"Miss Congeniality" screenwriter Marc Lawrence makes his directorial debut with "Two Weeks Notice", his third collaboration with romantic comedy queen Sandra Bullock.
What prompted you to write a romantic story revolving around a boss and his employee?
I liked the idea of writing a movie about two people who work closely together and share an intense relationship, but have never dealt with their romantic feelings for each other.
As a first-time director, how did Sandra and Hugh take your direction?
They take direction very well but differently. Hugh is very interested in where you're coming from, he likes to chase the analogy of a scene - which is both challenging and horrific for a director as you have to have an answer. I got some stills back the other day of us on set, and most of them were of the two of us sitting down with our head between our hands.
Having worked with Sandy before, it was very easy. She likes to get to the point quicker. She'd be like, "Just tell me what you want me to say." She like everything to be fast.
How much of a difference does it make that the director has also written the script?
It made all the difference in the world to me, I couldn't have been happier. I had written and produced a bunch of films before this one, so I felt very ready to do it. The great thing about it is that if something's not working, if a scene isn't playing the way you want it to play, previously on other films I'd have to sneak up to the director and say "Give me 15 minutes to rewrite something". But here I just had to talk to myself, which is something I do regularly anyway.
What was it like making the transition from screenwriter to director?
It was a challenge, but I took it in my stride. Writing is a fairly lonely business but when you're the director, there's always someone looking after you. If you leave the set to use the bathroom, you'll hear the news broadcast over 40 walkie talkies! What I enjoy most is the camaraderie of collaborating with hundreds of people - from the actors to the cinematographer, to the set designers. I love the whole creative process.
