'Hangover' director: 'Pressure is good'

Todd Phillips has said that he works well under pressure.

Talking to MTV News, the Hangover director revealed that he completed his new film Due Date shortly after his previous release in order to overcome anxiety about continuing his success.

"I think pressure is always a good thing. A lot of guys make a big hit movie on the size of The Hangover and they get gun-shy. They wait a few years in a weird way, and I wanted to do the opposite," he explained.

"I wanted to do something again and not worry if it was going to be as big as The Hangover because [it] was lightning in a bottle. You can't judge other successes or other movies based on it. I just didn't want to get into that headspace. That was part of the reason for striking out and doing something real quick like Due Date."

He continued: "It's something I had been developing - it's not like it's rushed - but it went quicker because I was like, 'Let's just go do it'."

Phillips added that he considers casting to be the most important factor in a successful film.

"For me, I choose movies based on who I can get in it," he said. "Comedies are so about casting. Obviously I wanted to work with Zach [Galifianakis] again after The Hangover and [Robert] Downey [Jr] is pretty much the best there is out there. Once he said yes, we were like, 'Let's just go'."

Due Date will be released in the US on November 5.