BOYS AND GIRLS, MEN AND WOMEN: An interview with XX/XY director Austin Chick. By Warren Curry 4/9/03 Part 2 of 2

Ultimately, does Coles just have fidelity issues, or is it a matter of the "right one" being out there for him and his being unable to have the "right one"?

I think he's always someone who sees the grass as being greener, so there is no right one. I certainly don't see Sam as being the right one. He's just never going to be happy with what's he's got -- he's just that kind of person.

Most people know who Mark Ruffalo and Kathleen Robertson are, but I'd imagine that many are unfamiliar with Maya Stange and Petra Wright. How did they come aboard?

Maya was somebody that the casting director, Ellen Parks, had been tracking for a while. This is her first American movie; she'd been in a movie called The Bridge that Ellen had seen and really liked, and I saw and really liked her in it -- it never got released here. We assumed that we wouldn't be able to afford to bring her over from Australia, but it turned it out that she was going to the U.S. anyway, and she auditioned on tape. Petra is somebody who had been in a movie that the D.P. had shot called Seven and a Match. Ellen Parks had cast that as well, so I'd heard about her through both of them and there was this other guy I knew who recommended her, but she was L.A. based. She came in and did her big monologue in the movie as her audition, and she just nailed it. Immediately, it was obvious that she was the best person for (the role). One of the things that I really liked about her is that she really has the ability to surprise you. When you first see her in the second half of the movie, you think you know who she is, but then she switches it up on you and you don't really see it coming. She sort of becomes the emotional backbone for the second half of the movie. With a more known actress, you might have seen it coming, but because people don't really know who she is, their expectations for her when she's introduced are pretty low, and it allows the surprise to be that much bigger.

Without giving away too much about the ending, let's just say it's very ambiguous and open to many levels of interpretation. In terms of Coles and Sam (Maya Stange), have they really learned anything?

(laughs) I don't know. I think Sam is in many ways even more misguided than Coles. She's operating without any sort of compass. I think Coles has definitely learned something. Is it going to stick? I don't know.

And that ambiguity's okay with you -- that's something you were going for?

Yeah, definitely. I wanted to make a movie that raised questions more than it provided answers and would leave people thinking and hopefully talking about it. I like the fact that different people read it very differently, both his character and also Claire's reaction to what happens. Different people interpret that very differently. Some people really feel like that he's somehow winning in the end and that makes them very angry, or some people see that she's winning and that now she's in control. I like how people have very strong reactions and they may be totally different. There have been screenings where people in the audience have gotten into arguments about their interpretation of the ending.

I think the ambiguity serves the film very well, but I just wonder if most people will want a concrete resolution.

There haven't been many complaints about it feeling unsatisfying. People, when they complain about it, want Coles to have a more obvious comeuppance, although some people think he gets what he deserves. I think there are lots of different ways to see it. I knew it was going to be a challenge to make (the ending) feel like a satisfying end to a movie. One thing that I am really happy with is that, whether you like the ambiguity or not, I think it does in some fundamental way feel like an ending to a movie.

Coles works at an advertising agency, but he previously made a film and presumably aspires to make filmmaking his career. Coles speaks in one scene about how artistic freedom is stripped away the deeper you get into the filmmaking process. Your career is obviously at a very young stage right now, but since it seems like you'll probably be shifting between smaller, personal projects and studio films, how much does that speech apply to your outlook on filmmaking?

When I wrote that it was all speculation. I got screwed in ways I didn't expect to, and then there were other places where I expected to get screwed and didn't get as screwed as I thought. There's so much money at stake when you're making a movie, and there are so many people who want to put in their two cents. It's a really complicated process. There's a lot of challenges to getting a movie made at all, and getting a movie made the way you want to make it is that much more challenging. I would like to be able to go back and forth. I don't see myself doing any huge movies in the near future, that really doesn't interest me, but who knows? Maybe I'll get offered something huge and take it for the money, but I don't really see that happening soon. I'd like to work on movies where the budget makes sense given the nature of the material. To do a studio movie as a director for hire, I think you have to accept that there are going to be certain things that are out of your control. I also definitely want to continue to do smaller movies that speak to people in a more intimate way and are more personal. My goal is just to try to stay working and not get too precious about it. I really admire people like Steven Soderbergh, who, even long before he was the golden boy of Hollywood, was always working. When he can't make a bigger movie, he makes a tiny movie. After making a few movies that didn't do so well, rather than trying to make something really commercial to win back an audience, he made Gray's Anatomy and Schizopolis, two of the strangest and in some ways most interesting movies. I really respect that. I really like the process of filmmaking.

Speaking of the process, is there one part that you like the most?

I hate writing. Writing I find excruciating. I would like nothing more than to be able to find a writer that I can work with and develop material with. It's just really hard to find somebody who you can click with that way. I've read a lot of scripts since Sundance last year (2002). I've probably read over 200 scripts and the number of scripts that I actually liked, I could count on one hand. The number that were great? Maybe one or two. I really enjoyed the casting process a lot. I really like being on set and working with actors a lot, and I like working with the D.P. and production designer and coming up with the look of the movie.

What was the most important lesson that you learned in making XX/XY?

Don't wait for anybody, just do it yourself. A trap that first time filmmakers fall into is waiting. Waiting for a bigger star or more money. There are a lot of people out there who won't tell you no, but they won't tell you yes. They'll string you along, and lot of people just want to hedge. They want to wait and see if some actor is going to be attached to your project. Or if you're going to get some money from somewhere else, then maybe they'll match it. You can get stuck in this waiting game. Come up with a movie that's within the scope that you can make it.

(In reference to a scene in the film) Finally, would you ever refund money to an audience member who didn't like your movie?

(laughs) I don't know -- that'd be really funny. I wonder if I'll have to face that. I think it'll depend on who it is.

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