The Steven Soderbergh interview

Bubble

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh wants to revolutionize American filmmaking and film distribution. His plan to release his 74-minute digitally-shot new film Bubble simultaneously in theaters, on video/DVD and television has brought intense criticism from studio honchos and movie theater moguls, who say Soderbergh's release trifecta will kill revenues at first-run houses.

"You can take the view that staying home for movies is how people are disconnecting, not having communal experiences. Maybe that's true, but as long as it's legal, I don't know how you're going to stop it. I really don't have a desire to. I don't think we should try to control how people experience art. They can see it on a screen or a T-shirt. If it's interesting, it doesn't really matter how they're seeing it. I'm not precious about it, let's put it that way," Soderbergh says.

"On the other hand, releasing simultaneously on DVD and television gives people across America a bigger selection of films, allows them to see films sooner-especially limited theatrical releases that they might never be able to see in a theater."

Soderbergh also suggests imposing a cap on up-front salaries for actors-even those with the biggest marquee value-say at five million dollars per film, with further income from huge box office successes to be distributed at the back end.

"It would free actors to choose projects they really like instead of committing to those paying the most," says Soderbergh. "That'll result in other kinds of films being made. Not that I don't appreciate studio blockbusters-but salary caps could boost independent production of films that might not get made because actors cost too much."

MERIN: In Bubble, you use ordinary citizens from small-town Ohio instead of professional actors. Why? SODERBERGH: I wanted to capture a real sense of people's lives, of their stories and how they handle their circumstances. When we'd chosen a town, we sent our casting director to embed herself there before we arrived. Knowing what we were looking for, she went around asking people if they'd like to be interviewed to be in a movie. We didn't advertise or do a cattle call.

She saw Debbie [Doebereiner, who plays Martha] working at a KFC drive-thru and asked her to interview. You can imagine how odd this was for Debbie. So, she comes down, interviews and, of course, hears she's got the part, and nobody at KFC believes her, and they think this is all some Martha-like psychosis. She has to ask KFC for four weeks of leave so she can star in this movie. She had a great attitude about it, like she was at camp. She took snapshots all the time and was thrilled she'd be on the cover of a video box.

MERIN: How does directing non-professionals compare to directing George Clooney or Brad Pitt?

SODERBERGH: I'm asked if I exploited these people, and I say, "Absolutely. Of course." I also exploit Brad Pitt. That's the deal: I get something, they get something.

Everybody who worked on Bubble owns a piece of it, so if the movie makes money, it'll be a great little annuity for them.

We talked to them a lot-all the stories they tell in the movie are their own-and explained in detail what we were doing. I think they were anxious until we began working, then they realized all I expected was for them to be themselves. It's not a test. There's no wrong answers. Then they relaxed.

Here's one thing I've learned: The more you talk to actors in terms of physicality, the better off you are. Instead of suggesting what they're feeling, if you're specific about something physical, it's helpful to them-because it takes them out of their heads. You don't want actors in their heads, so the physicality of the scene is really crucial.

MERIN: How'd you develop the script?

SODERBERGH: My initial idea was a love triangle crime. I watch a lot of true crime on TV, and a lot of it takes place in towns you don't normally see. That's fun. I wanted to travel. Then I wondered what they do for a living-it seems like there's four jobs you're allowed to have in studio movies: doctor, lawyer, advertising. So, I thought about manual labor. I've had dead end jobs, but never all-day, repetitive manual labor. I don't know how they do it. People literally sit there and do the same thing for eight hours a day. That's what I wanted.

Coleman [Hough, the film's scriptwriter] found the doll factory. Apparently, there're three sizeable doll factories left in the U.S.-two of them are in this Ohio town.

MERIN: Why did you have Robert Pollard [of Guided by Voices] do the soundtrack with just an acoustic guitar?

SODERBERGH: It was last minute. The good news about Robert is he's very quick. I'm a huge fan. I wrote the introduction to James Greer's book on Guided by Voices. Robert lives in Ohio, and it just seemed like the right thing to do.

MERIN: Why call the film Bubble?

SODERBERGH: One night, it popped into my head and I wrote it down in my project notebook. On a superficial level, Bubble is how I'd describe Martha and Kyle's relationship-beautiful and delicate, then Rose showed up and popped it.

MERIN: You're making five more movies in this series. What's your plan?

SODERBERGH: Non-actors, different locations, stories set all around the country-it'll be a quilt of movies that are Americana. I know what the next two are. Once I decide locations, I can go to town. I know the characters we need, so we can embed ourselves and build the story. I'm just waiting for another window of opportunity.

MERIN: Why do you work simultaneously on so many projects?

SODERBERGH: I'm 42, and feel I still haven't made my best work. I'm young enough to have energy and I'm experienced enough to-if I push myself-make something I think is really, really good. In your '40s, you gotta get on it. I can foresee a time where I'll just stop.