Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1029125
40 DGA QUARTERLY PHOTOS: MATT LANKES/IFC FILMS; (OPPOSITE) EVERETT to some people close to it, not as well as it should have. Even when it's successful, (you can hear) people bitch- ing. There's always something for them to complain about. But that's not why I do this. Q: If a young director asked you about the DGA and why they should join, what would you tell them? A: Wow. My advice is join the first chance you get. It is that simple. When I was coming up in the '90s, I was slow to join the DGA. I was slow because I thought they would restrict me. Back then it was like, if you join the DGA, then you have to have a big crew. I wanted to be able to make low-budget indie films and didn't want a union telling me I can't do a down-and-dirty production legally. I'm in flyover country, a little paranoid. Then a DGA rep met me and said, "We have this new thing, this low-budget agreement. We're actu- ally working to accommodate all the independents' needs. We want guys like you in the Guild." So, I looked into it and it was clear to me they were taking all comers. I joined in '97 and [was] so happy about it. After that, of course, I was like, "Why didn't I do this earlier?" But hey, I'm often behind the curve. Every time I get a payment from the Writers Guild for Dazed and Confused but not from the DGA—because I wasn't a member—I kind of lament that. Q: On Dazed, you began one of your longest-running artistic collaborations with editor Sandra Adair. Could you describe how that developed and how you two work together? A: I had never worked with an editor, just like on Slacker I'd never worked with a DP. My attitude was, "I'm going to edit; I don't really trust anybody else." But this is a studio, this is the editing department. There are a lot of people. There are things called dailies. You've got to send a tape. I said, "Nope, I'll just edit." And they say no. I'm like, God, that's where someone's going to fuck up your movie, right? So at least I wanted to get someone [I could work with]. I met Sandra. She had a credit, lives in Austin, we'll save money. She seemed pretty nice. Let's see how this goes. But I'm really skeptical. And so even when I'm shooting, I know she's putting [an assem- bly] together, but I didn't really trust what she's doing because I didn't know how to work with an editor. So I was over her shoulder the whole movie. She would even turn around to me and say, "You know, some directors leave and then they come back and I'll show you." I'm like, "Back it up one frame." "Don't fuck up my movie" was my whole vibe. I'm sure I was nice about it. Then we went through a lot, previews, the whole process. I describe my work with Sandra with visual metaphors. Then, I was over the shoulder. And now, 26 years later, it's often a long shot, since we share the same post-production brain. And frankly, the older I get, the less (time) I want to spend a full day in an ed- iting room. She sees my footage and knows exactly how it'll go together. I talk to her about each scene; that helps her to know what I'm thinking. But she kind of knows. We don't yell at each other; we're good collaborators. She'll have a strong idea; I'll have a strong idea. She'll defer, make her argument. You know, just a smooth, very respectful, ongoing collaboration. Q: Will she edit during production? A: Yeah, usually assemblies. I've been lucky on a couple movies, School of Rock, for example, where we have a five-day shoot week out of town. On the sixth day, I can go into the editing room for a half-day, go through every scene we shot and talk with her, maybe see her assembly and just really work intensely that day or if I can sit next to her. In the old days of dailies, we'd just talk. The more information I can give her the better. I'm usually with her in post. We can have a cut that's pretty much the way we want, two weeks after we wrap. Even on the new movie we're finishing, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, we had a cut five weeks after we wrapped. And that's a big-ass movie. That's because Sandra's so good, and I never find the movie in the editing room. I find my movie in the writing and re- hearsing, and the shooting is the final phase. My mov- ies may have this looseness, but they're not loose. They're done. Because I'm big on prep, and rehears- als. I never do reshoots. "I never find the movie in the editing room, I find my movie in the writing and rehearsing, and the shooting is the final phase." ✯