The writer-director behind the excellent "White Men Can't Jump", charming "Tin Cup" and gritty "Dark Blue" teams up with Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett on buddy cop picture "Hollywood Homicide".
What was the most challenging aspect of filming for you?
The difficult thing was shooting at real locations. We shot on Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, Rodeo Drive. We shot in front of Graumann's Chinese theater. Closing down the real traffic to do our stunts was difficult but everything else was fun.
How was it between Harrison and Josh on set?
It was like father and son, older brother and younger brother. They have the generation gap which is good for chemistry. They are both from the mid-west and they are both very private people. They are more similar than they would like you to think! I think it was easy and fun to work with them.
What intrigued you about this story?
I discovered that the detectives in LAPD have second jobs and third jobs. They do so much overtime which there isn't the money to pay them for and so instead they get blocks of time off. In fact, almost every one has two jobs. I thought that was a great subject, the idea that a homicide detective is also selling real estate or trying to be an actor or is a tennis pro or teaching yoga. I thought it was a good subject for a comic take on that.
There are a lot of famous people who have tiny cameo roles in this - how did that come about?
It was a Hollywood-based movie in which cameos seemed appropriate. There are a lot of movies where cameos take you out of the movie but this is a town where people are always going, "Is that so and so?" I thought that this movie should be full of people where the audience is going, "Was that who I think it was?" We started calling them and then they started calling us. I said "Come on in and have a good time". It was the perfect movie for cameos.
