I Wanted To Find My Limitations So

Next To That Kid, We All Look Like Onions.

You're Always In A Tunnel That You Can't See The End Of. But There's Something That Took Place On This Movie That I Don't Think We Expected And That Was That Once We Decided That The Entire Cast Would Be Real Retired Opera Singers And Retired Musicians... And These People The Phone Hadn't Rung For Them For 20 Or 40 Years Even Though They Can Deliver.

Someone Once Said To Me, 'some Of Us Choose To Live With A Lifeboat Just A Little Bit Out Of Our Reach.' I'd Like To Reach A Point Where I No Longer Bullshit Myself. I Think That's The Natural Human Condition - To Lie To Yourself. Because The Truth Is Painful.

So, Most Of It Was Done Over The Phone. But One Of The First Things I Did As A Director, Because It's One Of The First Things You Should Do, Even Though Most Don't, Is To Ask Good Actors Who They Think Is Right For The Part. They Know Better Than Anybody. But Without Missing A Beat Maggie Said Pauline Collins. I Didn't Know Pauline Because I Hadn't Seen Shirley Valentine, But Then I Saw This Thing That She Did With Woody Allen [you Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger], In Which She Was Wonderful As A Psychic, And I Said To Her On The Phone: "the Dialogue Seemed Improvised."

So, They Had This 40-odd Year Friendship With Each Other And With Mr Harwood. So, When I Came On It Albert, Tom And Maggie Were In The Cast. But Then Albert Wasn't Up For It, So He Had To Withdraw.