GS: Sunshine State (SS) somewhat does for Florida what "Lone Star" (LS) did for Texas, in that it addresses a regional culture while speaking to national values. LS is always one of the first films that comes to mind when I'm asked what my all time favorite film is. Using that as a standard, what is there about SS that you like, which says something that LS did not?

JS: Oh good, thanks. Like LS, one of the things I do in SS is give the audience a view of the world that the characters don't have. They live in parallel communities and the audience can see that what one person does affects others when they don't realize it. We are all kind of tied together. I felt like there was an extra dimension I had to add which are those golfers. They are the Greek Gods, not the Greek Chorus because they are talking about 150 years of history and real estate development. To me they represent the people who see the big picture and manipulate it and we don't know it.

They are the guys in China town that knew that the water was going to leave and nobody on the ground knew it…so they buy the land because it's going to be worth a lot in the future. They are probably out shooting ducks or golfing with our Vice President…belong to the Exxon corporation and what they decide in those little meetings affects our life probably more than anything under public review does. They have the power and this idea that democracy is fine for certain things but not every thing. One of the things in SS is it's hard to say "these" are the good guys and "these" are the bad guys. Who can argue with them when they say this is going to happen with or without you so you might as well get a good price? Each person has a different reason for selling.

GS: Spike Lee gives us films with an in your face commentary on race with respect to blacks in America while your films are more subtle yet just as intellectually challenging. To what extent if any, do you agree or disagree with conclusions on race in America with Spike Lee's films as compared to yours?

JS: I think John Singleton (not a known relationship to this writer) or Spike Lee are coming from a certain perspective where they have to be stronger to make a point. This is the center of the world…we're not taking an overview. They're starting from the middle of their community and the viewpoint comes from there outward. I think that is a totally legitimate way of doing something.

I'm not talking about white or black history but American history and that includes all people. That includes people who've been in this country for 20 generations and those that just got here who are trying to become Americans.

JS: It's watching the actors. We have an outstanding cast. Seeing Bill Cobbs in his role shows that to create a community is a very hard thing when people have so many things they are interested in. Folks have different agendas. The thing that used to force them together was segregation. Now that those laws are gone, although people may stay in their groups, there is not that reason that says we all have to gather here. Community is hard to maintain when there is no "outside enemy." If you don't have any kids, why should I go to a school board meeting?

GS: In some ways you remind me of the novelist James Michener, who could expound on topics from outer space to apartheid in South Africa. How do you prepare to cover a wide range of subjects as "Men With Guns," "Lone Star," "Limbo" and "SS," while keeping a perspective that a movie-going audience can relate to?

JS: Some of it is just kind of paying attention to what is going on around me. I've traveled to all 50 states and I'm very interested in how "the place" influences "the people"…for instance, Chicago is not New York City. They are both big urban centers yet both have things the other does not.

All of a sudden there is a lot more corporate stuff that is just the same. There is a Starbucks on every corner and you can't tell a Chicago Starbucks from one in New York City.

I've been thinking about tourism for a long period of time. What does it do to you when you sell your history or you have to keep a smile on your face because you're selling your town even though you are having a bad day? The first thing that came to mind was Florida. I've been going there since I was 4 years old, to the Miami area, before, during and after the Cuban revolution. It went from a dying old tourist town to now, where there is corporate tourism. It's not just the theme parks. For example, on Panama Beach, called the "Redneck Riviera," it's like 16 miles long; as you drive its like a loop…every 1 ½ miles there's another Burger King, etc. Those corporations have basically bought the entire ocean front. They have decided that nobody wants to drive more than 3 minutes to a burger or donut place or whatever. There are no privately owned only places anymore.

GS: It sounds like you've read my review, which leads to an observation and question: a section in the review reads "…in the end, only luck seems to halt progress. Using a combination of subterfuge and Slick Willy salesmanship, people are encouraged to sell their land. Our desire for the homogenization of products and services appears to be the American Dream, (e.g., Holiday Inn Express rather than a no name, one of a kind motel that might be a better value). Perhaps it's a family business where the next generation has the passion, interest and skill to pursue the occupation of the parents. Is the Wal-Marting of America inevitable?"

JS: I don't' know…at least for a while that's what's happening. Things happen and you think they're inevitable and all of a sudden there is no JC Penny's anymore; something else takes over.

Even in the movie business, most studios say they "…want this to be a franchise." It's a "Friday the 13th" picture, "Return of the Jedi" Star Wars sequel, etc. People know when they go to that movie, it's a familiar world and would rather not be surprised. It may be that because life is uncertain, people like something that is comfortable.

Ray Charles used to always stay in Holiday Inns because they were designed the same and it was comfortable for him because he was blind and he could always find the bathroom. That's a good reason. For an awful lot of people that (familiarity) is very comforting. They go into a new town and they know the kids like Burger King and they ask where it's located.

GS: I'm one of the people that have raved about Hilton Head Island (HHI is an upscale resort in South Carolina), which is what the developers in SS would like to do with Delrona. Where is the balance of the aspirations of the real estate developers along with the people of Delrona [the white community] and Lincoln Beach [the black community]?

JS: It's a tough one. I think there is always a plus and a minus. Certainly, it's a lot easier to live in a community like that after they have drained the swamps and the mosquitoes aren't there. Now that's not good for the alligators, it's only very recently that Florida has had any ecological laws at all, so for a long while just anybody who had some money and connections with the state government was allowed to develop anything they wanted. There was just a thing in the paper the other day; for the first time the reefs off of Florida are dying because of what's in the water. It's what's coming down the river and the Gulf…there are too many people using the land. It's hard to keep a balance if it's only about business.

HHI and all those places; beautiful stuff. The character that Tim Hutton plays talks about taking nature and making you see it better and enjoying it more. At the same time, I was really disturbed by the gated community because it's a way to give up on any hope of democracy…that we can have a community with a lot of different people in it and we can work things out.

Certainly Florida is a perfect place to set this. Walt Disney's' dream, if he had lived longer, was to go beyond theme parks, and to start building communities. His ideal community was basically the Norman Rockwell version of America. But all the people were the same. In most of those gated communities there is not a democratic form of government. There is an advisory board of residents and the corporation makes all the decisions. So you are basically renting, in a way, from that corporation and it's out of your hands. People that are living in those ways are saying that democracy doesn't work for me and I want out of it. I want to live in this little (peacefully controlled) island.

JS: You watch actors and you like their work, and feel like they are under employed. That does not mean they aren't making a good living. People are not using them for all their talents. I'm often interested in casting an actor when I have not seen them do that before. For Angela Bassett there is only a little part of her role that is being glamorous. Once we started with Edie Falco and Angela that helped attract people. Some guys like James McDaniel and Tom Wright are best known for TV roles playing the black Lt. They basically say "go get `em" episode after episode. The writers forget to write up better things for them.