How would you describe "Spy Game"?
It's a mix. It has a popcorn/amusement park ride element to it. But it's also smart. It deals with the CIA, and a game has to be played by a character who has to outfox his own people to save the life of someone. In a sense, it's a cut above a straight genre piece.
You're reunited with Brad Pitt, after making "A River Runs Through It" together in 1992. Do you see similarities with him, in that you've both chosen films that don't play on your looks?
We just talked about it. It's been fun working with Brad, because he's been real interested in what I think, and I've been real interested in what he thinks. I sort of got him going with "A River Runs Through It". You could see how raw he was, how unsure he was. I could see him groping, trying to find himself. We spent a lot of time on that film talking about the future, and now I've come back to say "Well, how's it been for eight years? How do you feel? "
And how has it been for you?
For me, I lost a personal rhythm of work, when I was committing my life to another kind of work - creating something you wouldn't see on the screen [with the Sundance Film Festival]. I got so lost in it, it got so extended. Then I had to go into the business of it, to preserve it, to keep it going. I put my own money into it. I had to create a business to pay for it; that took me way too long. I lost a lot of time. Certainly, now, the festival doesn't need me. I'm now anxious to return to my own work. I'm exhausted. Sundance has taken a lot of time and energy. It's now time to return to my work.
