JON AVNET: It was finished shooting, and the reason it was finished shooting was that I was petrified that I would not be able to protect Kerry from the studio. I was also petrified of losing my ass because I spent a whole lot of money and I don’t like to do that. But I was just… How is he going to explain to them some of the things he explained to me? I either get it or like, “It’s your film, Kerry. If you’re going to have ‘King Kong’ references and you’re going to have ‘THX 1138’ and the Titanic adventure and all this, that and the other, God bless.” I couldn’t protect him from the studios. I prayed we could shoot the movie and then show it to the studios. And we’re lucky, they all wanted it.
A lot of directors and producers these days end up working on multiple projects together. Do you think that’ll be the case with the two of you?
JON AVNET: I don’t know how Kerry can look at me anymore (laughing).
KERRY CONRAN: God only knows what the future holds. The thing that’s unique to Jon is that Jon is a director and I don’t think he wants to be saddled with what I put him through for the last six years. I think I would imagine Jon’s next feat will be his own film. But I think it’s a natural assumption that we [would work together again]. We’re an oddball couple, but it works. I think that we had the necessary contrasting [personalities] that kind of pushed each other in a way that created something unique, that wouldn’t have happened independently.
JON AVNET: When it works, it’s a really great thing. What Kerry found out about me is that I have a lot of patience. You would never know that by listening to me. I wouldn’t say that’s the first thing [you’d notice], but from the processing of making movies and raising kids… I don’t want to go in and sit down with somebody else, if I’m going to produce a movie, and have to say, “Now listen, if you have a problem, tell me.” I didn’t have to say that to Kerry, just like he didn’t have to say it to his brother. When I say, “Kerry, I think you should cut this sequence. No, I’m not telling you you have to do it, but think about it,” he’ll think about it. When I said to him, “I don’t like this in the script,” he’d either do what I said or he’d come up with something better. And Kerry wasn’t worried for one second that I was going to try and take his movie away from him, but I could support it. When you have that, it’s a very natural thing. It’s difficult enough to do it on your own. It really is.
