Family Ties Teen Movieline Article
Family Ties
Richard Lee Jackson & Jonathan Jackson Team Up To Make Films
Teen Movieline Magazine
Summer 2000 Issue
We asked three pairs of siblings to show and tell us what their favorite thing to do together is when they're not on the job.
Jonathan
"Ever since I was about 10 years old, Richard and I have been making our own home videos with an 8mm camcorder. When I was 12 we bought an editing machine and learned how to do our own looping. So, yeah, we're pretty serious about making movies. We've just written and directed a short together called "Crystal Clear", which is about a young alcoholic. We did everything together - the writing, the directing, the planning. Richard is great at writing dialogue so he makes a very good writing partner. Plus, it's like our brains are hooked up together. With this short, we wrote it first, hired the actors then mapped out the script. Then we found locations, made a schedule, hired the crew. On the set we worked with the actors, which was easy for us because we've already actors and we can relate to what they're going through and we know how to communicate with them. We also told the director of photography what shots we wanted. It was a good collaboration. Now we need to edit the film. I'm not looking to become a huge director. Though we took the film seriously, it was just something fun to do between acting jobs."
Richard
"We have a great balance. I'll write several lines of dialogue and Jonathan will come in and streamline it, keeping it on track and letting it move the story along. He's especially good at character motivation, which keeps me focused. When we write we finish each other's sentences. Because of my experience as an actor I know how to build characters. You try to make them as real as possible by thinking about where they come from. You don't have to do years of research to get into the mind of a character. It's best to use your instinct. It's funny, because away from work I'm more laid back and Jonathan's the one who reacts more. But when we work together it's reversed - I get frustrated and Jonathan calms me down. There's an underlying respect between us. We agreed early on not to compete with each other. It makes it so much easier to work in Hollywood, having a close relationship with a sibling. I thank God that there's someone so close to me that I can relate to."
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