Did the way you shot have anything to do with you being your own director of photography on this film?

I've been working toward that for a while. I wanted to move quickly, stripping the crew down to the bare minimum. It was something I'd thought about a lot, not an arbitrary decision. I shot "Schizopolis" myself, and I shot all my short films.

In a number of scenes actual government agents are seen explaining their jobs to Michael Douglas' character. And there's a cocktail party in Georgetown with real-life politicos like Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Orrin Hatch. How did you secure the participation of the various government agencies and politicians involved?

In the case of the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs, we went to them very early with the script and told them we were trying to present as detailed and accurate a picture of the current drug war as possible. They agreed to help us in the sense of letting us know when we were being inaccurate and giving us access. To their credit, they never tried to influence the content. They just let us know when we were doing something that was procedurally incorrect.

As to the politicians, we just sent a lot of letters out. We didn't discriminate as to who we sent them to, and the ones who showed up we filmed. There was a lot of material we got in that cocktail party scene. We had to cut it way down. But it was fun -- all improvised.

Did you come to any conclusions about drugs in America during the making of this film?

Legalization's not going to happen -- not in our lifetime -- for a whole variety of practical reasons. It would be a violation of every international trade agreement that we have. The U.S. would turn into an enormous drug lab. There'd be people pouring in from all over the world to buy drugs here to take to their countries to sell illegally, so we'd be ostracized by every other country in the world. That's not going to work. You might say, "What if everyone in the world legalized all at once?" But what are the chances of that happening?

I came away from this process thinking, "All right let's talk about realistic stuff." Stuff like Prop. 36 [the California initiative passed this year that provides treatment programs for nonviolent drug users]; finding a way to look at this as a healthcare issue, not a criminal issue; something other than filling up prisons with nonviolent users. There are little things we can do to make a big impact. Everyone in law enforcement will tell you, education and treatment work. Money and resources put into them have a concrete effect. That would be a good thing. It's not a very sexy approach, but it works.

Did you encounter any resistance to shooting the Mexican part of the film in Spanish with English subtitles?

Not much. I had about a five-minute conversation with USA, the production company, about it, sort of explaining why it was important. I said, "If these people don't speak Spanish, the film has no integrity. You just can't expect anyone to take it seriously." Plus, part of the point of the movie is the impenetrability of another culture. The way Mexicans speak to Mexicans is very different than the way Mexicans speak to Americans. That's the point. And so they said, "OK, OK. We get it."

One of the best things about the film is Benicio Del Toro's performance as a conflicted Mexican lawman. I understand that he made several suggestions you used in the film.

Benicio's really great that way. I remember in an early version of the script, the way they get Frankie Flowers, this assassin working for one of the Tijuana cartels, is through an elaborate kidnapping. I remember talking to Benicio and saying, "It's so clunky. I don't want to shoot that, it'll take forever." Benicio said, "He's gay, right?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "Well, why don't I just figure out where he hangs out, go and pose as somebody who wants to pick him up, and then just cut to him with the blindfold on in the car." And I said, "Great idea." That's the good thing about Benicio -- he has great movie ideas. He understands how cinema works.

What's "Ocean's 11" going to be like?

I hope it's going to be fun to watch. It's a terrific script, but a very complicated movie physically. So I'm very anxious about it, but I'm hopeful. It's a great heist movie and we have a super cast. I ought to be able to make a film that delivers on that level, but it does make me nervous.

There's a good chance you'll end up making a better film than the original, which was just an excuse for the Rat Pack to party.

I would hope so. [Laughs] I said to someone the other day that it's fondly remembered by all who haven't seen it. It's not a great movie, but it has a great idea at the center of it. That's basically all we've taken. Other than that, it's been completely overhauled. I told Jerry Weintraub, the producer, "I want to make it because I want to see it." This is the kind of movie I'd be buying tickets for two weeks ahead of time. I love heist movies.

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