Zoom-in Online

Though Mike Leigh shoots all his films without a script, don’t assume for a minute his shoots are out of control. Though he believes in improvisation, don’t assume that implies his actors aren’t serious. Leigh, an English filmmaker and theater veteran, instead works for months privately and collaboratively with his actors as they improvise scenes in character, building histories, conflicts, and emotions that may or may not even be included in the final conflict. The technique has apparently worked for his latest film, Happy-Go-Lucky, as Sally Hawkins was awarded the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival for her portrayal of Poppy, a primary school teacher whose overflowing optimism is clear to all who meet her. Zoom in Online's Mike Raffensperger sat down with Mike Leigh during the 2008 New York Film Festival to talk about Leigh’s unique approach to filmmaking and how the Brit disagrees with his reputation as a “melancholic soul given to brooding silences.” For more episodes of On the Circuit, click here.