From: fakeaddress@mindspring.com   
      
   Vivien at the Haven found this 4-28-05 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER   
   interview from HOD's 3-29-05 Seattle press day:   
      
   ===>   
   SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER   
      
   Thursday, April 28, 2005   
      
   Duchovny builds a new career with 'House of D'   
      
   By PAULA NECHAK   
   SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER   
      
   He may forever be Mulder from "The X-Files" for some, but David   
   Duchovny has moved on. After starring in such movies as "Connie   
   and Carla" and "Full Frontal," the 45-year-old Duchovny took some   
   time to write a screenplay and direct -- as well as taking a small   
   but pivotal role in "House of D," his feature directorial debut.   
      
   Though not strictly autobiographical, "House of D" is set in   
   Duchovny's hometown, New York City, and touches upon elements of   
   his youth.  The film also stars Robin Williams, Duchovny's wife,   
   Tea Leoni, and Erykah Badu and is, in the words of co-star Williams,   
   an "urban fairy tale."  Duchovny visited Seattle last month to talk   
   about the film, which opens locally tomorrow, and his potential new   
   career path.   
      
   P-I: In a decade you've made small and big films, become a TV icon,   
   married, had kids, did a couple of video-game voices, posed nearly   
   naked in a Steven Soderbergh film and had a song written about you.   
   Now you've written a screenplay and directed it.   
   What possibly can this film do for your career?   
      
   DD: If I wanted to be utilitarian about it I'd say I hope it would let   
   me continue to write and direct and make the movies I want to make.   
   But having made the film, I want this movie to do for others.   
   I'm excited for it to fly on its own.   
      
   P-I: Was it tough to be objective as a director when you'd written   
   the script, acted in the film and cast an actor who just happened   
   to be your wife?   
      
   DD: Now that you mention it (laughs).  I don't think so.   
   My producers might say yes, we had some battles over the film and   
   the depth of some of the relationships -- the mother and child --   
   and how much the film could sustain that weight.  I wanted it to be   
   dangerous and scary and real, but certain people wanted it to be   
   light and let a lot of people come see it without bringing them down.   
   If I lost my objectivity, it would be that I thought a movie did   
   not have to be light from start to finish.  But because I wrote it   
   and knew the story so well, I'd think, does the scene feel real?   
   Is it funny? -- I always try to make things funny, to my detriment   
   sometimes -- Is it sad?  Did I shoot it in a way that audiences   
   would cry or laugh?  I don't care if the actors are having   
   a good time, I want the audience to have a good time.   
      
   P-I: You should ask the people who challenge the mother-son   
   relationship if they have kids.   
      
   DD: I know. It's a natural thing to navigate and it's a natural   
   thing to make mistakes and be in pain.  I didn't want the mom to be   
   a villain and that's one of the reasons I wanted my wife to play her   
   because she has an innate goodness and decency that shines through   
   in all her performances -- even "Spanglish," where she played a   
   difficult person.  My movie is about people doing the wrong things   
   out of love.  That's fascinating, real, beautiful and heartbreaking.   
      
   P-I: TV fame can ravage an actor's career because the world can't   
   see  beyond that TV character. Was this one reason you wanted   
   to get behind the camera?   
      
   DD: No.  I always had stories to tell.  It's how I got into acting.   
   I wanted to write, so I thought I should learn about acting before   
   I wrote.  That became my career.  I directed and wrote some   
   "X-Files" and I always wanted to get back to it in the decade   
   "The X-Files" took up of my life.  I'm compelled to do it,   
   it's not really a choice.  I'm not good at making choices,   
   I'm better at being compulsive.   
      
   P-I: The film is a memory piece and requires reflection.   
   Did you worry that the larger-than-life persona of Robin   
   Williams would upset the balance?   
      
   DD: I knew Robin was a really good actor so I thought we'd figure   
   it out.  Early on Robin was instrumental in getting financing   
   by signing on.  We'd met, we weren't friends and he said,   
   "This is an urban fairy tale."  I knew what he meant   
   and figured if he got that he'll get this.   
      
   P-I: The film isn't strictly autobiographical outside of the   
   fact that you grew up in New York.  But was it psychologically   
   satisfying to reinvent your memories of that time and place?   
      
   DD: That's what a storyteller does.  I've been given the gift of   
   the memories and the hard work comes in making them mean something.   
   This was my first movie, I knew what it was supposed to feel   
   like and I knew if it didn't look right.  I was a delivery boy,   
   I delivered meat in the Village and had a scholarship to   
   private school.  I knew a guy like Pappass in the neighborhood,   
   though he wasn't my friend.  When I look at the movie now I   
   wish there was more litter on the streets, it's too clean.   
   But when you do a movie on a budget, you just forget sometimes.   
      
   P-I: You're back to acting in Bart Freundlich's next film.   
   Will you continue to act and direct in the future?   
      
   DD: Yeah, if they'll have me doing both.  It's a popularity game   
   and I love doing both.  I wouldn't want to choose or cut one out,   
   but since I'm new at writing and directing, I'm just more   
   necessarily excited to do another film before I forget all   
   the mistakes I made and have to make them again.   
      
   Paula Nechak is a Seattle freelance movie writer.   
   She can be reached at nechak@hotmail.com   
   <===   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)