OTHER TECH

How do you like to watch movies?I tend to watch them at home, but frankly, I don't watch many. I hardly go to the theater because it's kind of a pain in the ass, and many movies are overrated. When I do go, I take my children. You see, I love making movies. I'm just not crazy about watching them. I like music better.

You have antique Klipsch speakers and high-end electronics in your house. Do you consider yourself an audiophile?Yeah, I'm very sound conscious - even when I'm acting in a movie. When I direct, I make sure we get the sound right so we don't have to do a lot of looping [rerecording the dialogue]. When you do that stuff six months later, your voice quality may be different or you're in a different mood. You're not actually in the scene at that moment.

Does the picture matter to you as much as the sound?No. Cinematography's overrated. I'd rather a movie be good and look like shit. When I see a really slick movie, it actually kind of takes me out of it.

What about the score to a movie?Very important. A soundtrack needs to be married to the movie in a way where you don't notice it so much but it's part of the emotional content - not those bombastic, John Williams-style orchestrations that tell you exactly how to feel every minute. I don't dig that. I tend to like more subtle music in movies. If you want to get an Academy Award, have music that tells you when to cry, you know?

I've heard that High Noon is your favorite movie.It deals with joy and sadness, infidelity and faithfulness, cowardice and bravery, so it has every element of what humans go through. It's all about, at the end of the day, who you can count on.

What are some other favorites?Hoosiers is amazing. I was actually in one I consider great - the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There. It says a lot about people not knowing where they belong in this world. I love Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken with Don Knotts. That's great. I don't have normal movie choices as a rule.

What about your favorite albums?The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East is the best live album ever made. I love the Beatles' Rubber Soul. But with me, it's more about the artists than it is albums. I would always have anything by Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, or J.J. Cale. The Who's Live at Leeds is another great live record.

I understand that Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas is also a favorite.Yeah, it's a great album. For jazz, I love Ornette Coleman. That's my guy. Charlie Parker - of course he's amazing. And Miles Davis.