To call Noam Murro (Biscuit) a first-time filmmaker is farcical. One of the commercial game's biggest players, Murro has likely been on set more than most Hollywood denizens. Still, he chose to make his feature splash with Smart People, a "small, personal movie". At his office in LA, Murro explains why the road to features (his is still in post and scheduled for a fall release) is a long and rewarding one.

You waited a long time to make your first feature. What were you looking for?

Did I wait too long? If you ask me, I probably did. I didn't want to do something that I didn't like. So I waited for something that I liked enough and I like what I did. I made the stupid assumption that the first movie you make is going to define you. As you go through the process you understand that's not the case. It's a long road to Tipperary; there are many ways to establish yourself as a filmmaker. I think I did a very small movie. I stupidly thought I was going to have more control, but I woke up every morning knowing what I was doing. It wasn't a career decision; it was an emotional decision.

What was it about the film that made you do it?

The typical version of a commercial director getting a movie is one that is a sure bet, meaning the studio's risk is minimal in the sense that it's a genre. They take a genre picture and they take someone who they think is very well versed in the technical aspects of things and put enough support around them that they can control. The movies you normally get are horror, action flicks or something big and broad.

I tried to make a movie that I actually wanted to go see - and that's not a criticism of anything else. How can you make a movie you don't actually want to see? I like movies that are more personal, more intimate and I guess a little rougher around the edges. They're not fully, perfectly packaged and they're not so digestible.

Tell me about this one.

It's essentially about a family that moves forward one inch after losing their mom. It really is a small, odd personal story. It's comedically based but it's not a straight drama. A dramedy, I guess. It attacks the same idea as Little Miss Sunshine - a dysfunctional family - from a different set of sensibilities. It's not as populist in its approach and I think that's something I'll have to pay for. I think it works because it's not a perfect movie, if there is such a thing. It has its bumps and its own shape.

What is a perfect movie?

I don't actually know. I don't know if a movie that makes $300m is a perfect movie. To me a perfect movie is one that I envy. I can name you 300,000 of them.

You said that you thought your first film would define you. When you thought you wanted to be defined by it, what did you have in mind?

I wanted to be defined in the sense that I had a movie that I could fully stand behind and say this is something that I believe in. I think I wanted one that I look at and I can be proud of and not apologize for it.

You also mentioned there was a lot less control than you thought...

Well, you assume when you're going in to make a small little movie with a couple million dollars that you'll have full control. It's not the case. It doesn't matter if you $400m or $2m, it's still someone's money.

Do you get that full control now on commercials?

Hell no! It's funny how in many ways it's a similar process but in many ways it's a different set of politics. It's different, but it's the same.

In one sense you're a first-time director, but in the commercial world you're on the top of your game. Is there a psychological change?

I think people who are not in commercials look at you and go, 'He's a first-time director' forgetting that we have been shooting 100 days a year for a decade. I always found that to be funny. But that's the way it is. You just nod and go to craft services and drown yourself in a brownie.

Did you find anything surprising or enlightening about the experience versus commercials?

Not really. I think the surprises are the surprises. That's why I say it's a different set of politics. There's always 'the agency' whether you call it the agency or the studio. It's ultimately always someone's money so it's their movie. If you're not up for that kind of dialogue and compromise, then you shouldn't be in it.

Therefore, and I'm probably speaking for all directors, what you see on the screen is always a compromise to a certain degree. I don't' know if collaborative is the right word but it is committee work, whether you like it or not. There is some stuff that you end up with that's not yours - for good and for bad, and you try to make that work for you.

You have to be a politician, I guess...

A politician, a missionary, a pirate.

Tell me about the on-set dynamic.

We shot a movie in 29 days. That's astoundingly fast. I didn't have a crane... I had a dolly and an old camera and a bunch of people in Pittsburgh. That was the budget. At the end of the day, with humility and wisdom I have to say you want to make a movie that you want to make, if you can. Or you make one that will allow you to make a movie that's going to lead you where you want. It's a long process - longer than you think. And if you spend your life on something that doesn't take you closer to your goal, there's no point it doing it. You have to have a clear understanding, other than the egotistical nature of what directing is, of what it is you want to do.

Any words of advice?

I remember a friend said to me, it's all exciting when you shoot, but when you sit in a dark room and try to make a movie of what you just shot, you better like what you're trying to make. It stuck with me. It's a matter of taste. What I'm saying is that there is no one way to go about it. There are different ways to get there. All these roads hopefully lead all of us directors to one point - to doing the movies you like to do. Starting with a small movie doesn't guarantee you, neither does a big movie. Basically I think it's about the road. It's a marathon and it starts with a step. Have a sure hand in that step and then move on to the next.

Biscuit> http://www.biscuitfilmworks.com

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