‘Lights, Camera, …’ : Chris Pine Forgot to Call ‘Action’ on His First Day Directing ‘Poolman’
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Chris Pine made a splash at the Los Angeles premiere for his directorial debut “Poolman” at The Vista Theatre on Wednesday night. He arrived decked out in one of his looks in the movie in an “I Heart LA” shirt, corduroy short shorts, polarized sunglasses and long stringy hair extensions.
“Poolman” follows Darren Barrenman (Pine), a man who spends his days looking after the pool of an apartment complex while also fighting a corrupt politician and a greedy land developer to make his hometown of Los Angeles a better place.
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Pine admitted to Variety that he forgot to call “action” on the first day of filming: “I had to be reminded to by my first assistant director. Well, he called ‘action’ and then I wanted to call ‘action,’ until he just ended up calling it.”
The “Star Trek” actor co-wrote the screenplay for “Poolman” alongside Ian Gotler and served as a producer. He calls the movie “a blender full of every single film” he watched during COVID quarantine in 2020 and says he drew on the works Buster Keaton and director-writer Peter Bogdanovich as inspirations.
The film also stars Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh and DeWanda Wise. DeVito, who plays Darren’s friend and father-like figure Jack, says he met Pine way before working with him – when he was in high school with DeVito’s children.
“The kids knew him then and as things progressed, we’d see each other once in a while and just share stories,” DeVito said. “When he sent me the script, I was very flattered and loved it. I thought it was really unique and crazy and off the charts and couldn’t wait to see what he did with it.”
As Pine pulled up to the premiere in a hippie-esque blue van and hung out the door waving to people on the carpet, his father, actor Robert Pine, watched in awe.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that,” Robert Pine told Variety. “That’s what I love about him. He’s unique, he’s inventive. He’s creating right there.”
“Poolman” will be in theaters May 10.
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