there, too. There’s influence from Takashi Miike, who is a brilliant filmmaker. We have Goody Two Shoes in the same jacket as the serial killer in MAN BITES DOG. Our Hooker death scene was influenced by TRUE ROMANCE. It was so brutal when James Gandolfini beat the living shit out of Patricia Arquette. I love that scene. We wanted ours to have that same, “oh-god-how-long-is-this-going-to-go-on-for” feeling.

7. What help/advice did you receive in making Dead Hooker in a Trunk?

Sylvia: When we lost our original lady Goody Two-Shoes and gained CJ Wallis in the role, we also got the very talented man who had ten years experience in the business from camera operation to editing to directing to soundtracking. I knew a little bit about his previous work, but when we hired him onto the team we had no idea what we were getting. He was great and respectful, he could have used his experience to take over the production but he used it to help us out with the various situations that came up. When we shot the Junkie’s monologue at sunset, we were looking over the footage and he quietly offered that he could ‘cut the shit out of that scene.’

He did. That’s what it was like on the set. Everyone helping each other out for the better good of the film. We had an incredible team that came together to support us. We call them our film family and that’s truly what they are. We would come to Loyd with some insane stunt and he would put together something fucking brilliant. We wanted characters that had a distinct look and MaryAnn made character looks for everyone to give them that grindhouse chic appearances. Myself and my stunt double got soaked in horse poo – that’s what’s in the ground in a horse riding area – and MaryAnn would happily clean them out of our cuts and make us sexy, camera ready. Everyone went above and beyond the call of duty and did so happily which was the most amazing experience of all.

After the first cut was finished, we sent the trailer to each director involved with the GRINDHOUSE project to show them what they inspired. We didn’t know if we would get a response and were stoked when Eli Roth responded. That guy gets a lot of crap for no reason. He is remarkably supportive of independents. We had a great back and forth which had some great advice that we applied to the film. His support got the movie to places where it couldn’t have before and we will always be grateful for his advice and friendship. It’s an invaluable resource to be able to talk to someone whose been there before and will be frank with the ins and outs of the business.

Jen: Much of it came from REBEL WITHOUT A CREW. I’ve said this many a time before and I’ll just keep on saying it, go and grab a copy of Rodriguez’s book and EL MARIACHI. It’s incredibly inspiring. That book was our “bible” on set. Your film never has to look like you only had however much money. Saying, “we only had ____” is like making an excuse for your film and makes people not all that excited to check it out. Inexpensive doesn’t have to look cheap. There’s always a way around it. And when there isn’t? Try something else.

Some of the best advice was from Carlos Gallardo. He told us too many people just sit around and talk about making a movie. It won’t happen if you don’t make it happen for yourself. “Don’t just talk about it, do it.”

I would tell anyone who wants to make a film to find something they love. For Robert Rodriguez it was a man with a guitar case full of guns. For us, it was a Dead Hooker In A Trunk. You have to be excited about your film because you will be talking about it for the rest of your life. It has to drive you. Surround yourself with good people, people who are in the film business for the right reasons. People who love making movies. A bad attitude on set, when you are working up 16 hours some days, can be poison. You need people who work at their best even at their worst.

8. What about the film, such as scenes, are you most proud of?

Jen: Dead Hooker In A Trunk is very much like our first born baby. We are so utterly proud of her. I’m proud to have had the privilege of working with such a wonderful and dedicated cast and crew. It was a real passion project in a lot of ways.

Stand out scenes? I love the triad scene. From where Geek wakes up in the back seat of the ’69 Firebird to when Badass re-enters with Junkie is just awesome. That’s the scene where I know that the audience is either on board or sitting in the wrong theatre, ha ha. I love my twin and I just giggle my ass off watching her as Badass. I love the Hooker death scene. It’s such a different tone from the rest of the violence in the film and intentionally so. Loyd and Tasha were simply incredible in that scene. I hate how actors do so little of their own work these days. They don’t sing, dance, or do their own stunts. Gene Kelly did all of that stuff. I have so much respect for actors that still do as much of their own stuff as possible these days.

I also am very proud of the violence and gore. The scene with the semi truck and the torture scene, too. We didn’t have much money, so we were very creatively constructive when figuring out how we were going to pull off our bloody bits. I hate seeing an independent film and seeing blood the wrong color or little details that were over looked and then covered with a “we didn’t have any money” excuse. There’s always a way. You’ve just to to look for it.

Sylvia: I really like the violence and gore. We had big ambitions to make the film action packed with good effects and I’m very proud of how those scenes turned out. Rodriguez’s ten minute film school segment in ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO showed us how to do the eye gag you see in the film. Every time I show the film to someone new and hear them gasp – I get this stupid happy grin because that means we did our jobs right.

I like the more tender moments as well. I wasn’t sure how the mash up of the old ultra violence and twenty-something mumblecore would work in the film and it worked quite seamlessly. You don’t often get sweet moments followed by a semi truck dismemberment. It was a fun mix.

9. What projects will you be working on next, and what types of films do you want to make in the future?

Sylvia: We are working on our second feature right now, it is called AMERICAN MARY. It follows the story of a young woman, Mary Mason played by the lovely Katharine Isabelle, as she becomes increasingly broke and disenchanted by medical school and the surgeons she once admired. The allure of easy money brings her into the world of underground surgeries where there are more marks left on her than her so-called freakish clientele. It’s more of a straightforward to the horror genre than HOOKER was, but it’s still reflects Jen and my taste and dark humor.

Whenever we make a film, we never say it’s going to be a horror movie – it just turns out that way. DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK was a road trip comedy to us that just happened to have some incredibly violent and gory moments throughout. We wrote a buddy comedy called BOB and it has some of the most horrific situations that have ever been put into one of our scripts. I feel like there is horror in real life and to shy away from it in film would be dishonest. A lot of the things that end up in our scripts come from our own experiences. In grade school, I saw a child get hit in the back of the head with an aluminum baseball bat and it knocked his eye out of the socket – that is in HOOKER. Then again, I never saw a person get dismembered by a semi truck, but it felt like a good idea at the time.

Jen: I think regardless of what genre we make films in there will always be horrific elements to them. We love horror. We love the terrifying bits and we love the awkward moments of levity. We have so many stories to tell. We have several scripts completed and ready to go. We’re really excited about them. BOB was actually what we had begun production on when American Mary came calling. That will likely be our next one, but we like to listen to what the people want to see next from us and take it from there. After DHIAT, people wanted to see us do horror outside of grindhouse with a bit more of a budget behind us. That’s where Mary came in.

We have this very special script called THE MAN WHO KICKED ASS. That’s going to be one hell of a little flick. I have some insane plans for it. It’s going to be epic. I can’t wait.

10. Given your experiences with film school, what advice would you give to the next generation of filmmakers wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Jen: Much like Tarantino and so many others, I would highly recommend that you don’t waste your time and money on film school. Some of the most talented professionals I met in this business are self taught. I’d say you save the money you’d have to spend on film school and put it into making your own film. Make even a short film. There’s nothing that compares to how much you learn actually on set doing what you want to do. Film school can teach you techniques, but so can the internet and it costs a heck of a lot less.

Find something you are really passionate about and get started. The only thing stopping you is you. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s impossible. If we could do it, so can you. It’s never been easier to get your hands on a camera and make something than it is today. That does mean there’s much more competition out there now than there was in the past, but a good film will stand out. I always like to say, “reach for the stars, that way if you end up reaching the moon, that’s not bad at all.”

Sylvia: Now more than ever, technology is in a place where it is accessible to everyone. You can buy a camera for a few thousand dollars and start filming. You can rent equipment for sound, a couple lights, and a lot of imagination and do incredible things. There is a common misconception that there is a ‘right way’ to get a film made. That is untrue and most likely encouraged by people too afraid to think outside the box. It’s easy to say something won’t work. You can sit around for years listing all the reasons something won’t work.

If you want to make a film, make one. You can learn everything about filmmaking from your favorite directors. There are hundreds of interviews online where you can learn from them how they did it. You can listen to DVD commentaries and learn. You can read their books – REBEL WITHOUT A CREW is a must read for DIY indie filmmakers. The most important thing you can do is make a story that actually means something to you and is original. Put everything you have into the film and be prepared to work hard. We have been working on DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK for over three years now and we still have a lot of work to do before we are done with the project.

Your film will be something you will be working on for years, so make sure it is something you want to be committed to for that time. It can be an extremely difficult process because you have to put the work before everything else and put everything you have into it. It’s the first time people are going to see what you can do and it will be a learning process, so make sure you script a story that gives you creative leeway in case things go to hell. Be smart and prepare yourself as much as possible before you go to camera and make something brilliant. Rodriguez ends REBEL WITHOUT A CREW by saying you make the movie and I’ll bring the popcorn – that always inspired me and I hope it does for you too. Like Carlos Gallardo says,’If you’re going to do a movie, don’t talk about it. Go shoot it.’

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  Oh definitely! Those scenes I think were the best written and the most fun to play. They came so naturally and we shot them so fast. It was unfortunate that the ended so quickly. We might spend a month on an action scene and half a day on that scene (with Gemma). We would nail it and move on. She and I had a sort of tit for that thing. The first time we met she looked at me as though she was unimpressed and I looked at her like…’You should be! Why aren’t you?’…(joked). So that was it from the beginning, there was no acting required.

QUESTION: The weather in Morocco during filming was supposed to be so hot and sandy that it was almost like having sand in your mouth all the time?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  It was not that bad. It was ok. It was hot but it was fun. The desert is really cleansing…the sand exfoliates your skin….and there is a nice warm dry sun and you are sweating.

QUESTION: You must have been conditioned by Jarhead?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  I was. I make a lot of movies about turning back time and a lot of movies in the desert. It’s a very strange thing.

QUESTION: You have been Spider Man and Batman. Now in Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time you have become a sort of super hero?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  No! I am a video game adaptation. (jokes)

QUESTION: So how does it feel to finally have your own action figure?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  That is like fulfilling the dreams that I had when I was eight years old. When he is playing with an action figure what young boy doesn’t think that maybe one day…You personify anyway as the action figure character that you are playing with, so to be one is incredible. If you were to go back to the eight year old me and say that one day you will be playing in a movie that looks a little like Indiana Jones, or The Goonies and a couple of other things and it is the video game that you are actually playing called the Prince Of Persia…I think that my head would have exploded.

QUESTION: What was your inspiration for the movie?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  My primary resource was the video game. There were also books  and different paintings of that time that were real inspirations. After I read the script I had a meeting with Jerry Bruckheimer and asked him what the movie was going to look like. Was it going to look like a video game or how I might imagine a typical Disney film? For instance, I wondered if I was to be wearing the red outfit for the whole movie. Jerry handed me this book (The Orientalist) and said that was how he wanted it to look. But apart from that there was not a lot of research. There was some research into weaponry and things like that. But I looked on it more like it was based on a fantasy world that was based on reality.

QUESTION: What is it like to make a big expensive special effects film like Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  The thing about a movie like this that is interesting is that people tend to only associate it with commerce. For me it was always that it was so much fun. It is differentiating the actor with the businessman and the actor who says that he wants to be a kid again and have a good time. It was so exciting! Every day I would drive to work and it was like going to a sporting event when you are the captain of the team. There were thousands of cars lined up along the road for five miles and there was an army of film crew and then the sets were 100 feet high – all built with perfect detail. I don’t think you see that any more on a film set. So often it is green screen effects that are done later. But we could shoot anywhere because the details were extraordinary and there were thousands of extras. And some more were added in later – to make it even bigger! I would get in there and every day I did feel like a kid.

QUESTION: After working with you in this film, Sir Ben Kingsley says you have the ability to seemingly be doing very little in front of the camera and yet it’s just right?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  With this movie I always looked at it like I was reading a children’s book to a child. It was that kind of style of acting. Because of his years of theatrical work and his history of Shakespeare, Sir Ben has an attitude that there is a sense of telling a story clearly and even theatrically. At on point I told him I felt as though I was speaking to a child and he said….exactly! I always feel that if a movie is good then an actor should have to do very little.

QUESTION: What would you say was the greatest challenge, the physicality of it or speaking in a British accent?

JAKLE GYLLENHAAL: No doubt speaking in a British accent, that was the hardest part for me. It’s daunting trying to do any service as an American to such a beautiful fluid speech pattern that you all have.  For me, it did help being surrounded by a primarily British cast and somewhat British crew. So I would speak every day, I would get out of the car and I’d have the accent on all day. And I would sort of journey from region to region around England with each different person I would talk to, I would mimic them and sometimes I would sound like them in takes and Mike [Newell] would say [adopts posh British accent and shouts]… ‘Dear boy! You don’t sound right! Do it again! Smashing!’. That’s my favorite line. ‘CUT!’. That’s when you know he was excited about a take. So yeah, I would say the accent was much more daunting, particularly in front of the British press.

QUESTION: How dangerous is it working with ostriches?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL: The ostrich scene was  where I was the most terrified in the entire shoot. They are terrifying animals. Even in their innocence, they can tear out your eyeballs and rip out your heart. They seem like they have eyes similar to mine but they really don’t. They can really do dangerous stuff to you.

QUESTION: How much of the stunt work did you do and were you in the best shape of your life for this movie?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  It depends what you mean by ‘best shape’. I cycle and I run long distances…10 or 12 miles. But I am not able to do that when I am the shape I was for the movie. I remember seeing lance Armstrong on the cover of a magazine and he was saying ‘I’m ripped!’ He was skinny and really gaunt but that was him ready for the tour.  So that is being in shape in another way. But I was fit for doing almost any sport. I could avoid serious injury because I was strong and flexible enough. I am pretty athletic so I always feel pretty good and healthy.

QUESTION: What sort of injuries did you get?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  My shoulders got pretty big so I couldn’t always grab on to something and sometimes there was a little pulling and tearing of tendons. There were some little muscle things and bruises and cuts…but no big deal. I accepted that aches and pains are part of the job. I want to go after the things that I want to do or I am inspired by

QUESTION: Did you feel you were chosen for Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, not just for how you look but because you can handle deeper stuff?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  I hope so. I hope that is why people choose actors. Obviously I know they don’t always do that. But I believe that you earn your stripes. I don’t believe that there is necessarily an order and that doing a bigger movie means you have to do a smaller movie. But I do feel that when you are cast in a movie you should have earned that thing – whether it is from an audition or other work you’ve done, or whether you have behaved well in a certain way or that you also do good work. Those things are important. Jerry [Bruckheimer] said he thought I was a good actor and [director] Mike Newell too. Mike had worked with my sister and had seen and respected my work. He didn’t just pick me out of the blue. I worked to gain their confidence and I feel that is how it should be.

QUESTION: As a child was it always the case that you would become an actor?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  There is a very early entry in my diary, from when I was six years old. It says…Soccer is my life! I played AYSO soccer – school soccer. It became my obsession. Which position did I play? I played all sorts of positions. When you are playing soccer at five years old there isn’t really a position. You run after the ball, basically.

QUESTION: There are several Prince Of Persia stories. So how prepared are you to do another film as Dastan?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL:  With a movie of this size that is something that becomes contractual even before you start it. There have been many movies in which I have been involved when there has been the potential for something else and it hasn’t happened. Or it has happened actually. But the thing is, I am totally game. I love the character and his world. I think it is super fun.

QUESTION: You must be pleased with your English accent in Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time  because it is spot on.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL: Thank you very much. I worked really hard on it. It was planned from the very beginning to use an English accent. Jerry Bruckheimer said that he thought an English accent seemed to legitimize any time period. Particularly if it is in the past but even if it is in the future. It’s sort of strange but there is something about the accent. I don’t know what it is. There is an ancient quality and the Shakespearean theatrical thing that people can unconsciously relate to. Also since Mike Newell was shooting it in Britain, he wanted primarily to cast British. So the actor who was to play the part of Dastan would have to fit in.

QUESTION: How have you coped with fame? Have you become more comfortable as you have got older?

JAKE GYLLENHAAL: Up until now I have had an interesting perspective because I haven’t been so clear about all the things that I want to do or who I was. Now I think I feel much more comfortable with it because I am more comfortable with what I want to do and who I am and what I care about. A lot of this stuff is great fun, I have a good sense of humor and I enjoy laughing. I want to make movies that are like that and spend time with good people. This is our day so you should have a good time doing it. That is my perspective on it now.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME Available on DVD and Blu-ray 9/14/10

JORDAN MECHNER: Firstly the original Prince Of Persia was a character 40 pixels high on the Apple II screen, running and jumping. The technology at the time was quite primitive, I think in my mind I imagined a much grander spectacle, and to see Jake [Gyllenhaal] in the best shape of his life running around the rooftops of Morocco and doing parkour and all this stuff was more than I could imagine.

QUESTION: What initially drew you to the setting of Ancient Persia? And how does that culture and mythology inspire you?

Mechner: “I was inspired 25 years ago to make the game really by the tales of the Arabian Nights, and by old Persian legends like the Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings. And also those great old Hollywood swashbuckling movies like the 1940 Thief of Baghdad, by Alexander Korda.  As a kid I must have heard those stories, the storybook versions are in all of our cultural DNA. We know of that world without really knowing exactly where or when we first heard it.

QUESTION: How did you start the world of Prince Of Persia?

JORDANMECHNER: You go back to 1985 when I was right out of college and I took my brother down to the parking lot across the street from the high school. He was in a pair of baggy trousers and I had him run and jump and climb and fall down and I video-taped him doing these moves. Then I set about the three year process of bringing these animations into the computer and that was the first Prince Of Persia.

QUESTION: How successful was the game and how come it has taken so long for the movie to be made?

JORDAN MECHNER: It was successful. This was in those days when the industry was one tenth of the size that it is now. It was very much a fringe thing. My friends and I who liked to play games were geeks. We were not in the cultural mainstream. What has happened since then is that video games have evolved technologically and culturally. So we finally came to the point, years later, where a producer and director of the stature of Jerry Bruckheimer and Mike Newell would look at a video game as something worth considering.

QUESTION: Since it started as a video game Prince Of Persia has grown hasn’t it?

JORDAN MECHNER: Prince Of Persia from its first game has become a franchise. So there are now at least seven or eight versions of the game since then. The one that the movie is based on is also called Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time. That is the first modern console game. It reinvented the old Prince Of Persia game for a new generation of gamers. That was in 2003 and at that point I brought Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney the pitch for the movie along with a two minute trailer that I cut together on my Mac. The screenplay that I wrote is loosely based on The Sands Of Time but the movie production drew on all of those games that came out since then – like Warrior Within. And not just for story…also costumes, weapons, physical action and production design. The whole movie making team was influenced by the games at many levels.

QUESTION: Are you a fan of ancient history?

JORDAN MECHNER: I love research, that’s one of the great perks of this great line of work. You get the chance to go back and try and figure out what things were like in a different time and place. You also get to read the great mythological sources of legends like the Persian Book Of Kings. So you take all that and try to bring it to life.

QUESTION: Why until now have attempts to turn games into movies floundered?

JORDAN MECHNER: It is hard to make a good movie…period! And to make a movie based on a video game is particularly tricky. Novels and stage plays and other things that you might adapt into a movie, really begin with a story and characters. Video games really begin with the game play, that is with the player’s experience – controlling the character and facing the challenges of the game. And that is the one aspect of the game that doesn’t translate to film. No matter how you do it, you are never going to have that attractive element and things that are fun to play are not necessarily fun to watch an actor doing on screen. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time is the first time that a video game creator actually adapted their own game as a screen play. Even though I have just spent a year adapting the game version of The Sands Of Time, I had to set that aside and put on a different hat and take a different approach to that story, because I was writing a story that was going to be watched by an audience. As opposed to be played.

QUESTION: Was it hard to write a film after doing games?

JORDAN MECHNER: I wouldn’t say that a games story needs to be less complex than a movie story. I am very proud of The Sands Of Time game. It has an interesting relationship between the main characters. There is a romance and a banter and there is a voice over narration. So not only are you playing the game but you are also hearing it narrated. There is a counterpoint between what you are hearing and what you are seeing which is very interesting. It is almost like a literary kind of effect. So it is not that one is more complex than the other, it’s just that they are different. It goes back to the fact that games are played and movies are watched. Even in this case where it is the same world, the same characters and the same type of genre and the same emotional themes – in both the game and the movie – the specifics of how the story is translated into scenes has to be different. The difference in translating a game into a movie is even greater than if you were turning a stage play into a movie. You have to take that extra step of figuring what is it about the material that is going to make a good story; that the viewers are going to connect with emotionally.

QUESTION: Did you have in mind the fact that the characters in the movie are playing games with each other?

JORDAN MECHNER: Of course, we set out to make a movie for audiences that didn’t play games but at the same time, for gamers the movie is full of things that they can enjoy on another level.

QUESTION: What did you think of the cast?

JORDAN MECHNER: Mike Newell put together a fantastic cast. Jake Gyllenhaal makes a terrific prince. He is a very good actor but he also has the right spirit – besides being a warrior and in the best shape of his life, he has got a humanity that is really important.

QUESTION: Are you a fan of DVD?

JORDAN MECHNER: I have a pretty substantial DVD collection which now needs to be a Blu-ray collection. I love all kinds of movies. My favorites include Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, David Lean’s Dr Zhivago and Lawrence Of Arabia…Raiders Of The Lost Ark and then all the old films that influenced Raiders, like Alexander Korda’s Thief of Bagdad. And Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai is one of my all-time favourites.

QUESTION: Are you a Disney fan?

JORDAN MECHNER: Since I was a kid, growing up in New York, I had a map of Disneyland on my wall. I had never been there but I knew where all the rides were. Now that Prince Of Persia is a Disney movie that is really wonderful. If Prince Of Persia was one day to become a Disney ride that would be a dream come true.

QUESTION: How emotional was it for you when you saw Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time for the first time?

JORDAN MECHNER: Oh my gosh there have been so many moments along the way – from the last six years, going from script to screen. Setting foot on the set in Morocco was one of them. And seeing the movie and getting an idea of how it would be experienced by an audience was a huge thrill.

QUESTION: You could never have dreamed of anything like this when you filmed your brother in baggy pants for the first game all those years ago?

JORDAN MECHNER: No, I was just worried about finishing the game while there was still a computer games market! I was afraid I would be too late. It is pretty mind boggling to me that we are still talking about Prince Of Persia 25 years later.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME Available on DVD and Blu-ray 9/14/10

MIKE NEWELL: I thought about movies that I had seen as a child, though The Thief Of Bagdad wasn’t one of them. But I did think about big cowboy movies that I had seen and obviously the movies of David Lean. With a film like this you know you are doing a genre which is called Bruckheimer and that takes a big canvas to produce and I was very aware of that.

QUESTION: Why did you film in Morocco at a time of the year that everyone advised against going there?

MIKE NEWELL: I’m afraid that is simply how the movies work. If you are going to do a film about the South Pole, the chances are that you will film it in Hawaii! Whatever is most difficult, you will get to do. That is just when everything happened. It was very hot! Some days it was 135 degrees! But it is very dry and so, you lose a lot of weight, which is good. Wet heat is what is exhausting and so I was fine. Also, it must be said, sometimes up in the mountains, we had absolutely torrential rain. Really serious rain, where we had to watch out for water courses getting washed away.

QUESTION: You never used rain in the movie. So did you stop when the weather got bad?

MIKE NEWELL: Yes, we stopped. And we stopped in vast confusion and disorganization – because nobody said it was going to rain! We simply weren’t prepared for it.

QUESTION: How hard was it to adapt the movie from a video game?

MIKE NEWELL: Jordan Mechner [creator of the video game and film scriptwriter] got on very well indeed. The reason was that he was the man who wrote the game and did the first graphic novel, and he is a research freak. He absolutely loves the ancient world and he loves doing his research. So there would be stuff in the story, which would be absolutely authentic – and I enjoyed that very much. It meant that I did not feel overwhelmed by the video game. Jerry Bruckheimer and I talked a lot about what our attitude to the game should be. Were we making the game or were we making a drama? Very clearly we said that we were making a drama. Then what happened was that during the making of the film, we became aware of at least one other new version of the game, which was much more visually sophisticated. I looked at that and I took some moves from that. The other big thing that we decided was that he had to be an action hero. But what were the seeds of what the character in the game does? What we discovered was that what it was about was this thing called parkour. Parkour was developed by the kids in the French housing estates. They would run up walls! So we watched tapes of this very dramatic stuff. In certain moves they do appear to be able to defy gravity…in just the way that the character in the game does. So the parkour people advised us in all sorts of ways. Like for the big sequence where Jake attacks the gate. They choreographed some of that for us, which was very useful. So there was a kind of overlap between parkour, the game and the making of a great big romantic widescreen experience. That was how it came together.

QUESTION: One of the film’s strengths is the comic banter, which seems like The Princess Bride?

MIKE NEWELL: The Princess Bride was one of the films we watched and were aware of. One of the reasons I wanted to make this film is that it is this new genre and Jerry [Bruckheimer] is a genre now. He does what he does. He is Pirates Of The Caribbean and The Rock and Bruce Willis going to defend the world from a crashing meteor. It is always a rich, high coloured mixture. I liked that a lot about the script. I liked that it was funny. I very much enjoy doing that stuff. Fred (Alfred Molina) and I had worked together before and I knew he would be wonderful. Then you do have that uneasy Beatrice and Benedict relationship between the boy and the girl where they absolutely loathe one another and then little by little they fall in love. So what you are doing is to make this great big collage of all sorts of things. It is no one movie. It is an entertainment.

QUESTION: The casting of Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton was crucial?

MIKE NEWELL: Yes. Jerry was very generous about that. He asked who I wanted and I told him very clearly that I had always thought about Jake. I wanted him to be American because this was a huge budget movie and the Americans deserve to see their own. At the same time I was encouraged to cast English. I was thinking about going to Bollywood for the girl. I saw a lot of Bollywood actresses. I saw a couple of sensational Iranian actress, an Israeli actress or two. I wanted a kind of exotic look. Then up pops Gemma Arterton from Gravesend, England and she was the one I settled on. I felt very strongly about both leads. Jerry saw them and agreed.

QUESTION: Ben Kingsley is a great villain. Had your paths crossed early in your careers when you both worked on the Uk TV soap, Coronation Street?

MIKE NEWELL: Apparently they did. Neither of us can really remember. But it was about the time that we were both working on the Street. I thought of him for this film because of films like Sexy Beast. I wanted somebody who would be believable as a good guy and would turn out to have this appalling second existence as the bad guy. So it was Gandhi on the one hand and Sexy Beast on the other. He was terrific. He puts out his hand and pulls the kid on to the horse and everything is going to be fine from that moment on. You trust him. Then you discover you must not trust him. I said to him that there were always going to be two movies. The movie that we were making and then the movie that his character was making, which was going to be different. And the one movie would twine round the other.

QUESTION: How did you work the balance between actual filming and the CGI effects?

MIKE NEWELL: This is the second time I have done one of these great big live action versus CG movies. We were in Morocco at the wrong time of the year and people were terrified that we would start to get sick, they were terrified that the level of competence that we would find out there was not as great as we needed. It was in fact superlatively more than we needed. They are really good at what they do out there. They were also afraid that we would get behind, that Morocco would turn into a swamp out of which we could clamber. It did not do that, by virtue of us removing certain sequences out of Morocco and putting them into stages in England. The biggest of those was the attack on the Eastern Gate. Originally we were going to build that part of the city in Morocco and we would then, with CG, have grafted the rest of the city all around it. I can see the magnificent location in my head right now. But we were very worried about the wind. In summer the wind out there gets very boisterous. We were afraid that the whole thing would get blown over and then we would be in Apocalypse Now land. So we decided to shift that out of actual production into CG production. That was a tremendous shift. We made the decision quite late not to shoot for real and so it was something that we were constantly running to catch up with. We always knew that there would be huge SFGX things with the dagger. That was quite clear. But several times what we did was to come out squeaky clean from the physical production by loading on to the CG side of the production. So we were constantly sprinting to catch up.

QUESTION: What is it like making a big film like Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time?

MIKE NEWELL: Making a movie like this is like being the Chief Executive of the Ford Motor Corporation. They bring you stuff and say these are our plans for next summer’s SUV. You say can we have it in blue? They reply of course, whatever color you like. And so on. You can see the analogy. These films are so huge that there are two other directors – the second unit director and the visual effects supervisor. The whole thing about what happens when you press the button on the dagger came from one of the visual effects houses in London. They showed us tests and we thought it was terrific.

 PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME Available on DVD and Blu-ray 9/14/10

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: Ithink it’s a throwback to old movies, to Lawrence of Arabia. I love the old David Lean films and this is a fantasy version of it. Jordan [Mechner] did such a wonderful job, the game is so successful, and they gave us such a wonderful pitch that we fell in love with it.

QUESTION: Did you all play the game yourself? And will there be sequels?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: I had played the game prior to Jordan [Mechner] coming in, but not the one that he talked about when he first created it. It was a much more recent version of it.

QUESTION: How do you see your role on a movie, when you’re referred to as the most powerful man in Hollywood?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: That’s fiction by the media, it’s not really true. We just try to have a set that runs smoothly, where people can have a good time even though they’re working very hard. I think that’s because Mike and our actors handled the set so well. Everybody had a good time, and that’s what it’s about.

QUESTION: Was there ever a desire to make Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time in 3D? And how do you feel about the 3D revolution?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: I think we talked about it briefly, but Avatar hadn’t come out, so we couldn’t see the impact 3D would have. Plus Avatar was done all on a soundstage, pretty much, in a hangar and this picture was done in Morocco, the majority of it. So it was much more difficult, with the two cameras and the sand and the heat. But 3D is here to stay, it’s taking over cinema.

QUESTION: How do you feel looking back over your career – does it give you a sense of pride to think that you’re the man who made Top Gun?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: No, I always worry about the next one. It’s never the past. You learn from the past but I worry about this one and Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which is coming up next, and the next Pirates Of The Caribbean is about to start. So I’m always looking way beyond. I don’t look back too much. Maybe someday when I’m in a retirement home somewhere I’ll think ‘Oh wow, I did all these things?’. But not now.

QUESTION: It is said that you have 17 films in various stages of production, plus all your tv work. How do you manage to do all that you do and maintain the standard?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: It comes down to working with really talented people, this is a great example of the talent that we create. We create the same kind of talent behind the cameras, so we have a lot of people in our company who are enormously talented. And then the show owners in television run their business along with our executives. So it’s just finding great people to work with.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME Available on DVD and Blu-ray 9/14/10

Two months after giving birth to her much-adored son, Vera Farmiga was on set filming Up in The Air for director Jason Reitman, starring opposite George Clooney. Life doesn’t get much more full, or exciting, than that, she notes.

“It was quite a shock to the system and I’m not going to pretend that it wasn’t tough being a new mother and going back to work like that,” she says. “But you know I wouldn’t have missed it. It was a fantastic experience.”

Farmiga was already heavily pregnant when Reitman offered her the key role of the sexy, fiercely independent businesswoman Alex in Up In The Air. Alex meets Ryan Bingham – played by Clooney – on the road. Bingham is literally a fellow traveller – a man who shares the same lifestyle, flitting from one airport to the next, in town for a meeting before moving on to the next place.

There’s an instant, mutual attraction and Bingham – a man who believes he is happy living out of a suitcase with no real human connections – begins to fall for the funny, bright and sensual Alex and senses that life just might offer more than fleeting moments of pleasure in anonymous hotels.

“Playing Alex was like walking a tightrope,” says Farmiga. “I found it challenging because what I admired about her on the one hand is that she knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.

“It was delicious and rare to see female desire portrayed in such a libertine and shameless way. And in a way, it’s a very masculine portrayal of love and sex and so that was really cool.

“But on the other hand, the challenge for me was to portray that with femininity and make her appealing and not frightening. That’s a balancing act, let me tell you.”

It’s a balancing act that she pulls off with considerable style. Farmiga, who is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the best young actresses around, was hand picked for the role by Reitman, who went into production on Up In The Air fresh from his critically acclaimed, Oscar nominated triumph on Juno, a bittersweet comedy about a pregnant teenager.

“I saw Vera for the first time in Down To The Bone at Sundance,” says Reitman, “And I thought she was spectacular in that film where she played a heroin addict. And then, I saw of course The Departed and a few other things and she’s just so strong, and she’s capable of such femininity and aggression, simultaneously, and she’s just a woman. In a world of girls, she’s a woman.”

In fact, Reitman and Farmiga almost worked together on his first film. “I’d met Jason on Thank You For Smoking and it didn’t pan out,” she explains. “So I knew him and I knew his films, of course, and loved them.

“I just think that he’s a really important filmmaker who is really telling stories about social consciousness and awareness. He can take subject matters like teen pregnancy and unemployment – which is at least part of the story in Up In The Air – and throw them on the screen and break fertile ground for comedy.

“It’s very rare to see intelligent comedy of the kind that Jason is so very good at. So as you can imagine, I was delighted when he called me.”

She was also a little worried that the biggest event of her personal life – the impending birth of her first child, Finn – might rule her out of the frame.

“I think I was seven months pregnant when I first met with Jason and he offered me the role. It meant that I would have to start work two months after I gave birth to my son, Finn.

“And then my son came along and they were so accommodating and the schedule was relaxed, for me it meant shooting two, three days a week. So I found time to exercise and get my very hormonal head straight!

“But I have to say that it was tough. First of all the lack of sleep a new mother experiences is maddening. And your body is not your own – it’s the baby’s. So I think I could have had an easier time stepping into Alex’s very confident, self-possessed shoes and it was tricky at times.

“But at the same time, I felt more empowered and work will do that for you as a woman. The experience of giving birth itself made me feel more womanly and that added to the role in a way – in unexpected, wonderful ways. But it did.”

Working with Clooney was a richly rewarding experience, she says. And far from being intimidated by his fame Farmiga was eager to discover what he was like as an actor and a fellow collaborator. She wasn’t disappointed.

“You know I’m really nonplussed with actors,” she laughs. “I don’t care who they are. It’s been the same since I was a child and I’ve never understood that fanaticism or that worship of fame.

“I looked at George as a collaborator. I respected his work and everything I’d heard about him as a man and as an actor was good. And he was absolutely great. He has such a warm presence and it’s easy to bask in it when you are working with him.

“And you know I think because he has directed himself he is very concerned with the performances of the people around him. His concern was to draw the most delicious performance from me and my mission was to get the best out of him. And it worked really well.

“So I cherished collaborating with him and it wasn’t scary at all – he’s the least scary person you could meet because he’s charm on two feet. And it’s genuine. He has a sense of humour that is so attractive and the most appealing thing about him is his almost childlike zeal for work and his respect for the work and his respect for fellow actors.

“We’re all on the same level as far as George is concerned and he doesn’t pull any bullshit – none whatsoever. So it was very, very easy working with him.”

For Farmiga Reitman’s story – based on the novel by Walter Kirn – is about human connections. Bingham has lost touch with the real world and suddenly finds that the life on the road that he has lived for years is rather empty. He beings to question what the future will hold and hope that, maybe, there’s another, more fulfilling life.

“You know we live in an age where we all communicate by the most impersonal ways – via the Internet and texting and so forth. I think that our story is asking the audience to re-examine their lives, in the way that Ryan Bingham does, and choose what’s important.”

Farmiga was born and raised in New Jersey the second oldest of seven children. Hers was a big, bustling, affectionate family of Ukrainian descent and she found her way into acting via performing with a Ukrainian folk band.

“With my family if there’s any excuse for a get together we do it,” she laughs. “And the guitars are whipped out and there’s lots of singing and dancing. It’s like the wedding scene from The Deer Hunter.

“I came to acting via folk dancing. I became a professional Ukrainian folk dancer in my late teens but storytelling and folklore was always a central part of my relationship with my family, especially my grandparents.

“I actually wanted to become an eye doctor, a surgeon, and I was all set to go to college and study for that. I remember I was playing soccer and I’d been benched because my health papers hadn’t been cleared. That coincided with my heart being broken for the first time and I needed an outlet, something to focus on.

“I didn’t want to just sit there and watch my friends play ball so a friend of mine encouraged me to try out for this silly melodrama and I got the lead. It all started from there, really.”

Farmiga went on to study at Syracuse University’s School of Performing Arts and made her stage debut as the understudy in Taking Sides. Her TV debut came opposite Heath Ledger in the Australian series, Roar.

Her film credits include working with Martin Scorsese on the Oscar winning thriller, The Departed, the box office hit Orphan and the Holocaust drama The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. She won the Best Actress Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her performance as a drug addicted mother in Down To The Bone.

She lives with her husband, musician Renn Hawkey, and their son, Finn, in New York State.

Q and A follows:

Q: How are you?

A: I’m good. I’m knackered, I’m delirious and I’m a bit crazy at the moment (laughs). I haven’t slept in three days since I arrived here in London. Jetlag just affects me in a real visceral way, I can’t find my footing. And I have a nine month old who’s teething at the moment, so we can’t coordinate sleep schedules. But really, it’s all good.

Q: I read that you had just given birth when you started on Up In The Air. That must have been hard for you…

A: I was hired when I was six months pregnant. I had my first meeting with Jason when I was six months pregnant and I was nine months when he gave me the job, at which point I weighed as much as George (laughs). I got the job on the understanding that I would be able to shoot in two months and I was. They scheduled it so that I had a good month and a half, two months to be a mama. And they were so accommodating and the schedule was relaxed, for me it meant shooting two, three days a week. So I found time to exercise and get my very hormonal head straight! But I have to say that it was tough. First of all the lack of sleep a new mother experiences is maddening. And your body is not your own – it’s the baby’s.

Q: It’s always a tough time for a new mother going back to work. And making a film with a new baby must be quite a challenge..

A: Yes, I think I could have had an easier time stepping into Alex’s very confident, self-possessed shoes and it was tricky at times. But at the same time, I felt more empowered and work will do that for you as a woman. The experience of giving birth itself made me feel more womanly and that added to the role in a way – in unexpected, wonderful ways. But it did.

Q: I was talking to Anna Kendrick, one of your co-stars in Up In The Air, and she was telling me that at first she felt a little intimidated at the prospect of working with George Clooney. What about you?

A: You know I’m really nonplussed with actors. I don’t care who they are. It’s been the same since I was a child and I’ve never understood that fanaticism or that worship of fame. I looked at George as a collaborator. I respected his work and everything I’d heard about him as a man and as an actor was good. And he was absolutely great. He has such a warm presence and it’s easy to bask in it when you are working with him.

Q: So on set he’s just one of the guys?

A: Yes, he is. You know I think because he has directed himself he is very concerned with the performances of the people around him. His concern was to draw the most delicious performance from me and my mission was to get the best out of him. And it worked really well. So I cherished collaborating with him and it wasn’t scary at all – he’s the least scary person you could meet because he’s charm on two feet. And it’s genuine. He has a sense of humour that is so attractive and the most appealing thing about him is his almost childlike zeal for work and his respect for the work and his respect for fellow actors. We’re all on the same level as far as George is concerned and he doesn’t pull any bullshit – none whatsoever. So it was very, very easy working with him.

Q: Your character in Up In The Air is a very self possessed, confident woman who knows what she wants. You might even say that she behaves more in the way that we’ve traditionally expected male characters to behave. Was she easy to play?

A: Playing Alex was like walking a tightrope. I found it challenged because what I admired about her on the one hand is that she knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. It was delicious and rare to see female desire portrayed in such a libertine and shameless way. And in a way, it’s a very masculine portrayal of love and sex and so that was really cool. But the challenge for me was to portray that with femininity and make her appealing and not frightening. That’s a balancing act, let me tell you.

Q: Without wishing to give any of the plot away, your character does spring a huge surprise in the story…

A: (laughs) She does, but it was clearly defined from the beginning. I can’t really say anymore about that!

Q: OK, I take your point. But what did you see as the central theme of the story? Is it about isolation?

A: You know we live in an age where we all communicate by the most impersonal ways – via the Internet and texting and so forth. I think that our story is asking the audience to re-examine their lives, in the way that Ryan Bingham does, and choose what’s important.

Q: What would it be for you?

A: My family every time. My family anchors me – and by that I mean my husband and my child and my larger family. And the nucleus of my family is everything. It’s what motivates me, it’s my reason for being, it’s my inspiration.

Q: You come from quite a large family yourself don’t you?

A: Yeah, so does my husband – there are seven children in his family, massive family, my son has twelve aunts and uncles. And that’s not even counting my first cousins, who are like brothers and sisters to me, who are also additional uncles and aunts to fit in – so it’s wonderful madness.

Q: Do you all get together?

A: All the time. With my family if there’s any excuse for a get together we do it and the guitars are whipped out and there’s lots of singing and dancing. It’s like the wedding scene from The Deer Hunter.

Q: Is your husband from a similar background?

A: No, he’s not Ukrainian, he’s American, but from such a tactile family, what’s wonderful about his family is that the way that they love each other and how they show their love, and they’re just so affectionate with each other. It’s so beautiful to see and to be part of them.

Q: How did you guys meet may I ask?

A: We laid eyes on each other and we were zonked, it was love at first sigh (laughs) It was immediate. It happened five years ago and we met on a set – he was visiting a director friend who was executive producing a television show I was doing in Vancouver, and I knew my life would change.

Q: Where do you live now, you East Coast or West Coast?

A: I’m East Coast, I’m in New York, but I’m in the countryside, I’m two hours north of the city. That’s home base.

Q: Work wise, things are going very well for you. Have you finished The Vintner’s Luck?

A: Yes, and I have seen it and I love it. Niki Caro is a great director and it’s an incredibly ambitious story about a Vintner who meets his guardian angel once a year. And I’m going to be directing a little independent film, which I will shoot on a very low budget and use lots of non actors. It’s based on a novel by Carolyn Briggs called This Dark World and it’s a portrait of a woman grappling with her faith, her Christianity.

Q: Will you act in that as well as direct?

A: I will, for now I will. It’s still in development, and we are casting now. I have a great cinematographer by my side and we’ll see if his eye through that camera is enough.

Q: Is it just this film that you want to direct or will you direct more in the future?

A: Just this one, I think. I feel the need to have creative control with this. It’s not my great ambition to be a director but I really would like to tell this story and I would like to be behind it.

Q: So why this story, why does it touch you so much?

A: It’s very personal to me and my experience with Christianity and faith. And that’s why I want to make it accurate.

Q: Where did the desire to act come from with you?

A: Folk dancing. I became a professional Ukrainian folk dancer in my late teens, but, storytelling, folklore, was always a central part of my relationship with my family, especially my grandparents…

Q: They would tell stories about where they came from?

A: Stories, and I belonged to a dance company called Syzokryli, and it was based out of New York, and it was storytelling with dance, it was music, singing, dancing, and expression. That stuff was always there and a part of life for me. So it’s not farfetched that I would end up doing this.

Q: But was there a specific thing that led you in?

A: There was. I wanted to be an eye doctor, a surgeon, I was all set to go to college to study optometry and I was playing soccer and I had been benched, because my health papers hadn’t cleared and I just didn’t have the patience and it coincided with my heart being broken for the first time, and I needed an outlet. I just didn’t want to sit there and watch my colleagues play ball. So a friend of mine encouraged me to try out for this silly melodrama and I got the lead role and from there I was encouraged to continue. And here I am.

Q: Was that first role on stage?

A: On stage, in like a high school theatrical production…

Q: Funny how these things change lives.

A: Yeah. I had no notions of the stage or the screen whatsoever; I didn’t even grow up watching films. But with acting, I loved how people were affected by it. And I loved that I could move someone and I could have empathy for a character.

Q: OK. Back to Up In The Air. We’ve talked about George being a great collaborator. What about Jason?

A: I’d met Jason on Thank You For Smoking and it didn’t pan out. So I knew him and I knew his films, of course, and loved them. I just think that he’s a really important filming who is really telling stories about social consciousness and awareness. He can take subject matters like teen pregnancy and unemployment – which is at least part of the story in Up In The Air – and throw them on the screen and break fertile ground for comedy. It’s very rare to see intelligent comedy of the kind that Jason is so very good at. So as you can imagine, I was delighted when he called me.

Q: With such a great part too..

A: Absolutely. What attracted me most about her was that it’s a portrait of female desire in a libertine and unapologetic and shameless way. I thought that was really cool to see it portrayed that way. And like I said, the challenge was walking that fine line, honouring that power, and yet not frightening off the audience (laughs). It was a wonderful tightrope to walk. But you know, Jason was inspiring to work with and the script was hilarious and the dialogue was incredible. And your dance partner makes all the difference – and George was a great partner.

When Jason Reitman was writing the screenplay for Up In The Air he would live life the same as his main character, played by George Clooney, a man who is constantly on the move, passing through one of America’s airports almost every single day of the year.

Reitman would check into an anonymous airport hotel, fire up his laptop and pound away at the keyboard, safe in the knowledge that distractions were kept to a minimum and confident that his surroundings, however bland, would feed into his story.

And whilst it wasn’t exactly the most enjoyable part of making Up In The Air – that came later directing Clooney and the rest of his cast – it was productive and completely appropriate to the poignant tale of a man who is constantly on the move and has lost touch with the important things in life.

“I wish I had a better system,” he says. “But it worked. I ended up doing a lot of this screenplay in Palm Springs. I hate it there, to be honest, but that’s why it was the perfect place for me to write because there were no distractions.

“I’m not going to go out because there’s nothing there that interests me – it’s hot and I hate golf. I didn’t want to do anything in that place except get my script done and go.

“But the thing is it took forever and so I found myself writing in other places, too. I would often write in airport hotels. I would check in to a hotel in a random city and just write. I would go down to the lobby of an airport hotel and just kind of watch people and see how business travellers interacted and then just go back to the screenplay.”

Reitman’s quest to bring Up In The Air to the screen started some eight years ago when he first read Walter Kirn’s novel. The story, of a businessman, Ryan Bingham who moves from one city to the next living out of a suitcase, immediately spoke to him.

He set out to adapt the book for cinema but was side tracked into making two other films, as Thank You For Smoking and Juno, jumped to the head of his personal queue.

“I read Walter’s book back in 2001,” he recalls. “And I just thought it was fantastic. At the time I was struggling to get Thank You For Smoking made and I thought ‘OK, I’ll give this a shot..’

“And then Thank You For Smoking came back into the frame because we got the finance and then Juno came into my life and then finally, after Juno, I was able to complete the screenplay for Up In The Air.”

It’s a huge relief, he admits, to finally get the film out there into the cinema. “Oh you have no idea what it’s like to write a joke and then wait seven, eight years to hear people laugh at it,” he smiles.

Ryan Bingham’s nomadic life takes him from one company to the next doing the dirty work that local executives would rather avoid – delivering the devastating bad news to an employee that he or she is no longer needed. The events of the last year or so, with a recession biting hard in the US and the west, make that a timely, painful theme.

“But I never thought I was making a movie about job loss,” says Reitman. “I always thought this was kind of a back drop to a bigger story about human connection.

“I always thought that Up In The Air would be an infinitely relatable film but it’s not a Michael Moore film and it doesn’t spend a lot of time on the woes of the recession. It’s more about this one man’s journey.”

Right from the start Reitman had Clooney in mind as the perfect Ryan Bingham and set off to the actor’s home near Lake Como in Italy to convince him to take the role.

Clooney’s charisma, on screen and off, was perfect for Bingham a man who has a horrible job – arriving at struggling companies to fire people – but does it with humanity and a degree of charm.

Bingham has insulated himself from the real world by living a vacuum-sealed life of top class but functional hotels, business class air travel and an obsession with frequent flyer miles.

Clooney, says his director, also has a pitch perfect sense of comedic timing, which was also crucial for the film. Arriving at the actor’s Italian home, clutching his script, he had no idea if Clooney would take up the challenge. It was a surreal couple of days, he admits, but securing Clooney was the first vital piece in place in the casting jigsaw.

“I needed to know who Ryan Bingham was before anybody else,” he explains. “So I went out to Lake Como and gave George the screenplay. It was a strange experience. I was kind of floored by the fact that I was staying there and waiting for him to read it. I think both of us were uncomfortable

“A couple of days later he’d read it and said ‘this is a great screenplay, I’m in..’ As you can imagine, that was a big moment for me. What surprised me with George is that as for a movie star, he’s such a non movie star.

“He wants to put people at ease. He’s a lovely guy and the comfort level of a set starts from the top down and he just makes a set feel like family. He never leaves and he loves being on set.

“And the thing is with George is that he’s a great actor and he’s an actor who thinks like a director, which makes my job easier. But on a personal level, he’s good to people and the things that people say about him are true – he’s just a good guy, he does right by the crew and he makes the set a great place to be.”

Another key collaborator was Reitman’s father, filmmaker Ivan Reitman, who serves as a producer on Up In The Air. It’s the first time they have worked together although Reitman the younger proudly names his father as the biggest single influence on his carer.

Indeed, one of his earliest memories is visiting the set of Ghostbusters when his father was directing Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in what would go on to be rightly regarded as a comedy classic.

“I spent my entire childhood on sets but Ghostbusters is the first one that I really remember and it was a lot of fun as you can imagine.”

Although he toyed with the idea of becoming a doctor, Reitman realised when he was 19 that filmmaking held an abiding fascination for him and that he was destined to follow his father and become a director.

“I was always fascinated by it but it wasn’t until I was 19 that I wanted to be a director myself,” he says. “I went to college – I actually went to pre-Med (school) and I thought I was going to be a doctor.

“And then my father came to me and said ‘why are you doing this?’ And I said ‘I’m scared of being a director..’ He said ‘why?’ And I said ‘I don’t want to have failure on a very public level. I don’t want to be lost in your shadow..’ And he said ‘you’re a storyteller, you have to follow your heart..’”

Reitman started his film making commercials and made his feature debut with the critically acclaimed Thank You For Smoking. His second film, the bittersweet, acutely observed comedy about a pregnant teenager, Juno, earned him an Academy Award nomination.

Those years spent honing his craft, on commercials were the perfect preparation for directing films, he says now. “I did do a commercial once about a guy packing,” he laughs. “So that kind of played into Up In The Air.

“But really, it’s a great place to make mistakes. I think as a director you have to learn by making lots of visual mistakes. So it’s a place where you can figure things out. And I had a great six, seven year process of directing commercials where I learned from fucking up.”

Sharing the credits with his father on Up In The Air was a proud moment for both father and son. “I’ve always used my father as a sounding board,” he says. “Going back to when I was doing my homework.

“And he certainly reads all the screenplays I write. But I wanted to establish myself as a director before I made a movie with him, before we shared the screen, and after Juno, I felt like ‘OK, I think I’m a director in my own right at this point..’ Nothing made me more proud than to have a credit with him.”

The Oscar nomination for Juno was confirmation that Reitman had indeed arrived as a filmmaker in his own right. It also led to a host of unsolicited offers to direct numerous screenplays.

“Juno really changed things for me and I get a lot of screenplays come in now,” he says. “But I like to self generate and I like to kind of pursue my own ideas.  And I think the more personal the better.”

Indeed, his own life fed into the script for Up In The Air and he admits that the story changed as a result. “I related to this character more than a few ways and when I started writing I was thinking of it more as a corporate satire and over the six years or so it took me to write it, my life really evolved.

“I went from being a single guy living in an apartment to a married guy with a daughter, a professional director living in a house with a mortgage. And my perspective just changed and inevitably I had to write the character (of Bingham) differently and start discussing the things that are important in life. For me that’s one of the questions that the film asks, ‘what’s important in life?’”

Reitman’s film resists the temptation to tie everything up in neat little bows in the way that a more traditional romantic comedy would. Instead, it asks the audience questions and makes them think about Bingham’s life and whether he will change.

“I don’t even watch those films anymore,” he smiles. “It’s funny, I can sit through the worst horror film ever made but even a quite good romantic comedy can drive me nuts.

“I remember my wife used to drag me to them and the way I got not to see them anymore was when one of the jokes came up I would go like (loud voice) ‘ah hah! Oh my God! He thinks that she doesn’t know!’ I’d do that in the movie theatre and she stopped taking me…”

Reitman was born in Canada but raised in Los Angeles where he currently lives with his wife, writer Michele Lee.

Q and A follows:

Q: I read that your personal life kind of influenced the final script. In what way?

A: I related to this character more than in a few ways and when I started writing this screenplay, I was writing more as corporate satire, and over the six years it took me to write it, my life really evolved, I went from a single guy living in an apartment to a married guy with a daughter, a professional director living in a house with a mortgage, and my perspective just changed and inevitably, I had to write the character differently and start discussing the things that are important in life.

Q:  Such as?

A:  Well I don’t know what’s important in life. I’m just begging the question of actually what is?

Q:  But did you re-write scenes as a result?

A:  Oh yeah. When I went back and re-read the script five years in, having not read any of the scenes up until then, it was like watching myself grow up.  I think, I looked at the writer at the age I was when I wrote Thank You For Smoking, I think it was just kind of less sophisticated.

Q:  You said it was written with George Clooney in mind, did he take much persuading for a role like this?

A:  You know, I thought there would have been more to be honest, but he read the script and his response was, ‘I just read it, it’s great.  I’m in.’ That was the conversation.

Q:  Was George the first piece in the sort of casting puzzle for you?  Did you get him first and then cast around him?

A: Oh yeah. I needed to know who Ryan Bingham was before anybody else. So I went out to Lake Como and gave George the screenplay. It was a strange experience. I was kind of floored by the fact that I was staying there and waiting for him to read it. I think both of us were uncomfortable A couple of days later he’d read it and said ‘this is a great screenplay, I’m in..’ As you can imagine, that was a big moment for me.

Q: The film seems very timely now with the recession and job losses happening all over the US….

A: But you know, I never thought I was making a movie about job loss. I always thought this was kind of a backdrop to a bigger story about human connection.  It’s funny because I thought about doing a couple of movies about Iraq and there were a couple of screenplays that I loved but I never did them because I thought ‘why do I want to add one more movie to the stack on Iraq?’ I always thought that Up In The Air would be an infinitely relatable film but it’s not a Michael Moore film and it doesn’t spend a lot of time on the woes of the recession. It’s more about this one man’s journey.

Q: Were you worried that because of Bingham’s job people wouldn’t relate to him as a character?

A:  You know, I only get interested in a movie when I think that there’s going to be an amazing stumbling block of how to empathize with a main character.  I like humanizing really tricky, normally unlike able characters.

Q: Why did you decided to use non-actors to play the people who are being fired? I believe some of them are people who had actually lost their jobs quite recently..

JR:  Well look, I wanted to treat that authentically and while what I wrote originally was more corporate satire, it was funny, but by the time I came to shooting, I just thought ‘there’s nothing that I can write that’ll be authentic enough.’  And I thought ‘this is just the best way to do the scenes..’ And I was right.  These non-actors came in and said things that I would never have come up with and they said it in a way that I would never have known how to direct them to do.  So it was exciting.  I think there’s actually something very cool about that kind of mix of blending actors and non actors, and I see why (Steven) Soderbergh does it and I’d be intrigued by doing it more.

Q:  Did you just give them free rein?

A:  No, they would come in, they would sit down at the table, we’d interview each one for about ten minutes on how did you lose your job, what was it like, who did you tell first, how has it impacted your life. And after about ten minutes of that, we’d say, ‘and now, we’d like to fire you on camera.  And we’d like you to either respond the way you did the day you lost your job, or if you prefer, the way you wish you had.’ And each one would turn into an improve scene, where they would either get angry, or they would get sad, sometimes they were funny, and they would just start asking about things, from their severance (pay), to why me? They would ask all these questions and our interviewer had to be very quick on his toes, because they went with it in a way that I never imagined they would – and none of them had acting experience.

Q: How did Up In The Air start for you? Did you read Walter Kirn’s novel first?

A: Yeah, I read Walter’s book back in 2001,” he recalls. “And I just thought it was fantastic. At the time I was struggling to get Thank You For Smoking made and I thought ‘OK, I’ll give this a shot..’  And then Thank You For Smoking came back into the frame because we got the finance and then Juno came into my life and then finally, after Juno, I was able to complete the screenplay for Up In The Air

Q:  So that’s been a sort of seven or eight year journey?  It must be really nice to finally get it out there.

A:  Oh yeah, you have no idea.  I mean, you have no idea what it’s like to write a joke and then wait six years to hear people laugh at it.

Q:  Where do you write? Do you need to go somewhere to get into the mood for a particular story?

A: With this it was all over the place. I wish I had a better system. But it worked. I ended up doing a lot of this screenplay in Palm Springs. I hate it there, to be honest, but that’s why it was the perfect place for me to write because there were no distractions. I’m not going to go out because there’s nothing there that interests me – it’s hot and I hate golf. I didn’t want to do anything in that place except get my script done and go.
But the thing is it took forever and so I found myself writing in other places, too. I would often write in airport hotels. I would check in to a hotel in a random city and just write. I would go down to the lobby of an airport hotel and just kind of watch people and see how business travellers interacted and then just go back to the screenplay

Q:  How did, your father is a producer on this. Do you use him as a sounding board on all your projects?

A: I’ve always used my father as a sounding board. Going back to when I was doing my homework. And he certainly read the screenplays I wrote. I wanted to establish myself as a director before I made a movie with him, before we shared the screen, and after Juno, I felt like ‘OK, I think I’m a director in my own right at this point..’ Nothing made me more proud than to have a credit with him.

Q:  Did you visit a lot of sets when you were growing up?

A: I spent my entire childhood on sets but Ghostbusters is the first one that I really remember and it was a lot of fun as you can imagine. I was about six.

Q: When did you start to think that you would like to make films yourself?

A:  You know, I was always fascinated by it, but it wasn’t until I was nineteen that I wanted to be a director myself.

Q:  Did you think about another career?

A:  I went to college, I went Pre-Med, I thought I was going to be a doctor.

Q:  So what changed your mind?

A:  My father came to me and said why are you doing this?  And I said ‘I’m scared of being a director.’  He said why?  And I said, ‘I don’t want to have failure on a very public level, I don’t want to be lost in your shadow…’  And he said, ‘you’re a storyteller, you have to follow your heart…’

A:  Well now I’ve got to write for another six years.  No, I’ve got two scripts I’m working on. One is a Jenny Lumet script that she’s writing, that I would direct and another is an adaptation I’m going to write, of a Joyce Maynard book.

Q: You started your career as a director making commercials. What did you learn?

A:  I did do a commercial once about a guy packing so that kind of played into the movie, but really, it’s a great place to make mistakes.  I think as a director, you have to learn by making lots of visual mistakes, where you figure it out.  And I had a great six, seven-year process of directing commercials where I learned from fucking up.

Q: It seems an obvious thing to say but not all directors are as interested in characters as you are. And you seem to be particularly good at writing female characters. Is that fair?

A:  Yeah, I like character based work. And I like writing for women.  I think that most of the men stories have been told, it’s easy to be original when you are telling women stories, because so few of them have been told. And I like writing strong, smart women – those are always the women I’ve been attracted to in general.

Q: And so casting those roles is key to the success of a film. In Up In The Air you’ve chosen actresses who are doing great work but not as well known as some others…

A: Well, I saw Vera (Farmiga) for the first time in Down To The Bone at Sundance, I thought she was spectacular, she played a heroin addict, and then, I saw of course The Departed and a few other things and she’s just so strong, and she’s capable of such femininity and aggression, simultaneously and she’s just a woman.  In a world of girls, she’s a woman. And I had seen Anna (Kendrick) in Rocket Science and was just blown away by her.  I just think she has such a unique voice, similar to Ellen Page, just a voice of her own amongst a generation and I needed somebody who can be witty and fast, and really sharp and go toe to toe with George Clooney, and giving him shit the entire film. And there was no one that came close to Anna.

Q:  Since the Oscar nomination, do you get a lot of unsolicited screenplays?

A:  Well, Juno really changed things for me and I get a lot of screenplays come in now, but I like to self generate, I like to kind of pursue my own ideas.  And I think the more personal the better.

Q: You grew up in LA but your family is from Canada, do you still have a strong affinity with the country?

A:  Yeah, I was born in Montreal and I go back to Vancouver and Toronto a lot, so I have a sense of being Canadian, and I was raised by two Canadians, and my wife is Canadian, so yeah, I feel it.

Q:  Hockey too?

A:  Yeah, play and watch.  I’m a Canucks fan.

Q:  But do you still play?

A:  Yeah, I only learned to play eight years ago, my wife taught me to play.

Q: It’s taken you a while to get Up In The Air to the screen? Are you constantly thinking of your next project or do you take a while to decompress when you’ve finished a film?

A:  I spent about so long promoting the film, that usually by the time the promotion period is done, I am so ready to write again.

Q: Music plays a crucial part in your films and Up In The Air is no exception. Do you think about the music you will use when you are still filming?

A:  On this one is a lot of my own music, I also worked with a great couple of music supervisors named Randall Poster and Rick Clark, but a lot of this is personal. I have an I-Tunes collection going by the time I write one word of the screenplay. It starts very early. By the time I finish writing, I’ve got hundreds of songs and they all go into the mix, so my editor can start cutting to them.

Q:  What do you think was the best piece of advice that your father gave you?

A:  Your barometer for comedy is nowhere as good as your barometer for honesty.  When you are directing a scene, don’t worry if it’s funny, just worry if it’s truthful.

Q:  That’s a great piece of advice.

A:  Yeah. (laughs) It is…