Frank Darabont directed "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile", as well as uncredited writing work on his friend Steven Spielberg's movies, like "Saving Private Ryan" and the upcoming "Minority Report".
Your previous directorial efforts have both been set in prison. What was it like to be outside?
It was a shock. When you're outside, the weather starts to mess with you. It was maddening. You don't see the suffering the actors and crew went through to get it on film.
The film is all about a sense of community. Did you have to force that family atmosphere on set?
I didn't have to forge the family atmosphere. They all loved each other, we were in this idyllic place and every evening, they all used to go out for dinner and spend time with each other. Annoyingly, I was the only one who didn't get to hang out, because I was working all the time.
Jim Carrey is something of a comedy legend. Previous directors have said they just leave the camera rolling. Was it the same working with him in a serious role?
It's more structured. In his comedic films, there's a lot more ad-libbing. In this, we stuck quite firmly to the text. It's more in the theatrical tradition and I've been lucky to have actors that serve the text. With Jim, this movie was more like brain surgery than he had ever done before. And he liked to do a lot of takes, because he's very committed to his craft.
