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With "Eagle vs Shark"'s frequent comparisons to "Napoleon Dynamite," it'd be easy to think of director Taika Waititi as New Zealand's answer to Jared Hess. But look closer and its apparent Waititi's more like (this is a compliment, of course) the Kiwi Miranda July.

Both are easily distracted by non-film pursuits, both have a seemingly endless reservoir of friends to call upon for their talents, and both now have made offbeat comedies exploring the precious, ugly, and plain weird sides of coupling.

Waititi's film is a monument to clumsy, messy geek love, and, in a subgenre that happily turns male misfits into motley heroes, is a rare instance of a story taken from the viewpoint of the girl. Rotten Tomatoes sat down with Waititi in San Francisco to talk about "Eagle vs Shark" (which expands into more theaters this Friday), Sundance, and New Zealand in the grip of 1980s pop culture.

Rotten Tomatoes: You've worked in lot of mediums throughout your career, including photography, stand up performance, and acting. Do you foresee losing interest in movies?

Taika Waititi: I do foresee it. (laughs) I will find something and hit this complete passion for it and then something else will come along. I'll be like, "Whoa. Sewing machine! This is the best thing ever."

When you're actually making a film, it's just people on your back all the time wanting stuff and you're constantly having to it deal with them. It's probably the most time consuming of all the arts, but I do love it because it is a great mix of visual art and music and writing. I probably eventually will lose interest for a little while. But because it's a mixture of all the things I really love, I'll probably stick with it longer than most other things.


Waititi with "Eagle" actors Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clement.

RT: How has the reaction been to "Eagle Vs. Shark" compared to New Zealand and the US?

TW: This is the West so it comes out here first. It gets released in New Zealand in mid-July. From the two screenings we had in New Zealand, people really love it. I think it's got a distinct New Zealand flavor. A big part of the humor is in identifying with the tragic elements of the film. The New Zealand sense of humor is very dark. Our films are usually very dark and it's always someone being killed. Usually a child.

RT: From the trailer, you expect "Napoleon Dynamite," but "Eagle Vs. Shark" has a much sharper mean streak, like something from Todd Solondz.

TW: I'm a huge fan of [Solondz's]. "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is probably one of my favorite films.

But that's one of the things with distribution and the movie business. Everything changes once you start trying to market the film. Part of you feels like everything is slipping away from you. For me, I don't want people going to the theater thinking it's going to be a laugh-a-minute comedy, like a Will Ferrell film or something. Because it's not. It's just simply not going to be that.

Check out the rest of the interview here!