A meeting between Foster and Gordon was set up, and, he remembers: "I was very nervous going in, because, growing up, Jodie was an icon for me. I always felt an admiration for her. But there was also a sense of identification: we're practically the same age, we both started out as young actors, and we both moved into directing at about the same time." Gordon's film credits, as actor, include "Dressed to Kill" and "Christine." He muses, "When I started acting, Jodie was already a star, but she was doing it in the way I dreamed of: carefully picking intelligent projects with terrific filmmakers. It's always seemed like it's about the quality of the work with her: as actress, as director, as producer."
Gordon adds, "When we met, I turned into a 12-year-old, and kind of babbled, but she was very gracious, very funny, and very kind." The agreement for Egg and Gordon to bring Waking the Dead to the screen was sealed, and, Gordon emphasizes, "Jodie's been nothing but supportive and smart. Her notes and ideas have always been great -- and were always followed by, 'And only do these things if you believe in them."'
Kleinman elaborates, "They both have producer sensibilities as well as director sensibilities. Jodie is a director, as well as an actor and a producer, and she thinks with all parts of her brain on those levels -- as does Keith. They're so similar, it's incredible. Of course, there are lots of differences, too, but because they both understand the filmmaking process from every angle, my job was made much easier."
Foster and Kleinman joined a team that already included, as Producer, Linda Reisman, whom Gordon describes as "that rare producer who is on top of each element of the filmmaking process.
Gordon and Reisman were reunited on Waking the Dead following their successful producing collaboration on Gordon's "Mother Night": When that film was completed in 1996. Gordon asked Reisman to re-up with him as Producer of Waking the Dead. Reisman kept in touch with the Montreal location contacts that she had established as Producer of "Mother Night" and the Academy Award-nominated "Affliction." Like those films, Waking the Dead would be shot in Montreal.
With script, financing, and locations in place, Gordon turned his attention to casting: "When you're doing a film that is essentially a character study, there is nothing more important than the casting. This story has literary elements, and epic elements: it takes place over years, and it deals with complicated issues of morality. So, I knew that I needed two leads to make you want to go on this journey, and to make you care about Fielding's pain in missing Sarah."
Gordon saw Isaac as "an outsider in the political system -- that's something only touched on in the movie, but it was something Hal and I did a lot of work on in rehearsals, just to layer it in as subtext. Hal was very interested in those 'underneath' things. Isaac would always be that guy that people would respect, but never welcome into the old boys' club. He couldn't ever become part of the system 'in front of the cameras,' as it were."
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