obviously these characters come out of my head, but they have to embody them, so Jeffrey certainly lifted it above what I imagined but also came through with what the film really needed from that character.

A lot of poets too live on the margins of social acceptance, they certainly aren't in it for the money. William Blake - only his first book was legitimately published.

I always start with characters rather than with a plot, which many critics would say is very obvious from the lack of plot in my films - although I think they do have plots - but the plot is not of primary importance to me, the characters are.

Obviously the 2003 blackout was a wake-up call to everyone. August 2003 certainly accentuated the need to reinforce the system.

Keep your head above water

I like to rehearse with the actors scenes that are not in the script and will not be in the film because what we're really doing is trying to establish their character, and good acting to me is about reacting.