Jumper Director Doug Liman Is a Cheater

The man behind The Bourne Identity and Mr.& Mrs. Smith comes clean about his camera cons.

In the special features on the Jumper DVD, you admit that when you get the script for a movie you can’t help but tear it apart. How come?
I think I’m easily bored. I put myself in this niche of doing things unconventionally. And one of the things about doing that is that you very quickly discover why there are conventions: Because they work. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. Bourne Identity was an unconventional movie with a defined look and style. And I could just keep making Bourne Identities, and that would be my thing. But the problem is, if I made another one, it would be conventional for me because I did it already. So it’s a really awkward place for me to put myself in. I’m not in the movie business; I get in the business to make a specific movie. I think part of my passion for Bourne came from how many people told me I was never gonna get it off the ground. And there are some stories I still want to tell; but if you ask me, in 10 years, I won’t be doing film. And probably because I’m going to burn out because I keep changing genres and styles.

For example?
I started using handheld cameras on Swingers, and it defined the whole look of the Bourne franchise. Then I did The O.C., and we’re having problems on day one shooting the pilot. So I grabbed the camera off the dolly to go handheld, because it makes everything feel more real; whatever the performance, put the camera on your shoulder and it will go up like 25 percent.