Five Hotbed Issues from 'Lakeview Terrace'
By Hollywood.com Staff
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Friday, September 19, 2008
#3: The Sam Jackson Issue
[Writer/director] Neil LaBute: “You know he's somebody who you have a character that because he certainly has the authority for the cop. I believe the sense of authority that he brings to it but he's quite wonderful to watch with his children. He's a widower and so the human side needed to be able to be tapped into you know and it's not a very conventional bad guy. You know while he's a guy who you certainly question the choices that he's making and the reasoning behind it, you're able to follow the beats when he says why he's bothered by this or what the back-story for him is, it makes sense. It doesn't feel like he's just a villain. It feels like a guy who's been pushed in a certain direction and his belief system is altered. So he makes that commanding figure and yet a believably human one too so he's able to you know, to tap into whatever you need. And he just works quickly and smartly and it's nice to be around somebody who knows how to shoot movies so well as well. He comes prepared. I mean he's like all the good people I've worked with. He just comes and has ideas and isn't afraid to say them and doesn't just do what you want him to do. You know he wants to know why we're doing things and that makes the movie better. It makes you continually question the script and make sure you're asking all the right questions yourself so I'm not afraid of somebody who's constantly asking you know why aren't we doing this and does this make sense for the character and for the story and so you get that along with a performance that really works.”