what he was going to wear, what he was going to look
like, just some thoughts. That was great, because we
spoke in a sort of shorthand, and someone like Simon
Pegg, you just trust him because he is so wonderful. It
was a very pleasurable collaboration, we didn't need
to talk too much or elaborate too much about the
character because in Simon's mind he was pretty
much fully formed and we just nudged him in the
direction together.
I also loved Bryan Brown. I was wondering is it
slightly intimidating having someone who's got
this huge history, this huge resume, how do you
deal with that?
Sure, the first day or so it was intimidating but once
you realise Bryan's a wonderful human being, a very
empathetic person - he doesn't have any tickets on
himself, he's very down to earth, is a joy to work
with, it just becomes like you're working with your
best friend. The great thing with actors like Bryan, of
his calibre and experience, is they bring something to
the table that's priceless - which is they've done it so
many times before, you can't really direct them,
because they are who they are, and that's why you
cast them. It's fun working with actors like that
because as a director you're just really helping to give
them the stage and the space to do what they need to
do. Bryan's just a wonderful person to work with on
every level. He's funny and he's talented and he was
again right for the role. As I said before I think 99
percent of directing for me is casting, and if I haven't
cast the film right no amount of direction, nothing I'm
going to say, or jumping around and screaming is
going to change that.
I used to tour as a stand-up comic around
Margaret River and I found those kind of remote
regions - they're beautiful but people are somehow
different, they're more free but they're maybe less
morally bound. What do you think that setting
brought to the film in terms of the violence and the
beauty and how they intermingled?
The film is very much set in a movie world, it's not a
reality. By no means are we saying Margaret River is
full of horrible people like the characters in this film!
But it was always an idea to sort of play with the
superb romance and majesty of that location and
subvert it with this dark underbelly. That's what I