Curtis Hanson
Curtis Hanson
Curtis Lee Hansonis an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes the psychological thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, the neo-noir crime film L.A. Confidential, the comedy Wonder Boys, the hip hop drama 8 Mile, and the romantic comedy-drama In Her Shoes...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth24 March 1945
CityReno, NV
CountryUnited States of America
character boys important
Here [in Wonder Boys] I had this group of characters where you didn't know which were the important ones or what direction they were heading.
character boys special
I thought, "If I could bring these characters [Wonder Boys] to life and lead the audience to react the same way I did, this could be a really special picture." Then I read Michael's [Chabon] novel and got even more enthusiastic about it.
moving boys people
So it's discouraging and, yet, when you make a movie like Wonder Boys, in a sense it's its own reward, because it does move people, it gets great reviews, and it becomes part of that library of movies that exist out there. As time goes by, it will find its audience.
character boys wonder
When I first went to Pittsburgh, I had never been there before, and we hadn't even decided to shoot there yet. I just went to see the location of Michael Chabon's novel. Once there, I became aware that Pittsburgh is a "wonder boy," in the narrow sense of the term, just as the human characters are.
boys different surprise
That's what I love about Michael Douglas' performance in Wonder Boys, because I feel like he surprises audiences that know him from very different roles in his other work.
boys serious comedy
I very much had wanted to do a picture with more humor than what I had been allowed to do earlier, which is what attracted me to Wonder Boys so much. I found it funny in a very serious way, which is the best kind of comedy.
beginning either hearing interested natural watching
What he had from the beginning is a natural charisma, ... a thing that makes you interested in watching him and hearing what comes out of his mouth. As frustrating as it is to all the wannabe actors out there, that's God-given. You either have it or you don't.
apply fact focus people relationships stories term women
The fact is that people have started to dismissively apply that term to stories that focus on women and their relationships,
challenge excited life shirley therefore took
I think Shirley took it as a challenge and therefore was excited by it, because I think that's what makes her life exciting,
ask blossom character dealing fear hiding insulting life literally meet powerful quiet rich shirley talk unresolved
When you're dealing with someone like Shirley, it's a little insulting to ask her to come in for a meeting. But I wanted to meet her first and talk to her about the character, because there was a very big 'if' on it for me. Shirley is such a powerful presence, personality and talent, and she has used that power effectively over a long and rich career. But I wanted to know she would be able to put a damper on all of that and go to a very quiet place to play this character who is literally hiding from life, who has put a lid on everything because of her guilt, her fear and her unresolved issues. If Shirley could go to that kind of a place, and then blossom as her character's life broadens, I thought it would be very exciting.
people talking
It got a lot of people talking about it again.
behind courage found great hide performance persona shady slim sort takes tear
A persona like Slim Shady is artificial, you hide behind it. It takes great courage to tear yourself open, to give the sort of performance I wanted. He found it wearing.
appear difference image interested theme versus
A theme that has always interested me is the difference between how thing appear and how they are. Image versus reality, etc.
people proud surprise
This girl, I can't tell you how much ... well, just how proud I am of her. She is going to surprise so many people with this.