 |
Oct. 10 - Oct. 17, 2004 |
A Cool Criminal in the Making
Gregory Jacobs remakes Argentinian caper flick in his impressive directorial debut
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2004-09-26
For a first-time director to assemble some of Hollywood's most respected indie actors is a rare coup. But then Gregory Jacobs is no ordinary filmmaker. Connected for years to celebrated director Steven Soderbergh, Jacobs is actually something of a protégé, having served as an assistant director on every Soderbergh film since Out of Sight.
In fact it's Soderbergh who served as a producer for Jacobs' debut, Criminal, and even helped the director adapt the movie from its earlier incarnation as the terrific South American caper flick Nine Queens.
Criminal centres on Richard (John C. Reilly), a professional con man who takes an amateur (Diego Luna) under his wing for a day, only to need him as a partner when they stumble upon a chance to bilk a hobbyist tycoon (Peter Mullan) out of $750,000. In order to do so, however, the duo need the help of Richard's reluctant sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
Tandem talked to Gregory Jacobs when he was in Toronto recently.
Had you already seen the Argentine film, or were you asked to see the film?
"No, I had seen it, and read about it; friends of mine had seen it and liked it as well. I had been writing and looking for something to do. I had been working on an L.A. story that I wanted to tell, and it seemed sort of an interesting marriage of these two ideas."
The original got very good reviews. Were you ever concerned that the film will be compared too much?
"It's funny, most people I knew hadn't seen the movie. I like the movie too, but I thought there was still something I could bring to it to make it my own. I had talked to [Nine Queens] director Fabian [Bielinsky]; we felt we had a connection. He had been an assistant director for 15 years; I had been an assistant director for 15 years. We sort of hit it off, somebody taking it and trying to do something with it didn't bother him. Taking something that I felt was good and making it its own unique thing was not one of the many things I panicked about."
Page 1/...Page 2
|
| Home / Back to Top |
|
|
 |
|
|
</ td>
