Jake Scott interview WTTR withBoston Globe, explains why he refused to show the pole dancing scene

He probably could have done an action movie, but he was determined to make a character-based film. When he read the “Welcome to the Rileys,’’ script, written by Ken Hixon, he was motivated to orchestrate his prison bust.

The film, which was well received at the Sundance Film Festival last winter, depicts the struggle of parents after their daughter is killed in a car crash. While Doris Riley (Leo) shuts out the world, her husband, Doug (James Gandolfini), tries to find ways to cope. After his mistress suddenly dies, he attends a convention in New Orleans where he meets Mallory, a teenage stripper played by Kristen Stewart. Despite her resistance, Doug is determined to save Mallory. When he tells his wife that he is staying in New Orleans, she manages to overcome her fears and neuroses and drives down to find him. Together, the couple attempts to help the young runaway and keep her safe.

“I came to it as a father,’’ says Scott, who, with his wife, Rhea, has four children ranging from 5 to 16 years old. “I was fascinated by the idea that these conservative Midwestern people are contending with something that’s impossible to imagine. And they go on this journey to this place that is completely opposite to their world and connect with someone who is so horribly damaged.’’

While filming the movie, Scott was concerned about exploiting Stewart’s character by including gratuitously sexy scenes of her in the strip club. There was, he says, pressure to depict her pole dancing, but he adamantly refused.

“It was very hard to explain to them — I understand why they wanted it — Kristin Stewart, who’s got a bum like an apricot swirling around on a pole,’’ he says. “I thought it would destroy the character and disrespect people who have lost children. It would be an immoral act.’’

The experience of making this film was worth the struggle. He hopes his next projects will be films that focus on characters, including a screenplay about a Tibetan nun who was killed in front of a group of climbers in the Himalayan Mountains. The true story is based on an article in Men’s Journal, and has been expanded into a book.

“It’s one of those stories where you watch and say, ‘God, what would I have done if I’d been there,’ ’’ says Scott. “It really throws that question at you. It’s an amazing human drama.’’

Read the full interview at the Boston Globe!


VIA: pattinsonstew