Best remembered for her Oscar-winning turn in husband Joel Coen's 1996 thriller "Fargo", Frances McDormand plays Robert De Niro's girlfriend in Michael Caton-Jones' police drama "City by the Sea"...
How did working on "City by the Sea" compare with working for the Coen brothers?
A lot of people in the press have said that the Coens are in such control, that's why there's no improvisation on their films. But I think it's simply a way of them being able to keep the writing part of the process separate. The script is done when the shooting starts, and, from an actor's point of view, it is so liberating.
What was it like on "City by the Sea"?
On this job the script was so not ready. It was like this rambling blueprint full of sub-text and long monologues that were all exposition. In rehearsal and pre-production I kept saying, "Excuse me, this is really bull****," and everybody kept going, "We know what you mean." When we got to the set, we spent an inordinate amount of time editing and cutting, which should have been done earlier to save the crew's time.
Do you like interfering with scripts?
No I don't, I like it to be done. I'm not a writer, and I don't think most actors are.
What about Robert De Niro. Does he enjoy it?
Well, he works very much from an improvisational point of view, and he would do that, I think, regardless of what state a script is in. It's simply the way he generates spontaneity and challenges himself in a project. But this one erred a little too much to that side, from my point of view.
Because you're married to Joel Coen, do you think some directors might hesitate to cast you because they don't want to compete with him?
No, I think I'm really fortunate in that I have done some of my best work with the Coens and other directors have seen it. Actually, because Joel only sees other听filmmakers听in social situations and not at work, like I do, he's always asking me how they direct.
