UD: How did you cast and how was it working with kids? TS: It was a delight. With the kids, I didn't have to explain anything. All throughout the casting process, they got the material. They were very unfazed by it and took it pretty matter-of-factly. Many parents were unsettled by the material but the kids were no problem. I think the more 'fucks' I added to Brendan's lines the more he liked it. My job, as I saw it, was to make them feel very comfortable, and if they were confused, they could come to me for direction. And then you let them go, and if you have the right kids, they'll give you gold. UD: How do you talk to or direct an 11 year-old when it comes to explicit or disturbing material without over-stepping proper boundaries -- I'm thinking of the finger-fucking business or the rape talk . . . TS: My job is certainly not to explain these things to a child. The first screen kiss in the movie is Heather Matarazzo's first kiss in real life, and I think that quality does come across. She is a trouper. She wasn't silly about it like, gee, I can't wait to do my kiss, or something like that. It was all very seriously considered. The mother was there, discreetly sitting aside. We would talk if the kids felt uncomfortable about something. We'd say, "Well, do you feel uncomfortable about something?" and they'd say, "No, no. It's alright." But we would talk about things. UD: Can you give us a quick thumb-nail sketch of your growing up -- particularly, your aesthetic and intellectual aspirations -- and how that lead you to NYU film school? TS: Well, I grew up on junk culture. I watched TV and all of that. I grew up in the suburbs, 20 minutes from the location of the movie. I first started writing when I was a kid. I mean, really since I was reading. So at first I was writing a lot. Then I got into music and loved photography. I didn't like cameras but I loved photography. I was an English major in college but really I was not very academically inclined. 3 of 5