Simon West: Simon Says

Q: There were a lot of script versions of Tomb Raider when you came onto the project. What did you change when you rewrote it?

A: I tried to get away from the clichés of the genre. I wanted a modern, high-tech version that took itself seriously. After Raiders of the Lost Ark, action-adventure movies of that type were all set in the '20s and '30s and were campy. The characters go off to Egypt, press the magic stone on the wall, and the big Styrofoam bricks move back, and all the little spiders and the rats come running out, and you go, Yeah, that's what always happens. I tried to go after a New Age mysticism vibe as a way of getting back the magic that used to be in these kinds of stories years ago. People loved them because they took them to parts of the world they'd never been to. Well, now everybody goes everywhere in the world, easily, so what you have to do is take people to a mental place they would like to go but have never been.

Q: How did you come to cast Angelina's father, Jon Voight, as Lara Croft's father?

A: Angelina didn't grow up with Jon at home, and, ironically, the story I created about Lara Croft was that her father had disappeared when she was very young. I thought of having Jon Voight play Lara's father but I was a bit apprehensive about suggesting it to her. It's difficult just having Sunday lunch with anybody's family, let alone having a big emotional scene. But she jumped at it and he loved the idea, too. Getting them together was amazing. Watching them, we had chills running up our spines and we were welling up. The scenes were so real, even traumatic for us. What they were saying to each other was heart-rending, really. And then the ruthless director shot it on film and is putting it out there in 3,000 theaters. Jon was so supportive of Angelina, he hung around on the set for a week after, leaning over my shoulder. Every time she did something great and I hadn't congratulated her enough, he'd nudge me to. He was such an overbearing father. If she was walking on something high, doing a stunt, he was worried about her, and didn't want me to do another take. I had to kick him off the set because it was sort of like having the father-in-law there when you're taking his daughter out on a date.

Q: Angelina is coming off an Oscar-winning performance in Girl, Interrupted, and you directed Nicolas Cage in Con Air, not long after he'd won the Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas. After winning Oscars, do actors have any trouble giving themselves to action roles that might seem frivolous by comparison?

A: I found the opposite. When I did Con Air, I had Nic, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Ving Rhames and Steve Buscemi, and they were all happy not to be narrowly pigeonholed in the art-house movie world. They were so glad to have Ml6s in their hands, [to be] shouting at the tops of their voices. They loved it. I also made sure I didn't throw them into a world of total banality, which they'd hate. I've been lucky to get Oscar actors. It makes my work easier to be starting on such a high level. I trained classically at the BBC with people like Mike Leigh and I learned how to create an environment in which actors can be at their most creative.

Q: When Cage did Con Air, he really pumped the weights, and Angelina obviously spent time getting into great shape. Do actors who aren't usually so physical on-screen want to show off their bodies when they do action films?

A: Probably the men have more vanity. The joke on Con Air was that I couldn't keep anyone's shirt on. Everybody wanted to take off their shirts, and some weren't in as good shape as others. With Angelina, it's just a total comfort with her body, and why not? I couldn't find a bad angle on her. I could shoot her from below her chin or behind her ear. I was doing shower scenes with her, and she's walking around the set naked, totally relaxed with who she is.

Q: Did you want Lara Croft to be more Indiana Jones or James Bond--or something darker?

A: To me, it was something like the original James Bond, where it was a little darker, a little more twisted, semisadistic. I wanted it edgy, with real sweat, real blood, real pain. But at the center of it, a wry sense of humor. The other thing I insisted on was a genuine portrayal of England. The film was bought by an American studio and originally developed with American writers, who gave the predictable view of what England is, that '60s version found in Austin Powers. Lots of references to the queen, red buses, bobbies with funny helmets on, everyone drinking tea. The London I know is edgier.

Q: Sean Connery's Bond was sexually adventurous, even ruthless. Can you create a similar sexual context if your hero is a woman?

A: I did have to think about where the sexual tension would come from. That just made me eliminate more clichés. Lara couldn't hook up with a weak male partner she was dragging through the jungle, which you always see with male action heroes. The sexual tension here has to be between the bad guy and her, which fits perfectly with Angelina's persona. She would probably be drawn to a guy almost as dangerous as she is. His evil streak is a turn-on, and the erotic interplay is almost an S and M relationship where they are being aggressive and violent toward each other, but love each other. She might have to kill him, but they'll have a helluva good time beforehand.

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