Tell me about "Blow Dry". Was it always called that?
We wanted to call it "Blow Dry", but Simon Beaufoy, who wrote it - and "The Full Monty" - wanted to call it "Never Better". It's a hair-dressing contest, a bit like Kevin Allen's "The Big Tease", but set in Yorkshire. This is very different. It's with Natasha Richardson, Alan Rickman, and Bill Nighy.
You also produced "Sliding Doors". You seem to have a feeling for small Brit-films that otherwise would not get made without your help...
That's a big part of it. We've done an awful lot of first-time films, including "The Fabulous Baker Boys" and "Searching For Bobby Fischer" - films that would not get made without our backing. But we've also done some films with foreign directors who were very wary of working with studios, like Ang Lee with "Sense and Sensibility" or Ken Branagh with "Dead Again". They were the first Hollywood films made under the umbrella of my company - Mirage.
You are, of course, best known in your capacity as a director. How are you as a producer - hands-on?
I'm hands-on in areas where I can make a difference. There's no sense in me standing on set; the director doesn't need me there. But I can be of help - on a script, in the editing room, with the dailies. I have people who work with me, who will go and stay on the set.
You also produce all your own films now, too. Why?
I've produced my own films for twenty years now - it means I have to talk to less people.
