A Minute With: Deborah Harry talking new Blondie (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Here is some good advice: avoid standing behind Deborah Harry at airport security.

"I have a briefcase full of wires when I travel. I have to go through the X-ray machine and they're always looking at this massive tangle, like, 'what?'" laughs Harry, whose travel must-haves include an mp3 player, iPhone, iPad and e-Reader.

Keeping up with trends in culture and technology is one thing the 66-year-old Blondie singer and occasional tweeter said comes naturally. "It's just always been part of who I am," Harry told Reuters in a recent interview.

Still one electronic remnant of her old punk rock days can be found in her bag. "I still carry my very old-fashioned cassette player," she said.

Harry, among the earliest music video superstars, is currently on the road with original Blondie bandmates, guitarist Chris Stein and Drummer Clem Burke. The three have been creating new music since reuniting and bringing on new musicians to round out their sextet. "Panic of Girls," the group's first album in eight years, hits Amazon.com on September 13, and Harry took some time to talk to Reuters about it.

Q: What's the significance of the album's title?

A: "It's sort of like a flock of crows. It's an adjective or an analogy. It's a mad rush of fans or something. It just seemed interesting and novel and descriptive. It caught up with us. It was created as a rhyming scheme for a song that didn't go on the album and we thought it was just kind of cool."

Q: You're last record was 2003's "The Curse of Blondie." Why so long between projects?

A: "We've been working steadily all of these years, we've been doing a lot of touring. We were examining a way to put out an album independently for a number of years, since the industry has changed so much."

Q: How so?

A: "The record companies, they've gone down. They don't ship as many records, they don't sign as many artists. The traditional record business collapsed rather quickly."

Q: You're somewhat of a Hip-Hop icon because of your song "Rapture" (1981) in which you were rapping and the video, which featured a DJ, breakdancing and graffiti. Do you listen to any Hip-Hop these days?

A. "Sure! I listen to the radio. I hear what's being played. I like a lot of Jay-Z. I haven't heard from Ludacris in a while but I really like him. I'm not hooked on what any single artist does. It's piece by piece. I think most people are like that."

Q: "Mother," the lead single from Panic of Girls pays homage to a Manhattan club you hung out at in 1990s. Where do you go out now?

A: "I'm not locked into one place right now. I go out where my friends are DJing. If I like what they're playing, that's a good incentive to have a good time. I like to go to different venues to hear live music. Most recently I went out to a benefit at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Buckcherry and the Toilet Bowls had a reunion. It was a really great night."

Q: Is clubbing how you find new music and influences?

A: "Yeah, definitely that, but I also listen to radio. I like to listen to what artists, people are talking about and I check out all those album release date lists online."

Q: What do you think about the way social media like Twitter has changed the way artists interact with fans?

A: "It's all very immediate and very helpful in a lot of ways. You can certainly get a lot of feedback. On the other hand, sometimes I think it's a lot of unimportant stuff."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Paul Casciato)

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A Minute With: Barbra Streisand's songwriters (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Husband and wife songwriting team Marilyn and Alan Bergman have won three Academy Awards and two Grammys, but their biggest reward in a long career just may be writing for Barbra Streisand.

They have penned the words of songs such as "The Way We Were" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." While they have written for other singers ranging from Frank Sinatra to Sting, it is Streisand they hold dearest.

The Bergmans first saw her as a teenager in a Greenwich Village club. They immediately took to her and she to them.

Streisand recently released a new album, "What Matters Most," as a tribute to the Bergmans and their music. It includes "The Windmills of Your Mind" and Streisand's version of Sinatra's "Nice 'n' Easy." The Bergmans spoke with Reuters about the album and their long relationship with Streisand.

Q: You have won numerous awards and been feted many times. So, how special could this have been?

Marilyn: "We almost fell off our chairs. Barbra is our muse. She has recorded over 50 songs of ours, which makes her role in our musical lives and personal lives a very special one."

Alan: "And when she does our songs, she finds things that always surprise us. She deepens them. She gets all the nuances, everything, so it's thrilling."

Marilyn: "Other people have sung 'Windmills of Your Mind,' but really, we think hers will be the definitive version."

Q: Why?

Marilyn: "As Alan said, it's the nuances and the layers of meaning that perhaps we meant but didn't hear ourselves. They are all highlighted when she works, she really works at it."

Q: I'd think it was just talent. How does she work at it?

Marilyn: "She strives for excellence. You can read that as being a perfectionist but not in the sense that has become pejorative. She wants to make something the best it can be. ... She's aware of the permanence when you write something or perform something, and she sees her responsibility as making something as good as it can be."

Alan: "All the God-given gifts are there, but not everybody uses them as responsibly as she does."

Q: She has said you're almost like her parents and you've said she's like a daughter. So, was there a time when you said or had to say, "Barbra, maybe this song isn't best for you?"

Marilyn: "No."

Q: Why?

Alan: "Because her instincts about music and about herself are amazing, they're just terrific."

Q: You met her when she was 18, and one of you asked her if she knew how wonderful she was. What made her wonderful?

Alan: "It was all there, everything. She started to sing, and Marilyn started to cry. ... It was all the things we were talking about earlier -- the way she does it, the instrument."

Marilyn: "The originality was there -- the sound of her voice, the way she phrased songs, the clothes she wore, the original beauty, it's hers."

Q: And how has her voice changed from her youth to today?

Marilyn: "I think it's deeper. I think it's richer. It's more knowing, it's wiser."

Alan: "What Marilyn said is true. We can't dismiss all those things we talked about that go into the notes and interpretation. They're all richer. That's why the songs have added dimension, more than what we realized, because she makes little vignettes and stories out of every song. That is the actress in her and the dramatist in her."

Q: What's your favorite song on the album?

Allan: "The most unique is 'Windmills.' And then the last song, I love the way she does 'What Matters Most.'"

Marilyn: "The most surprising is 'Nice 'n' Easy' -- the great record Frank Sinatra made and we made for him. His version was a proposition and Barbra's is a seduction."

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A Minute With: Katie Holmes on "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It sounds like a latter-day version of "The Odd Couple" -- petite, American actress Katie Holmes (Mrs. Tom Cruise) paired with portly Mexican writer/director Guillermo del Toro, a gothic horror film devotee known for "Hellboy" and "Blade" franchises.

But their new film together, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" which hits theaters on Friday, is anything but a comedy in the vein of "The Odd Couple."

Rather it is a serious scare-fest that also stars Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison and an army of evil little creatures who invade an old house and terrorize its occupants.

Holmes and del Toro recently sat down with Reuters to talk about the film, what scares them (and Tom), and why people get a kick from being afraid in movie theaters.

Q: Katie, are you a big horror fan?

Holmes: "Yes, I like classic horror films. But I'm not a big slasher, gory type of horror film fan."

Q: So I assume if this was full of slashing, you would have been be a little less eager.

Holmes: "Right, and I don't think it would have Guillermo's name on it."

Del Toro: "No. The movies I've tried to produce, write and direct, I'm very proud to say as far as I can remember I've never written a female victim, a scream queen or a part like that. I always try to create very strong female characters, in many cases stronger than the guys. Certainly in 'Don't Be Afraid.'"

Q: What's the secret to a really effective horror film?

Del Toro: "I think characters, good characters. The scares of course are necessary but it's the human characters."

Holmes: "I agree. You have to be able to relate to the people and relate to the world and be invested in them. And then, suddenly as an audience member, you are those people going through it -- and what would you do?"

Q: So what scares you?

Holmes: "People who like to take the wind out of your sail because there's a lot more they're doing. If they're doing that to your face then they're doing more. So that scares me more than, like, a monster."

Del Toro: (laughs) "Politicians -- a lot. They are so deranged, especially these days. And human pettiness. Oh my God that's scary. It's so horrifying. I've seen a UFO, and I've heard ghosts twice -- once in New Zealand and once in Mexico, but those are not the scariest things. The scary things are real things like every day."

Q: Katie, has Tom seen this?

Holmes: "Oh yes. He saw it before I did, like a year before."

Q: So what did he think?

Holmes: (laughs) "Well, he had to watch another movie afterwards in order to go to sleep because he was so scared. I'm not sure what he watched. (laughs) Maybe 'The Sound of Music'?"

Del Toro: "I think it was that Adam Sandler comedy, '(You)Don't Mess With The Zohan'."

Q: You have to protect your character's daughter in the movie. Does having your own daughter affect the way you approach a role like this?

Holmes: "I think being a mom myself, when I read my character and I saw the journey she takes and how we see her make sacrifices for her child -- I think I didn't understand that until I became a mom.

"Just how much you love this person. You will do anything for that person, and you have strength you didn't know that you had, which is what I like about my character. So I think that being a mom definitely gave me much more insight to this character."

Q: But you might not feel that way about sacrifice when Suri becomes a teenager.

Holmes: (Laughs) "I don't know. I think she's pretty special."

Q: Why is it that people loved to be scared so much? Do you like to be scared at movies?

Holmes: "I do and I like to be affected when I watch a film. And when you watch a scary movie and it's well done it does take you on that roller coaster and you do feel exhausted after but in a great way. I think it's more than entertainment. It's a relief and it's a release, and it's what entertainment and performance is and screenwriting and storytelling is supposed to do. We're supposed to identify and feel something from it."

Del Toro: "I think we live in a regimented world where we don't experience a lot of the emotions we need almost at a mammalian level, and you need a release for this thing. So a horror movie or a roller coaster, you scream and you get the thrill of that in a regular situation."

(Editing by Mike Collett-White)

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A minute with: Harry Potter director David Yates (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – British director David Yates has spent the last six and half years of his life bringing the wizard world of Harry Potter to the big screen.

The 47 year old has made the final four of the eight films based on the top-selling books by author J.K. Rowling films.

But as the franchise comes to an end with the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" this week, Yates talked to Reuters about putting a full stop on an epic experience and what he plans to do next.

Q: Why did you sign on to do these movies?

A: "It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I hadn't read the books and they asked me, 'Would you like to do it?' I was like 'Oh my God, I'd better read a book.' It was so funny and charming and I quickly read the second one. It was a difficult world to walk away from, and once I started, everybody was really great. They asked me to stay and I said yes. And they asked me to stay and I said yes again, and I didn't want to be the bloke who made the two in the middle."

Q: Like the middle child?

A: "Yeah, exactly. And no one takes you that seriously. So I stayed."

Q: Was it a conscious decision to keep the atmosphere of this film rather mature?

A: "One way to keep the whole series fresh is to keep making it grow old with the audience and that's the most important thing for me. (The audience) may have been six or seven or eight and they are 16, 17 and 19 now ... They don't want to be patronized with cute stuff anymore. Also, little kids love to be scared. I loved to be scared when I was little."

Q: What are your next moves, now that you have these big blockbusters under your belt?

A: "I am going to make a small film next -- a very lean, mean, small film with a tiny budget. I don't know what it is yet. With big movies, you get slightly indulged because everything is there. And it is not healthy. You need to step away from that and be challenged again."

Q: Your first movie was "When I was a Girl", how have you grown as a director since then?

A: "Wow. It nearly killed me making that. It was 16 minutes long and nearly killed me. Because making your first film is your hardest film to ever make. All these muscles start to develop and it's painful. At that time I was much more interested in lenses and cameras and all that gear. You get obsessed with the wrong things. The biggest way I have changed is I care about the things that really matter, which are the story, acting, writing, and mise-en-scene of the story telling. I am less obsessed with dollies now."

Q: What characteristics do you want people to look for in knowing they are watching a Yates film?

A: "You know it's a really hard question to answer because I often get asked that question. But I asked (producer) David Heyman, 'Why did you choose me and why did you keep me for four films?' And he said, 'You're work has humanity in it. You really love the characters and there is a warmth and empathy with the characters and I love that.' So honestly, I have no idea, or when I retire I'll look back and know."

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Just a minute with: Barry Manilow on his new album (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Barry Manilow, the piano man who didn't write his big hits despite proclaiming otherwise in "I Write the Songs," is back in stores with his first album of original material in a decade.

"15 Minutes," a guitar-driven concept album he co-wrote with lyricist Enoch Anderson, details the rise, fall and possible redemption of a young musician. There are traces of Manilow in the storyline, but he says it can apply to anyone trying to make it in their chosen field.

The album debuted in the top 10 of the U.S. pop album chart last week, and is at No. 20 on the current UK chart. It will be released in Europe in September.

Q: This record indicates to me that you're a closeted rocker?

A: "Aha! I wouldn't call me a closeted rocker. I would say that I'm crazy about all sorts of styles of music. My only weak spot is singing them because I don't consider myself a singer. I've sort of fooled the public into thinking that I really could sing. Luther Vandross is a singer, George Michael is a singer. But I was able to get through because I can act the lyric. I can perform a song, and I think that was good."

Q: What parts of you do you recognize in the character?

A: "I didn't start off wanting to write an autobiographical story, but I had gone through just about every experience in every song except for the very last two cuts, which is when he's really down and I'm imagining him in a hotel room saying, 'What happened?' Thank goodness I didn't go down that far, but everything else I experienced."

Q: What's the closest you've come to derailing?

A: "Not very successful albums, some singles that were released that didn't make it, shows that didn't sell out. They really affect you when you're flying high. This fame thing is a rollercoaster. And I'll tell you something, if you do it for the fame you are asking for trouble. For me, I never did it for the fame, I did it for the music. I did it because I couldn't not do it. It saved my ass."

Q: If you're not self-destructive, when you look in the mirror what character flaws do you see?

A: "I got offered everything when I was starting out. I had to make a decision whether I wanted that life or not. My biggest decision was how was I treating people? When 'Mandy' hit and I had five No. 1 records in a row, was I being the guy that I was five years ago, or had I changed? I said, I changed and I had to make that decision to be a good guy again."

Q: Are you a good guy now?

A: "I try to be. I don't think I'm that ego, fear-based guy that I was when my life was out of control."

Q: How did you develop such a thick skin?

A: "I'll tell you one of the things that definitely helped. I had a lot of people around me who were very supportive. I had family, I had old friends. I had a record company. I had people around me saying, 'Don't listen to any of this stuff, you're doing great work.' They would boost me up. When Sinatra (reportedly in the 1970s) said, 'He's next,' that was a very, very important moment for me."

Q: To what extent do you keep a hand-on approach to the Barry Manilow business?

A: "I must say that I don't pay attention to the money as much as I should, because I did go bankrupt twice ... I should have taken responsibility for that. I just don't. It doesn't mean anything to me, it really doesn't. I'll miss it when it's gone."

Q: Do you work out?

A: "I do, three times a week. I eat well. I go to the gym. I got my hair. I'm telling you, so there you go, I'm lucky. I'm a lucky guy.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)

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Just A Minute With: Woody Allen on nostalgia, scandal (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Woody Allen examines nostalgia among other topics in "Midnight in Paris," the latest in his string of films set in Europe.

The movie transports its protagonist, played by Owen Wilson, back to the good old days of the Belle Epoque and 1920s Paris, and sees Allen concluding that, really, he would have been miserable during any age, golden or not.

Allen, 75, talked to Reuters about what he longs for, if he gets nostalgic about filming in New York and what he dislikes about technology and other modern pleasures.

Q. You still write your scripts on a typewriter?

A. "I don't own a word processor; I am not a gadget person."

Q. So have you escaped the likes of Twitter and Facebook?

A. "Twitter -- I have no idea what Twitter is. But Facebook I know, because I saw the movie and I liked the movie. So I know what Facebook is. And I have a website, which I have never seen in my life and have no idea how it works or what the point of it is, but people have done it for me."

Q. So how do you adapt to the world of iPods and iPads?

A. "I have a telephone, a cell phone, but all I can do on it is call out and receive calls. I don't have any other use, I have no, what do you call it, text number?

"You ever see old people and their television set has tape over a lot of the buttons so they can't make a mistake? So they can't access those buttons, they can only turn it on and turn it off? ... I am exactly that way, as long as there is two buttons to press, I can do it."

Q. As a former TV writer, what do you think about the state of TV these days, of reality TV, of Snooki on 'Jersey Shore?'

A. "I never see any of that. I see the names in the papers and things but I don't even know what that is. I do watch television but not that. I watch sports almost exclusively."

Q. Your latest film, "Midnight in Paris" examines nostalgia, what do you get nostalgic about?

A. "I do get nostalgic in a weak moment ... thinking back and thinking, 'Gee, it was great to be able to play stick ball in the street and go run into the house and take a shower and eat some unhealthy food' -- not having any idea it was unhealthy or caring even if I knew -- but I didn't. It was a simpler life. But then when I stop and think, really? Go back to that life, was it so nice? It wasn't. I hated school, I did terribly, I had all kinds of problems. It was pretty terrible."

Q. Have your thoughts on mortality changed recently?

A. "No, I was against it when I was five when I was first became conscious of it. I have remained adversarial. We are hard-wired by nature to resist dying, to be self-preserving, to take care of ourselves, to fight for our lives, so I am no different than anyone else in that way. I may differ in this sense, I may belong to that group of people where it is on our consciousness more frequently. But there is nothing we can do it about it, but we probably suffer more, because we are not able to block it out as easily. Everyone is provided with a denial mechanism, mine is faulty."

Q. Why do you get respected so much in Europe?

A. "I think I gain something in the translation ... I make a film and all over Europe, all over the world, they love it, because possibly they are not seeing my mistakes."

Q. Are you too much for the Middle American mentality?

A. "Yes, we are a very religious country, but to me that is their problem. I don't subscribe to it. I am not religious or prudish. In that way I am slightly more European, but you will find that a certain amount of that more in New York, I think, rather than the rest of the country. New York is the closest we have to a European city. As you get out in the country it doesn't become a very puritanical and very raised eyebrows, but you can't give in an inch to that because that way lies sterility and death."

Q. Still, critics like this film. Do you think America is ready to forgive you for your past scandals?

A: "What was the scandal? I fell in love with this girl, married her. We have been married for almost 15 years now.

"There was no scandal, but people refer to it all the time as a scandal and I kind of like that in way because when I go I would like to say I had one real juicy scandal in my life."

Q. Do you miss filming in Central Park in 'the fall'?

A. "No, I love new York. And I am sure I will come back and work here, the only two things that have kept me from here is when a foreign place has put up the money and insisted that I work there or I couldn't afford to work here."

Q. Will your next film in Italy be inspired by Fellini?

A. "No. Why Fellini? ... Why not Antonioni? No, it is not inspired by anybody. It is just a comedy, not a romantic comedy, but an out-and-out comedy."

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)

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A Minute With: "Beginners" star Ewan McGregor (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Scottish actor Ewan McGregor has been in large and noisy films such as "Star Wars" and "Black Hawk Down" and small and quiet movies like "The Ghost Writer" and "Emma."

His new film, "Beginners" which will be released in U.S. theaters on Friday, is the latter kind. In the film a bewildered McGregor suddenly learns that his 75-year-old widower father, played by Christopher Plummer, is gay.

McGregor talked to Reuters about making the film, living in Los Angeles and why he got a dog.

Q: How would you describe this film?

A: "It's two stories, intertwined; the son coming to terms with his father's sexuality and death, and the love story between him and his new girlfriend."

Q: You must get a ton of scripts. Is it true you were pitched this on a ski lift?

A: "Yeah, it's written and directed by Mike Mills, who did 'Thumbsucker,' and I happened to share a ski lift with his agent who told me the story, which I just loved immediately."

Q: Is it also true that it's based on Mills' real-life father?

A: "It is. His father had been happily married to his mother for 40 years and suddenly announced he was gay, a few years before he died of cancer. It could have been very sad but it's actually very sweet and funny."

Q: So was it weird playing a sort of version of Mike Mills while he directed you?

A: "It did make me think, but I never felt I had to do an impersonation. But I did work on my accent, and I watched how he moves physically. We're very different but I like to think there is a lot of me in the character too. And I think it deals with universal themes, of love and death."

Q: How was it working with Christopher Plummer? Any surprises?

A: "I'd never met him before, and to be honest, I was expecting him to be far more old-school. He tells these great stories about Liz Taylor and Joan Collins, and he's been around all these amazing people for so long. But when he acts he's so contemporary and he's just blistering in this. But on set, he's just so funny and relaxed."

Q: You also seem to have a love affair on screen with Cosmo the dog, who steals the show as Christopher Plummer's Jack Russell.

A: "He does steal the show! In my naivety I always thought when they say 'Never work with animals or kids' it was because they're so difficult. But the truth is, it's a vanity thing because they always upstage you! And I loved Cosmo so much that the moment we wrapped, I went and got our own rescue dog, a poodle. He's a little Cosmo replacement and my new best friend. I take him on all the shoots I can now."

Q: You were born in "Braveheart" territory in Scotland. Where do you live now?

A: "We moved to L.A. from London two years ago and we love it. My wife is French. We have four girls and we try to spend summers in Europe so our kids can get a dose of it. When we went to France last summer, we realized we missed the flavor and the culture and so on. But the moment we got back here, we were like, 'But it's so great here!' The joke is, since moving here, every job I get is back in Europe."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Patricia Reaney)

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A Minute With: Kara DioGuardi about her return to TV (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – As a former "American Idol" judge, singer, songwriter and producer, Kara DioGuardi, made her mark offering no-nonsense feedback to contestants hoping for stardom on the popular singing talent contest.

Now she returns as a judge on Bravo's new show "Platinum Hit", which debuts on May 30. The series offers a glimpse into the world of emerging singer-songwriters on their journey to become the next big hit maker and offers a $100,000 cash prize and a record publishing deal.

DioGuardi spoke to Reuters about the show, songwriting and a famous 2009 bikini stunt on national television.

Q: What can viewers expect when tuning into "Platinum Hit?"

A: "The show is completely different since it's not about performing. It's about the song. And it's about the people that write that song. This is a show about finding the next great songwriting talent and looking into the process of songwriting, which I think is going to be very interesting."

Q: When you were on 'American Idol' there was a lot of chatter about you. Were you surprised at the fan's reaction to you joining the show?

A: "Not really, because I think they didn't quite understand my role. Some thought I was there to take over Paula's role and they didn't understand that I was in the music business. When I first got the job, I said, 'Why do you need a fourth judge?' It was completely puzzling to me. I can only imagine what it was like for the American people."

Q: Do you prefer collaborating with other songwriters or writing solo?

A: "I really don't have a preference. I kind of love it all. I get something different from each session I walk into. Sometimes it's great to work with an artist that has a very specific vision. I really enjoyed working with Pink, when I co-wrote 'Sober.' She has a real idea about what she wants to say and how she wants to say it and I find that very refreshing."

Q: How do you strike the right balance of offering feedback to contestants without crushing their dreams?

A: "People have to get used the idea that there is a lot of rejection in the music business no matter how successful you are ... If that's what crushes your dream, then you should get out of the music business, because if you can't stand the rejection, this industry will crush you. What it's really about is how to take the feedback and learn from it and become better."

Q: How would you characterize yourself as a judge?

A: "I'm pretty tough on this show, but I'm always constructive. You may not see it always because it doesn't get into the edit. But if I am giving a critique to a contestant, I'm telling them how they can do it better, so they can learn from it."

Q: What advice do you have for those just starting out?

A: "It's a muscle, songwriting. You got to do it a lot. You have to constantly be working it out and always come from a place of truth."

Q: If you were not a singer/songwriter, what do you think you would be doing?

A: "I would be a lawyer, or run a Bed and Breakfast. I would like to be in Maine baking muffins."

Q: You stripped down to a bikini during the "American Idol" finale in 2009. What was that like?

A: "It was scary, but it showed that I kind of don't take myself so seriously. And I got to build a recording studio from it, because I was given money to use toward my charity. So I'm glad I did it."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Patricia Reaney)

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A minute with: Kenneth Branagh about "Thor" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British actor and director Kenneth Branagh is best known for his deft handling of Shakespearean material.

So the choice of Branagh to direct the hotly-anticipated comic book movie "Thor," which makes it U.S. debut on Friday, came as something of a surprise.

Branagh, 50, spoke to Reuters about why he was drawn to the project and the pressures of working on a big budget Hollywood movie.

Q: What possessed you to direct "Thor"?

A: "The surprise of it was a big factor. Its immensity, the degree of difficulty, which I thought would be massive (and because) the challenge would take me out of my comfort zone ... This immense figure in epic landscapes and mountains, and men with horned helmets and this wild, unpredictable quality which I loved because superheroes can sometimes be terribly smooth. The fact that Thor is a God, and an unrestrained God -- that kind of unpredictability and danger, I thought would be unusual and maybe distinctive."

Q: The pressure must have been immense. Obviously you had tight control over your previous films. With this I imagine there was a lot of studio interference, a lot of commentary.

A: "Let's call it collaboration. They have this unique cinematic plan to interweave these characters and these stories into 'The Avengers' (movie) next year. I knew what I was getting into. The impression I had was they want a strong point of view. They would argue with me and they would strongly produce me ... But they wanted a director. They didn't want just a shooter -- someone to come in and walk away and leave it to them."

Q: They wanted to make sure it made money -- it being a $150 million budget and all?

A: "Yes and no. Without remotely diminishing the vast chunk of change that is, I had almost no control over that ... I kept my focus very narrow and in the end, I don't know what the toys look like, I didn't have any say in that. I don't know about the commercial tie-ins, who paid what for what. I had plenty to do, just start with what's on the page and then how we realize a single story."

Q: One of the challenges you might have faced was how to make this Norse God stand above the fray because there have been a dozen superhero franchises before.

A: "Already it stands apart because, as Stan Lee put it when he started writing about it, he'd gone as far as he could with humans. Now he wants to use Gods ... Here we have a superhero with those powers, a God indeed, who has to lose everything and engage with our audience. Really, the key is having him lose everything ... enjoy going on the journey with him -- him getting his comeuppance, him losing everything in order to understand what he's worth, family, friends, home.

"That's already a story in reverse that gave you fish-out-of-water comedy, and also potentially in terms of romance, allow a Romeo and Juliet possibility with the Jane Foster character."

Q: So would you do it again? Would you direct a massive, big-budget, 3D, effects-laden summer popcorn flick?

A: "It didn't seem as big right at the start. It got bigger the further I got into the woods ... At this end of things, I must note somehow I've got to stop for a little bit and have a think and process it all ... That's the point at which I'm at. That question (of doing another) -- if it arises, and it hasn't arisen yet -- because as thrilled as we are with the way it seems to be going now, it will be a few weeks before we understand the financial and creative fate of the move. There are a thousand tales to tell, we'll wait and see."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Patricia Reaney)

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