Stephen Frears on Mirren, Berry, Clooney

Stephen Frears has worked with some of the Hollywood's most talented actors throughout his 40-year filmmaking career. Along with Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liasons and this week's Chéri, he also counts George Clooney and Helen Mirren among his collaborators. Speaking to DS about the differences between working on TV and film, he revealed 'almost movies' with Halle Berry, Harrison Ford and Michael Sheen's Brian Clough.

You make films for the cinema but also TV films like The Deal - does it matter to you how you get your work across to people?
"They asked me to make The Deal as a film and I said, 'There's no reason why anyone in the world should be interested except everybody in Britain who knows everything about this story.' It would have been stupid to make The Deal for the cinema. I tried to make The Queen for television but we couldn't afford to because she lives in big rooms and it all took place in Scotland. But even that you're trying not to let rampant inflation loose. You're trying to keep the devil in somehow."

Did you have Helen Mirren for The Queen when it was set up as a TV film?
"After The Deal the producer came and said, 'Would you like to do a film about the events of the week of Diana's death with the Queen as a character and with Helen playing the Queen?' So the whole thing was his idea and I met Helen and thought it was a very, very good idea. There was never a discussion about a second actress - maybe there should have been!"

You also did Fail Safe with George Clooney as a live television event - how did that work?
"George Clooney wanted to do something for television but for him to do a television film was ridiculous so he hit upon an idea of doing a live broadcast because they'd done one in ER. With live television you rehearse it and rehearse it and rehearse it and then you film it! Nothing bad went wrong - there were some tiny glitches on the night and some of the actors - Richard Dreyfuss who was in it was best on that night and another actor who was in it was probably best two nights before and that was just bad luck. It was incredibly enjoyable."

Your name was mentioned for a James Bond spinoff with Halle Berry...
"Well Halle Berry was so wonderful - I'd do anything with Halle Berry [but] it got nowhere."

You've not done a big Hollywood blockbuster before - do they not interest you?
"I was asked to make The Fugitive and in the end my cameraman came to me and said 'we'll have a really interesting time and you'll be bored out of your mind' because it's all about special effects. You try and behave sensibly."

At one point you were going to make The Damned United, have you seen it yet?
"I haven't seen it."

It's not as bleak as the novel. Would you have made it closer to that darker tone?
"Eventually I came to realise that I wasn't sure the book was filmable. I think the book is brilliant but I'm not sure it's filmable and I also came to question whether it was good on Clough. I would have made a different film. I think now I know what film I would have liked to make but I don't think I knew at the time. I think the film I would have made is what happened in the three weeks after Clough resigned from Derby. Someone has now written a book about that period and I think that's probably what I would have liked to have filmed."

You could do it with Michael Sheen?
"I cast Michael. I went to Michael and said, 'I've found you a new character to play!' He said, 'Who?' I said 'Brian Clough' and his eyes started to swivel... He's a wonderful actor."

Chéri is out in cinemas this Friday.