The director of Malcolm in the Middle first made the move to the big screen with "Snow Day" in 2000. He now directs Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, and Selma Blair in the romantic comedy "A Guy Thing".
What was your focus when you started making this movie?
It wasn't the teen market. My focus was to make a funny movie about guys. It's really about guys from 18 into their 30s who are going through those moments in life when you make decisions that will affect the rest of your life. What we found in screenings was that it had an incredible appeal to teens but at the same time, it had the same appeal with guys who were retired in their 60s who had been there. So it worked on both levels.
It's Jason Lee's first leading role. Why did you cast him?
He is an everyman, an actor that guys and girls can both really relate to. There are romantic comedies where the girls love the man in it and the guys go, "I'll just sit through the movie." But Jason appeals to both. He has a huge male audience. He is what I would say Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart would have been in this kind of film. He's got a real goofy, likeable quality.
And you picked two great girls for him to choose between...
I couldn't choose! I worked with both of them for many months and I never could choose!
Julia and Selma have made quite a few movies, but they're still quite young...
They're very young but they have old souls. They're classics. They're very focused, very disciplined, and very different. They were cast in this movie differently than how you would expect to see them.
What's your favourite scene in the movie that really speaks to you as a guy?
Falling asleep under the coats. You'll understand after you see the movie.
