By 1993 I was out of school and knew that soon I would be in Los Angeles. I wouldn’t be part of the slick nightlife that made up L.A. Cop shows, but another anonymous face struggling through the suburban working class. Short Cuts also goes into the hills of Mullholland, but it mostly shows ordinary people dealing with absurdities and more often than not being knocked down by them. Like most of Robert Altman’s life collages, some characters are more interesting to follow than others. This is a chain with one weak link.
However, that weak link provided a piece of direction I keep with me, and one that I’ve heard variations on throughout my career. It’s the story involving Robert Downey Jr. and Lily Taylor, the one I don’t think is fully developed. Downey tells the story of hitting the marks and saying the dialogue only to have Altman tell him, “I read the script too. I want you to surprise me.” Of course, there are directors who want to hear every word as written, but during a story’s development that often leads to boredom. A producer loses interest if you just give them exactly what they’re asking for. You must have some ideas in your back pocket, ready to surprise them.
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