$20 million, or $100 million, or $150 million for a film? That’s actually an interesting question. For the last 30 years the only way I’ve been able to make a living has been as a director. I don’t get to set my sights higher. I didn’t set out to be a filmmaker. It was more that I had become a publicist who was supposed to help other people make movies.
Did you always feel like this was where you belonged to? It must have been hard to come over here and be in films like Fight Club and Fight Club 2?
It wasn’t really until the late ’80s that I had a sense that I was supposed to be a director. It was the same with the first Fight Club that I made, though. I was just doing this publicity gig for this magazine. My first film was also an advertisement for a magazine and I had to wait and see if it would make money. It didn’t, but I still felt like I belonged there. I was also just a fanboy for many other directors before I got a director’s credit. I remember watching this guy, Robert Rodriguez, on the set of Scarface. I watched him watch it and it was just such a shock — the way he was handling it, the way he was directing it, the way he was acting. A lot of films you can relate to and maybe even sympathize with, but watching him with his eyes open was incredible. I remember thinking we were all watching the same film and that it was time to make a director’s credit happen!
What movies would you tell your dad about if they could pick one?
It would be a really easy choice. It would be the first one I remember. The first one I made as a professional was Kiss Me Deadly, right? I wanted to make that — that’s going to be a really easy one.
What’s your favorite horror film?
That would be the first choice! (Laughs.) Oh, man! I’ve been in so many really bad ones — like you, of course — so many horrible ones. One of the good ones is The Ring. That’s the one I feel the most comfortable in doing! There are so many really disgusting things in the movies that I find so intriguing.
What’s up with the first Scream or The Omen?
I just think these films are so great that you just can’t help but watch them over and over again.
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