On His Filmmaking Process
WC: Just going away from Life to the broader things you've done feature film-wise. You've made two thrillers made on acclaimed novels and two dramas that delve into creative people struggling with their emerging fame . What's drawn you to these two rather different types of movies; the thrillers and the dramas. AC: It's not a deliberate path. The first one came about in a certain way and that was, I felt, the only way I could ever make a film; I make an emotional connection to it and I always thought it would be my one and only film. I actually had no plans to become a movie director. But because I got so much good feedback after Control and people offered me films I felt that maybe I should see what was there for me - what adventures there may be. And then with The American i was deliberate in doing a movie that was different to Control. You know, genre, colour versus balack and white, studio versus independent, American actors versus English actors. And then I was looking around and I came across this John le Carré book that somebody had sent me and I felt it was good to do something that was relevant to all our lives, the 9/11 situation. It was more from than point of view than thinking of a thriller in that sense. And then with this film I felt I was now going to make films instead of focusing on photography and because of that I was quite interested in the subject of a photographer and photographing somebody who was in the public eye, because i have been doing that my whole life. It wasn't so much for James Dean because he hadn't meant much in my life. The next film is a film for Lionsgate. It's called The Devil In The Grove, which is based on a book by Gilbert King, and that I feel again is relevant to our lives; it deals with racial issues in America. We are casting at the moment.
WC: So you're quite happy sticking with film now, becoming a film director instead of just a photographer. AC: Yes. I feel that it takes so much of your energy and time to make a film that there's very little you can do aside. I still take some pictures but my focus is really on filmmaking.