Douglas,as our reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum attests, is at his finest since last decadesWonder Boys.
The two wroteRounders,Runaway Jury, andOceans Thirteentogether and producedThe Illusionist,among other projects.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations on creating a character thats so relatable.
I think all of us know a Ben Kalman.
KOPPELMAN: Thank you.
Even when we are away from New York, we hear that.
Was he a character you knew personally?
How did Ben Kalman come to be?
KOPPELMAN: We grew up on the North Shore of Long Island around many successful businessmen.
When you are a kid, it looks amazing.
As we got older and they got older, many of them blew up their lives.
They lost the house or alienated the kids or through business fraud were indicted or went to jail.
Brian, you wrote the script but the two of you directed together.
You previously directedKnockaround Guystogether.
How do you split the duties?
LEVIENAs directors, we dont divide the duties, we share in it all.
We both make all the casting decisions.
We both talk to the camera and we both talk to the actors.
When we were kids, we were obsessed with movies.
Were very comfortable in that way.
Your opening gross was certainly impressive.
D you have a sense of who your audience is for this film?
Its an amazing role for Michael Douglas.
Was he immediately on board or did you guys have to do the hard sell yourselves?
KOPPELMAN:Doesnt he just crush it?
He sent it to Michael and we heard back right away that Michael really liked it.
We put it together immediately.
It was just never something we did.
He did that work on his own or didnt need to.
More Solitary Man:
EWs review: Solitary Man
Solitary Man trailer: Its all about the voiceover.
And Michael Douglas looking good.
