One afternoon in May 1995, I rang Ken Loach to try to persuade him to play Fantasy Filmmaking. In fact I had to call a number of British directors, and ask each one to imagine the kind of movie he or she would make given a bottomless budget. 'An unlimited budget would be a liability,' Loach said. 'The more you spend, the more restricted you are because the more money you've got, the bigger the investment, the more nervous the investor and the more they dictate what the ending should be.' He wouldn't be drawn on his dream cast. 'Casting is often about hiring stars, and I do find stars pretty boring because then a film becomes all about watching those stars.' Actually, he wouldn't be drawn on anything much at all. 'I carry ideas for films around in my head, but I'd never share them and show them the light of day, not until they were completed.' He had effectively said nothing, and in the process said everything.

LRB 31 October 2002 | PDF Download