Director David Gordon Green first emerged on the scene with his critically acclaimed story about an interracial group of kids, George Washington, which earned him a Best First Film Award from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Since then hes covered indie territory (All The Real Girls, Snow Angels), TV (Eastbound and Down, starring schoolmate Danny McBride), and stoner-buddy flicks (Pineapple Express, Your Highness). This time around he shepherds the mayhem surrounding Jonah Hill as perhaps the worlds worst babysitter, in The Sitter, opening today. Green chatted about the right recipe for raunchiness by phone from his home in Austin, Texas.
Julie Crawford: So The Sitter looks like every parents nightmare. Do you think parents will want to see it?
David Gordon Green: I hope so. Its a very relatable scenario of comedic chaos. Weve all been on one side of the triangle: the parents, the kids with the obnoxious babysitter, the sitter with the horrible kids
JC: This sounds a bit like 1987s Adventures in Babysitting, but with more drugs and swearing. What would Elisabeth Shue say?
DGG: I have chatted to her, Im a big fan of her. I wanted to include her on where we were coming from to have a movie in the spirit of those great 80s, John Hughes movies.
JC: Did you babysit?
DGG: I was a babysitter when I was younger I have three sisters, and they were professional babysitters. I cant say I was that entertaining but I was pretty good. I made a killing as a kid.
JC: Youve worked with child actors a few times now, and I know it can be a challenge. How much say do you have in the casting process?
DGG: I have entire say. I cant make movies unless I have a cast we really believe in. On my first film, it was an eye-opening experience as to why actors who were of note and had great resumes, were not necessarily as interesting. You dont have to have marquee value, just a fresh face and voice. And kids dont bring the baggage: they dont have the fixing the hair attitude and bullshit I just want to find kids I want to hang out with.
JC: A generation ago guys were pretty much men once they left school. Now weve got doughy 30-somethings who still live with their mom and watch cartoons. (No disrespect to your new MTV animated series, Good Vibes.) Tell me about our cultural fascination with men who refuse to grow up.
DGG: Well, certainly we could talk about the evolution of masculinity if we werent here to promote what will hopefully be a hit Hollywood comedy It all comes from a lack of cause and meaning, I guess. We poke fun at those guys, and hopefully they can recognize it and laugh at themselves.
JC: Tell me about the pressure you felt after George Washington was so critically well received. Was it a blessing, a curse or both?
DGG: I made four movies that nobody saw. The critics were very kind and receptive, and that subculture of true film explorers saw it, but there was no pressure because nobody was looking at me. It increased my appetite for things people might see sometime.
JC: Its a gift to be able to make a touching stoner movie like Pineapple Express. Is there a specific recipe for that mix of raunchiness and heart: like no more than three masturbation jokes, mixed with equal parts tears, or
DGG: Theres got to be more than three, thats how I get started! Its about casting, people you believe in. Thats the gift of working with an actor like Jonah Hill, who turns a pretty despicable character like Noah into a guy you can fall in love with by the end of the movie. Its not like the days of Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant: people just dont buy the great posture and winning smile anymore.
