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MAN WITH GUTS | PAGE 2 OF 2 You've made films about labor strife, a famous gambling scandal, interpersonal dynamics, awakening sexuality and civic corruption? Would you call your movies politically correct? I don't think of my films that way. I do think of them as politically conscious. I think that all movies are political in one way or another -- even mainstream films. I can make a case for "Adventures in Babysitting" as a political film, in that it deals with aspects of race and contemporary culture. It may be done unconsciously, but it's political, as is "Forrest Gump" and many other films that are considered mainstream and apolitical. It's true that I get flack from extreme people on both sides of the political spectrum, saying that what I do is not correct from their point of view. And I'm always trying to be aware of what's going on in society when I make a film. When I have a black character, I try to think what does the black experience have to do with this character. It's not colorblind casting. It's a situation where I have to ask how being black or female or old affect the character in the story. In "Passionfish," there was a relationship between a white woman and a black woman. But it wasn't really about race. It was the fact that one was handicapped; one wasn't. One wrote the checks; one didn't. What's your opinion of colorblind casting? The further in the past and the further in the future you go, the less important matters of race become. You don't know if Klingons are black. They could be. And in classical theater pieces, it's not an issue. But if you're doing a historical piece like "Braveheart," you don't hire Wesley Snipes. Who are some of your favorite actors? I like John Cusack. I really enjoyed him in "Grosse Point Blank." I think Julianne Moore is wonderful. And Leonardo DiCaprio. It's great seeing Sean Penn back to acting. And for me, it's about giving them something interesting to do. I'm pleased with how good the acting is in "Men." The Indian actors are almost invisible in Mexican film and TV, unless they're playing maids. And it was a joy to work with Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn [Grody, his wife, who has the only English-speaking part in the film besides Patinkin]. Mandy has such great comic timing. What's next for you? I'm doing that film in Alaska. It's called "Limbo." It's a sort of Joseph Conrad thing about a fisherman who doesn't go to sea anymore. David Straitharn is the only actor who's signed so far. It sounds so different from "Men With Guns." Are you consciously trying to create challenges for yourself or find new audiences with each new film by deliberately changing genres? Each one is its own world and has its own problems -- I don't think of them as a great lump -- and each one is released in a different world. Some are with commercial potential, others won't do that kind of business. Since "Men With Guns" is a subtitled movie, that eliminates a large segment of the audience. But there isn't a particular target. "The Secret of Roan Inish" wasn't made as a children's film. It was based on a children's book, but I wanted to give it enough edge to appeal to adults. Some of my other films I wouldn't inflict on a kid. Any plans to write another novel? I don't know if I have another novel in me. Maybe a short story collection. That's kind of the way I look at my films -- like a collection of short stories. I'm not like John Ford, being most comfortable in Monument Valley, or Hitchcock, comfortable in a suspense thriller. I'm all over the place. SALON | March 13, 1998 Michael Snyder is a writer living in San Francisco.