guyritchie2 movies interviews Virgin Media

Guy Ritchie: It's funny, I never expected as a writer-director to end up talking about high-falutin' concepts. I got into film-making because I was interested in making entertaining movies, which I felt there was a lack of. Jake Green isn't just Jake Green. Jake represents all of us. The colour green is the central column of the spectrum and the name Jake has all sorts of numerical values. All things come back to him within the film's world of cons and games. Jake's on a journey of how to play the game. He's very good at playing games and he's done very well out of playing by a certain formula but he didn't realize how big and consistent that formula is. He only saw the formula in its microscopic form and didn't realize that it could be macroscopic.

Guy Ritchie: Unlike my previous movies, there's quite a lot of studio work on this one because of the very nature of the fact that I wanted an environment that's transcontinental. Because of that we had to revert to green screen. I don't care whether I use special effects or not. My principal job is to make interesting and entertaining films, and I'm not proud of which format or which particular technique I use. I just wanted the film to look good. We wanted it to be slightly over the top in terms of photography. What I liked about American movies when I was a kid was that they're sort of larger than life and I think I'm still suffering from that reaction. Tim, the director of photography, was completely unbridled by me. The cheekier he got, the more I applauded him. He's his own boss in that department.

Guy Ritchie: If somebody has a better idea than me, I'll take it if it surpasses what we have on the page because at the end of the day, it's me that takes the credit anyway! I've been working with lots of these guys for 10 years now and I've become very aware of how much the team has to do with the creative process. I'm not under too much of an illusion of how smart or un-smart I am because film-making ultimately is about teamwork. I enjoy the process and I've usually done quite a lot of preparation before I arrive on set so I'm not a touchy film-maker and I'm not an anxiety-ridden film-maker, at least while I'm shooting the film. If you enjoy things, it tends to quell your negative traits.

Guy Ritchie: Apart from the fact that I don't like him, don't trust him and have no respect for him as a chess player, Jason and I work quite well together. Actually, Jason forced me into using him. He threatened me with violence. The rest of the cast I have more affection for. André was a pleasure to work with. In fact, 95% of the people in my films have been nothing less than a pleasure to work with. That goes for Jason, too. I like him so it's much easier to work with him. He's a very capable actor and he embodies what I want to see when I go to the cinema. I've been a big fan of Ray Liotta for a long time and been desperate to use him in something. He wasn't very keen about being put into spandex pants and Speedos but once he got into the spirit of things it was hard to get him out of them.

Guy Ritchie: I like to think that we've got a plan, so let's stick to it. That said, once we've stuck to it, we're allowed as much improvisation as anyone cares to indulge themselves in. You'd be surprised how little indulging one wants to undertake once you've stuck to the plan. We always have a take that's "one for fun", so once you've got what you need, you can do what you like. Something does occasionally pop out of that tree. I'm always open to ideas.

Guy Ritchie: I think there's a natural system in your own head about how much violence the scene warrants. It's not an intellectual process, it's an instinctive process. I like to think it's not violence for the sake of violence and in this particular film, it's actually violence for the annihilation of violence. It's about not letting the internal enemy, the real enemy, have his way because the more he does the stronger he becomes. The film's about the devastating results that can manifest from the internal enemy being unbridled and allowed to unleash chaos.

Guy Ritchie: You get a different kick out of all aspects of film-making. I suppose directing on set is the most fun because it's a good crack and you feel you're on the battlefield, whereas writing is a fairly solitary undertaking. It's not easy to strap yourself down to a desk and bash on a keyboard when you know you can direct lots of films, because directing films is fun and interactive and gregarious. Writing isn't. It's very solitary and you need to exercise a great deal of discipline to do it. I think it's in the exercise of disciplining yourself to do it that the most profit lies. I love dialogue and I suppose writing dialogue is certainly the most fun.