Something that's going to rely on the visuals a lot more than your films have to date as well...

KS: Very much so. There was a movie that was out last year that I absolutely loved, Half Nelson, that my D.P. Dave Klein and me were both in love with the look of it, and that's kind-of the look that we're exploring for this thing as well.

I loved Half Nelson. I saw it post-Oscars so I'd kind-of had all the pre-release hype about Ryan Gosling.

KS: He's just wonderful in the movie. But everybody in the movie - rightfully so he got singled out for an award - the girl was amazing, the drug dealer was great. That movie really reinstated my faith in American independent cinema. That and, this year, Black Snake Moan did the same thing. American indie cinema is alive and well.

Is Black Snake Moan really independent though?

KS: Technically I would say yes. It was put out in the States by Paramount Vantage, which is the boutique label of Paramount, but if Vantage didn't exist you can imagine if that movie came out ten years ago some smaller one-off distributor putting up the money for it.

I actually think it's a wonderful companion piece to Grindhouse because both of them - well Grindhouse is two, but for the sake of argument let's call it one movie - are revisitations of an exploitation drama and a type of cinema that nobody's really seen in quite some time. Whereas Grindhouse has very explicitly stated that that's what their intent is and both features play as such, Black Snake Moan didn't really sell it as such but that's kind-of what it was. You've got a girl chained and in heat; nothing's more exploitation than that, but it's a deconstructionist view of it and not in an ironic sense; just playing one of those movies in the here and now with people like Sam Jackson and Christina Ricci. I thought it was really great.

Did you see Alpha Dog?

KS: No I didn't.

While we're talking Black Snake Moan; I'm kind-of blown away right now by how much talent Justin Timberlake has as an actor.

KS: He's really good. There's a dude who if he didn't have a very big career in music, and a burgeoning career in film, they should f*cking tie him up for Saturday Night Live because any time he's on Saturday Night Live that show rises to a place it hasn't been in a while. He just brings something good out in the show.

Unfortunately we don't get it over here.

KS: Right, but you've seen Dick in a Box and stuff like that?

Yeah.

KS: Dude's really funny in that variety show format. Sketch comedy.

I loved that Matrix Spoof that they did for the MTV Movie Awards.

KS: He's definitely talented. I thought he was really good in Black Snake Moan and I think he's making the right choices. He's not top-lining a feature that he's carrying all by himself and they're sticking a gun in his hand and he's running around trying to save the world. He's taking really interesting roles so whether you like his music or not it's like, "Wow, this dude is actually doing some interesting stuff."



For Justin Timberlake Black Snake Moan is not the sort of project someone with his profile has to do.

KS: No. Nor if you were casting that movie would you be, like, "I know who would be good for this; Justin Timberlake."

I'm glad it's working out for him; there are so many young actors who aren't great and so you cherish the rare talents.

KS: And when you think about it, he came from that same school as Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears in as much as that they were all members of The Mickey Mouse Club. Whether you like any of their music or not; from a young age they were kind-of bred to perform. Period. Music being the predominant venue for that entertainment but also they had to perform on the show; they were actors as well. It's kind-of interesting that those three kids all came from the same school and he's actually doing something outside of the music that lends to the training he got as a kid.

Right, because let's be honest, it's probably better for everyone if we forget about Crossroads.

KS: Yeah... Or just Britney Spears in general for a while. It'd be nice if everyone just left her alone and let her have her f*cking meltdown. It's kind-of tragic that everyone's watching it and nobody's doing anything. Number one, nobody's really inclined to do anything about it because it's ultimately more entertaining to watch somebody melt down than to help them out, but number two, you just can't help anybody like that. As a guy who dealt with Jason Mewes and his drug-abuse problem - which is different, I know, because I don't think Britney's is solely drug-orientated although it does look like drugs are in the mix with that - you can lead the horse to water but you can't make them drink. Those people actually have to make the choice for themselves.