It's great to meet people in a setting where it's really conduciv... by Joe Swanberg

It's great to meet people in a setting where it's really conducive to hanging out and having

Joe Swanberg

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I learn a lot as a director from acting in other people's films and just in general. I want to try and be as involved in the art of filmmaking as possible. I feel that the only way to really do that is to take on as many roles as possible, whether it be as an actor, an editor, a director, a cinematographer. Basically, I like to help and be involved, so anything anybody asks me to do, my first reaction is to say "Yes."

acting trying art

Just because you married doesn't mean you're not an individual person with your own wants and desires and needs.

desire mean needs

Rather than look at a marriage as two people morphing into one thing, you could see two individuals who are choosing to form a partnership.

two people looks

I think I'll try to keep working in film for a little bit. There's something still kind of magical about it, that I don't want to let go of.

letting-go trying thinking

I'm interested in taking things from my relationship that I don't see on screen - or that I feel like that could be useful or helpful if it were out in the open - and trying to put that in the movies as much as possible.

helpful feels trying

The more that I work with people that I don't know, the more I invite somebody in who's potentially going to really hate being there.

hate being-there people

Am I doing the movie because I'm really excited about it and want to do it, or am I doing it because it seems like it's a big budget or something like that? It would still have to be the right thing, because my lifestyle's really cheap and I'm able to exist doing smaller movies, so if I'm able to do that, I'm happy to do that. But if something bigger came along that seems really cool, then that would be great.

able would-be want

There's something really nice about missing the person you're with. To have someone be apart enough to force independence and to also look forward to seeing that person.

independence nice missing

There's a lot of cultural pressure around specialness and seeing your family. I feel like everything gets jacked up a little bit because of all of these expectations of love and family bonding.

pressure expectations littles

I always loved the work. As soon as I finished a movie, the most exciting thing to do was to try to jump into the next one. How I feel about it is that I learned a lot, so I'm grateful that I learned so much, at such a young age, rather than in my more adult professional career.

grateful careers age

I guess I probably see myself as a director. If I had to choose, I think that that's the aspect of the process that I'm most excited by.

excited directors thinking

I do some freelance web design stuff. I taught a directing class for this not-for-profit organization here in Chicago a couple months ago. I wrote a thing for Filmmaker Magazine a couple months ago. Occasionally, I'll get to go speak to students at a university and make a little money that way, which is great. I really like doing that.

couple organization class

In the 10 years that I've been a professional filmmaker, the film part of the film industry is really disappearing, right in front of our eyes.

My relationship with my wife is fraught with all of the problems that any couples face, but there is a sense of humor that we have about it and a real desire to want to make it better.

wife couple real

If you're a working mom, you're still expected to be a super-mom at home, buy organic food, put dinner on the table every night, and do all the research into preschools. It's really hard.

I've done a lot of movies that don't have any music in them, and I've always sort of had a kind of wary attitude about music because it can be so manipulative, and also because with pop music, I feel like everybody kind of has their own relationship to songs.

done song attitude

In the pre-production process, I am emailing with the actors or jumping on the phone, and we're sort of figuring out who the characters are and trying to build the relationship dynamic and things like that. Then, also, I am outlining.

phone i-am trying relationship

It's very difficult to have any kind of romantic feelings for a movie where you know exactly what's going to happen in the first five minutes.

know you feelings romantic

I'm a pretty hands-off director. I let people try things, and if it gets over-jokey, then I'll try and rein it in a little bit.

pretty try things people

On a really big budget movie you do chemistry reads, and you sort of hedge your bets a little bit more and make sure that these people get along. But on the low budget side of things, I have to trust my gut that when I cast these people, the various elements are going to play together.

you trust together people