Urban Desires Interview

An Interview with Denys Arcand
Interview by Carl Capatorto

CC: Thomas Gibson [who plays David, the male lead, a disaffected
gay waiter] gives an impressive performance. As organic as that
performance was, you could see that this guy was really in control of his technique. Was
that the case with everyone?

DA: No. Some of them were totally new. Others had worked before. So it was a mix.

DA: You have to speak separately [to each actor] and you have to have a different attitude with everybody. I mean, you know, this may sound bizarre or curious to you but I find that the job that is closest to a movie director is a coach in sports. Like football or basketball or something like that. It's not you who is playing. You are not on the field. You design the strategy, you choose the personnel and then, if you're a good coach, you have to adapt. Some people need to be kicked, others need to be nurtured. If you're dealing with someone like Mia Kirshner who is 17 and it is her second movie, then it's very different from Thomas Gibson who is 30 and has done a huge body of work. Some people you have to take care of, other people you have to needle, other people you are a little bit ironic maybe, to push them so they are better, so they go beyond their technique. Others you just want them not to collapse. So it depends.

CC: Can you
unify a language for everyone or do you have to speak separately to each actor.

CC:That sounds like the mark of
a wonderful director. I've also seen directors who don't vary their approach. It's one approach and
either you come to me or not.

DA: There are a lot of bad directors around.
CC:Yeah.

DA: That's why it's a good job to have. It's much better. That's why it's a lot easier to be a director than to be an actor.
CC: I don't know if I agree with that.
DA: I think so. For me it was easier.
DA: When I was very young. In college and in the university. And I was always very, very badly directed. Directors were always fools, tyrants, egomaniacs. And there was never a good one.


DA: There are a lot of bad directors around.

DA: That's why it's a good job to have. It's much better. That's why it's a lot easier to be a director than to be an actor.

DA: I think so. For me it was easier.

DA: When I was very young. In college and in the university. And I was always very, very badly directed. Directors were always fools, tyrants, egomaniacs. And there was never a good one.