This is the first time you've directed a film. What made you choose this particular movie?
I read the script and it scared the hell out of me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I really saw this as a neo-classical piece and a lot of people in Hollywood recognized that it was a great piece of work, but they wouldn't touch it with a bargepole because it involves children and violence and some potentially terrifying scenes. But I thought the way to do it was to imply the horror and not to show it, like Alfred Hitchcock or Robert Aldrich.
How was it starring and directing at the same time?
Well, directing myself meant there was one less star I had to deal with! Really, it was great. It was a big departure for me but I had a great time. I collaborated a lot with my cast. We didn't have a big budget, so it was a case of us all just having to do what we needed to do in order to get it all done. And that was my job. To make sure we did that.
What did you draw on to help you in the directing process?
I wanted to give it the feel of a Gothic thriller and give it some of the tension and memorable images that I've seen in other scary movies I admire - films like "Night of the Hunter", "Dead Zone", "Wait Until Dark", to name a few. And I wanted to get an old Hollywood type of feel to it, something which I worked on when I was storyboarding the film. And yes, I did call up my great friend James Cameron [who directed Paxton in "Titanic"], who gave me some help in one or two areas.
How do you think directing is going to influence your career now?
You know, part of the reason I did this was to earn some respect from the industry. You could say I have quite a nice-guy image as an actor and I wanted to do something new, something that might break that mould a bit. I saw how Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck were suddenly praised because they made films. I don't think you get respect as an actor in this town unless you're Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. But you get respect as a film maker.
