WHO talks to Babe director Chris Noonan about his latest film Miss Potter, the story of British author Beatrix Potter who created the beloved world of Peter Rabbit and friends. It stars Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor and Emily Watson.

What made you decide to cast Ewan and Renee together?
I love Ewan as an actor and couldn't think of anyone else I'd want more in the film than Ewan. Once Renee was cast I said to her, 'Who do you want and would you think of in the male lead role?' She said Ewan because she did Down With Love with him, so we were both completely in sync. Renee offered to approach him, so it meant a friend approached him rather than an agent. The other person that I really wanted to get was Emily Watson. She's a wonderful actress; she always does something that surprises you. I think she's one of the best actors in the world today, so I was really thrilled to get her too. That took a lot of doing.

Because Emily has a busy schedule?
She is so busy. She's just had a baby and she thought she was so out of shape after having her baby that she couldn't. She wasn't ready to work and also wanted to devote time to the baby. But I sort of said, 'Don't worry about that baby. It'll take care of itself — someone else will raise it, you don't have to worry.' No, we talked about it for a while and juggled the schedule around her requirements and then she said yes.

Are they all close friends now after doing the film together?
Absolutely! Firm friends. I was worried about that actually, to bring Renee together with another person who is a really brilliant actress. Before I knew Renee better I thought she might freak that she was being presented with this competition, or Emily might not want to do something where she wasn't playing the top dog female but they got on just so well. They were like two peas in a pod!

Is it hard when journalists in America criticise Renee's accent and delivery as Beatrix Potter?
The interesting thing is that the British don't feel that. The British just accept her as an honorary Brit. You get that sort of criticism in America but I think it's a bit like the American version of the tall poppy syndrome. If Renee were an Australian actress and she'd gone off to do something somewhere else and come back, we often criticise our own in a sort of narky way, in a way that's sort of begrudging. It wasn't universal, she got a lot of good criticism in America but I think there is a sort of narkiness that can come out with a local made good. But the British loved her. I was worried that the British would reject her because Beatrix Potter is such an iconic British character but they think she's fantastic, no one faults her accent in Britain.

What were the most difficult parts of shooting the film?
It was hard to deal with the weather, because a lot of it is exterior and dependent on scenery and the environment, which was a big part of Beatrix's life. Britain is notorious for being unreliable, so we could never get reliable weather forecasts. We'd start out on a plan for a day's shoot and get derailed by a quick rain storm and find ourselves sitting in the back of trucks taking shelter and gambling on how long the rain was going to continue. The weather bureau couldn't tell us anything because the Lake District is so hilly that weather patterns are so localised. Often we'd gamble wrong and lose shooting time, but that was the biggest problem we had. It seemed to me to be a dream production process where everything sort of worked nicely.

Were you nervous as it was the first film you'd made since Babe in 1995?
In anticipation, I was a little bit nervous, but as soon as I got on set everything just flowed because I feel it's my natural role. It felt like slipping into a pair of old boots that you've been wearing for six years. It just felt perfect.

As a result, did you wonder why you hadn't returned to filmmaking earlier?
What have I been doing for the last 10 years? It's true, absolutely I did think that. I don't think I actually made any wrong decisions; there were films that I rejected that went on to be huge hits.

Like what?
Like Saving Private Ryan. I'm serious. Steven Spielberg wasn't involved when I was offered it but I didn't want to make a film that glorified the US military. That just wasn't my cup of tea. It was made brilliantly, but I just didn't want to do that. There were a lot of films I was offered that turned out like that but I didn't regret saying no. As a director you have to be so totally committed and that commitment has to be communicable to all your crew and all your cast. So, if there are any kinds of doubts it'll catch on like wildfire with all the crew and you won't get the same sense of camaraderie and the team. I feel it's worth waiting for the right project.

Did you have to keep reminding people that you were looking for the right project?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I had to keep my hand in as well. I made TV commercials so I could keep abreast of what was happening in filmmaking practice but also I had to keep reminding people that I'd not quit film and I started writing some films. I co-produced Feeling Sexy with my wife Glenys Rowe and it was a very good period for me.

Tell us about your next film Zebras.
That will start this year sometime. It's being written by David Williamson and we're filming in South Africa.

And what about The Third Witch?
That's still a possibility, that's a really great story that I like a lot and it may still happen. I don't know. It's about the youngest of the three witches from Macbeth. It's her back story and her forward story and is set in medieval times.

You attended The Australian Film Television and Radio School with Gillian Armstrong (The Piano) and Phillip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence). Do you keep in touch?
You never lose touch with your colleagues when you're all journeying along the same path. We're not intimate friends but we keep in touch and say hello when we're in the same town and that kind of thing. It's been fun to watch other people travel along from the same point and see which different choices they make.