Discusses his role in the animated movie "The Iron Giant"

December 18, 1999

Actor, director and screen write chats about his role in the animated movie, “The Iron Giant” and his upcoming movies, “Pitch Black” and “The Boiler Room.”

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CheckOut.com: CheckOut.com and Talk City would like to welcome you to a chat with actor, director and screenwriter Vin Diesel. Vin was the voice of the title character in the Warner Bros. animated feature "The Iron Giant" that was recently released on DVD and VHS. Vin will also answer questions about his upcoming films "Pitch Black" and "The Boiler Room." Now, please welcome Vin Diesel! Thank you for being with us, Vin.

Vin Diesel: Hello everybody!

AskVin: When will you begin shooting "Doormen"?

Vin Diesel: Good question. I'm in the process of rewriting it for USA Films. Initially I wrote it as a multi-protagonist script, but after the studio saw "Pitch Black" they decided that I was bankable enough to do it on my own, without having to put another big name with it. So I'm combining the protagonists, and we probably won't start shooting until later in 2000.

Riki: Do you prefer acting, directing or writing? And what do you like best about each?

Vin Diesel: Well, I've been acting since I was about 7 years old. I started acting in the New York theatre, so I've acted all my life, and probably feel the most comfortable acting. I have the greatest admiration for directing. The director is the person ultimately held responsible for the quality of the picture, and I like that pressure. I like approaching film making with an overview, so the director's role is attractive to me. As a director your voice is a little more prominent. I enjoy acting, but I'm more comfortable wearing that hat. Writing is something I never really liked doing and was initially a means to an end. I'm a perfectionist, which makes writing that much more difficult because ultimately what you're doing is locking yourself in a room with the toughest critic in the world. You come up with these ideas and you say to yourself, "That's retarded." So writing is, I think, an imperfect medium, especially screen plays. They don't stand on their own; they're a blueprint of a film. There are so many other things that will come into play to bring that script to fruition. And I'm writing up until the last minute until the camera rolls. I'm more challenged as a director, more comfortable as an actor, and the writing isn't really something I've categorized yet. If that makes any sense. (smile)

Stef: Did you have a favorite project or one that stands our from the rest?

Vin Diesel: I've been fortunate in that all of the projects that I've been a part of were projects that I very carefully selected, and in turn were projects I was very thoroughly invested in. My mother says that, after watching "The Iron Giant," if I never do anything ever again my contribution to "The Iron Giant" will always make her proud. That's pretty nice coming from your mother. And I guess there's a small part of us who do everything for our parents anyway. "Saving Private Ryan" was wonderful because I was learning so much from Steven Spielberg. He gave me a camera to operate when I wasn't acting, and that's unheard of for a young film maker. I'd never handled a 35 mm camera before. Each has its own rewards, but "The Iron Giant" is very special.

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