DRIVING FORCE: Jim Schembri Interviews director Roger Donaldson

DRIVING FORCE – Interview with director Roger Donaldson

After establishing himself with fine dramas such as Sleeping Dogs and Smash Palace, Aussie-born New Zealand filmmaker Roger Donaldson headed to Hollywood in the 1980s and is now best known for studio features such as The Bounty, 13 Days and Dante’s Peak.
Despite offers to do bigger, more lucrative projects, Donaldson recently returned to New Zealand to make the documentary McLaren, his passion project about New Zealand racing car legend Bruce McLaren.
In this wide-ranging interview, Donaldson, now 71 and born in Ballarat, discusses the making of McLaren, the cost of making a passion project and how he wound up a New Zealander. He also discusses The Bounty and his remarkable Cold War classic 13 Days, his acclaimed historical drama about the Cuban missile crisis that, he is pleased to discover, is being shown in schools.

Enjoy the interview below.

Here’s the trailer for McLaren