17 Quotes by Richard Shepard

I didn't want him to be slick in this movie. Instead of designer looks, we wanted all of his clothes to be a half size too small. I wanted him to have a mustache. This character is an equal-opportunity letch, and Pierce just went with it. I think he appreciated focusing on the character, not how his hair looked.

Bullfighting ... is past its prime and is slowly dying out; and Pierce, as his character, is past his prime and is slowly dying out. It complements things that Pierce has done. What we haven't seen in Pierce before is the vulnerability because in every part he's ever played, he's always been in control. What's funny about Julian is he should be in total control, but he's a total mess.

I saw him as someone skinny with a potbelly. I wanted his clothes to be a little tight. I wanted him to have a moustache with gray hair in it and a crew cut. There were a lot of discussions about that, but at a certain point, Pierce turned the corner. Once he decided he was going to go for it, he went for it. He loved it. He walked around with his toenails painted all day.

Pierce just fully went for it. I said early on, 'If he doesn't give 110% percent this is not going to work. It's not one of those roles where you can charm your way through. Pierce is an incredibly accomplished actor, and he's very funny. I don't want to sound like some asshole blowing smoke, but the fact is that it's true, and the movie is much better for it.

Pierce just fully went for it, ... I said early on, 'If he doesn't give 110% percent this is not going to work. It's not one of those roles where you can charm your way through. Pierce is an incredibly accomplished actor, and he's very funny. I don't want to sound like some asshole blowing smoke, but the fact is that it's true, and the movie is much better for it.

If you have that group of people who are both nice and also creative, then you have surprises like a room with monkeys in them. That has taken a very good scene and just made it a great scene. I want my movies to be visually interesting and to have a lot of energy and be colorful and full of life.

For me, when I see movies where I kind of know who the characters are and what the situation is, I get bored. To me, it's, "How do I tell a story that will keep the audience engaged?" A great story does that: it's not exactly what you expect.

I'm not making a movie about the real people. I'm making a movie about what they did, and what happened to them. But I will create characters so that I can have the freedom to make them say and do what I want. The real-life journalists were fine with that.

Same thing for the bad guy. People were really after this guy Radovan Karadicz. But I came up with a combination of several people, who then became The Fox. That's who Simon Hunt and Duck are after. I did that so I could have freedom with what The Fox said and did, so that I didn't have to be stuck. Certain things I wanted to stay to the truth. Certain things I changed, and certain things are the facts.