OTHER TECH

HBO has made the small screen more like the big screen by offering series like your Big Love. You're right. You could cut together two hours of The Sopranos - which is the lead-in for our show - and it would be as good as a lot of theatrical films. I'm a bit of film snob, which is why I've turned down TV for years. But here's a network that's building on quality. The craftsmanship, the fidelity of the image, the writing - it's all strong.

What shows do you like to watch for your own enjoyment? The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm ... I'm an HBO kind of a guy. There's no commercials, and they don't have to bend to standards and practices or advertisers. But I mostly watch films.

How do you prefer to watch movies? I prefer to watch, period. If I had my druthers, I'd always watch with an audience on a big movie screen. But I just had a 42-inch flat-screen TV with a pretty good sound system installed in my bedroom, and I've got a pretty comfortable bed. I'm a technophobe, so that thing sat in a box for over a year, but it's wonderful. And I enjoy watching a movie in private where you can cry and not worry that you're in a public place. Both experiences are just as vital and both are wonderful. The sad thing is to see a film like Greatest Game - one that has scope - on a small screen. And then it's been squeezed again with the pan-and-scan and all that.

Do you have surround sound, too? No surround - just a good stereo speaker system. To me, surround can be a little overkill. If you're watching a movie in a theater and suddenly you turn because something's going on behind you, it's distracting. It pulls your focus off the screen, and that's the last thing a filmmaker wants. I want to hear the sound coming from where I see the image coming from, so I still mix for the front.

What's next on the directing department? I've got a few fish in the fryer. I might fall back into a gothic thriller because I have a cast that's ready to go. But if Big Love gives me some film-acting opportunities, I may go with that. But I feel that by doing two completely different genres as a director, I've proven myself - and that stock is in the bank. It's given me a new kind of confidence, even about my acting, just to know that I have this other thing.