What did you learn from Malick and The Thin Red Line?
TBN: That one should as a filmmaker, and as an actor, embrace what’s possible in the moment, what’s possible and unexpected in the moment rather than try to plan or prescribe what an artistic event is going to be. And Terry is truly an improvisational filmmaker, but he accomplishes that with studio budgets and that’s a remarkable feat. I also learned from Terry—because right after I worked with Terry I went and did O Brother, Where Art Thou?—that there’s no one way to make a film. The Coen brothers approach moviemaking in a completely opposite way from Terry. Because with Joel and Ethan everything is story, everything is storyboarded, and you never deviate from the script. They’re so meticulous and so clearheaded about what they want that improvisation, while it can happen, is almost parameter-ed off. I don’t even know if that’s a word. Actually let me put it this way: Improvisation, 99% of the time, is going to be less interesting than what they have planned ahead of time. AVC: It see
