By H. Alan Scott
Now that Julia Stiles has directed her first feature film, Wish You Were Here, she sees directors in a whole new light. "I almost wanted to call some directors that I had worked with and be like, 'I'm so sorry that I was annoyed with you when you told me to do that thing.'" Best known for acting, Stiles knew she needed to adapt this novel for film when she read it. "The book broke my heart but also made me laugh. It felt like it had such a good spirit to it, and I'm a romantic at heart."
The film follows a young woman swept up in a new romance only to learn her partner is terminally ill. While she says she ran "in the other direction" of making the film too saccharine, she didn't let a cynical voice fully take over. "There is something really important about showing how much this girl takes care of him, and that it's OK to be kind and loving." Now Stiles says directing has made her a better actor. "I think I realized that if you trust your director, and I mean really trust that person and believe in their vision, you can throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks."