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Leave it to Hollywood marketing:
With two movies coming out within weeks of each other,
both one word titles starting with the letter 'E' - Enigma
and Enough - director Michael Apted is a hot DVD ticket
this fall. With a career 30 years and 30 films strong
and fresh off the big-budget success of the last Bond
picture World is Not Enough, the future for Apted is looking
most explosive indeed. Interview by Peter M. Bracke
Looking at your bio, you've some 30-odd films at the
rate of almost one a year. How the heck do you do that!?
I don't know! I'm afraid I like to work. Other
than my family, I don't have much hobbies in life,
and I just enjoy working and the variety of work.
You've had such a varied career with so many different
types of projects. Is it becoming harder and harder to
find projects you care about and that interest you?
It is. That is why I like to work in so many different
arenas: documentaries, independent films, studio films,
whatever. I just finished shooting a documentary on The
Rolling Stones, about their new tour and 40th anniversary
and all that. That was very exciting and fun to do. It
is difficult, but I try not to get myself pigeonholed
so I can find interesting stuff to do in many different
areas.
Do you find that as a filmmaker who has done so much
work in the documentary field, that when you pick a narrative
project to do, that you consciously try and stay away
from "documentary-like" material?
It is kind of complicated. I think I get asked to do
films that have a kind of documentary flavor to them,
because that is my calling card in a way. That is what
I'm known to do.
For example, Jodie Foster was looking for someone to
do Nell, and she didn't want it to be too glossy
or Hollywood-ish. So she was more likely to come to me
because she knows I'll bring a slightly different
spin on it. I think I got Gorillas in the Mist because
they wanted someone who could work with documentary footage,
because it had to be based on wildlife stuff, and it had
to be incorporated with the narrative. I don't think
it is something I can ever truly avoid, as it is in my
face all the time.
Where you surprised when Eon offered you a Bond picture
with World is Not Enough?
I thought was insane. (laughs) I thought it was a joke.
I was intrigued enough to pursue it, and once I got to
understand what they wanted from me, then I thought it
could be great, because I thought I could get a whole
lot of new information and challenges from them. I felt
I could bring something to the table, and it wouldn't
just be all one-way traffic. But that was fun to do, although
it was completely overwhelming and intimidating at first.
Did you have any concerns that a film of that magnitude
could impact your career both positively or negatively
solely due to how well it did at the box office, and not
its actual quality?
That is one of the reasons I did it, and one of the reasons
Enigma even got made. I was having quite a tough time
setting films up and getting financing, because I worked
a lot but I hadn't had any big box office successes.
I didn't have any horrible failures, but no big hits.
I was finding it harder to get things going.
So when I got offered the Bond, I thought it could get
things going financially a bit more. And it did. Before
the Bond, my efforts (to get Enigma made) failed dismally.
But as soon as I started it the money came in, and then
I went straight off to do it (Enigma) right after I finished.
Is it strange to you that you have two films, both
one word titles starting with the letter "E,"
coming out with in mere weeks of each other?
I can't worry my pretty little head about that. (Laughs)
Enigma was kind of annoying because it took about 18 months
to get it distributed, so there is a logjam of films from
me a bit because it took so long.
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