Is it true that Heath Ledger nearly broke Jake Gyllenhaal’s nose when they filmed the kiss?
A. Yeah, because I encouraged them to do a passionate kiss. I said you can never kiss a woman that hard, so I urged them to give the most heroic Western kiss. They went about it and nearly broke each others’ noses. At that time, we were careful not to crack jokes, usually I don’t rehearse those scenes. Technically I will rehearse it but how they go about it, I just expect them to deliver based on the rehearsals and what we talked about, and all the preparations they do as actors. To me, the shooting needs to be fresh and spontaneous, so I don’t talk too much except for technical notes. Q. What were some of the other challenges you faced? A. I wish we could have had the freedom to shoot according to the dramatic need in the schedule. But this was a low budget film, we shot where we had to shoot, and more importantly they had to accurately carry their age, how they carried themselves. Those details go a long way when you add up 20 years of affection. Even though it’s a short story it’s a
