- guardian.co.uk, Sunday February 13 2000 11.42 GMT
When Steven Spielberg [head of the Dreamworks studio which financed American Beauty] first saw the film, he said: 'You've made a classic movie here.'
My reaction was: 'Okay, that's it, I can go home now. I don't need to hear anymore - that's the best I'm gonna get.'
I haven't heard much about the Oscar campaign yet but the talk about winning is very flattering, and brilliant for a movie like this because it doesn't have a major star. So hopefully when it arrives in other countries with Oscar buzz attached there will be considerably more chance that people are going to see it.
When I first heard the Oscar talk I thought it was premature. There was another two months' worth of movies coming out with Oscar potential. I thought to myself, 'Who the hell am I to think I've got a great chance?'
I still find it hard to believe the film is in the running. It's not a typical Academy Award-winning movie. It's dark, it's weird. It starts with the main character wanking in the shower. It's not a Tom Hanks kind of movie and, of course, there are no costumes.
When we were filming there were fights every day about how much time I was taking, and how much money I was spending. I knew I was spending more than I should, but I wouldn't give up because I knew the film would be really good. It seems absurd now - the arguments were often over a hundred dollars here or there.
