You’ve also shot a film of Cormac McCarthy’s book ‘The Road’. How was that?
It’s a bleak novel. ‘It’s closer to the bone than the book. It’s a little harsher, a little leaner. Another director other than John Hillcoat (‘The Proposition’), with a big budget, would have made it much more of an effects movie, say a Spielberg. That would have taken something away from it.’ So it wasn’t like working on the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies? ‘It was like a circus, a huge factory. By the end, a lot of communication was indirect. The vibe was friendly and teamwork was important, but it wasn’t one-on-one.’ Did you talk to McCarthy about this apocalyptic world he creates? ‘I was welcome to call him as much as I wanted. In the end we had one chat and we ended up talking about our sons, we didn’t talk about the book. I didn’t feel I needed to. He came to Oregon while we were shooting. He came with his son, who was the book’s inspiration. He was accepting of a different medium but felt it was close. Hopefully he’ll like it.’ You’ve now made two films, ‘A History of Violence’ and
