After making the gripping Monster?s Ball, director Marc Forster is back with the Johnny Depp-Kate Winslet-starrer Finding Neverland (picture above). Nominated for multiple Oscars, the film is loosely based on the controversial figure of JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan.

The film-maker on everything from filming the fantasy sequences to having fun with the ?fart machine??

n Did you know much about Barrie before the movie started?

No, I didn?t really know much at all and, actually, I read a lot of books because when I read the script I loved it but I wanted to see how different his real life story was and how different a person he was. You have all these rumours (about) this whole paedophilia issue. I read everything because I didn?t want to make a movie about someone if he would have been a paedophile. I did like that the script was always focused and concentrated on the inspiration of how this man got the idea to write Peter Pan and I loved how it captured the spirit of that.

n After Monster?s Ball, you must have been inundated with scripts. How did you choose this one as the next project?

Actually, I read this script before I made Monster?s Ball and I loved it. When I finished that, my agent called me and said, ?You always loved that script ? it?s still available.? They couldn?t find a director, everybody passed on it, or the directors who wanted to do it Miramax didn?t want to give them the project. I showed them Monster?s Ball and they really responded to it. I basically signed up, then people knew I was busy, so they never sent me scripts.

n Johnny Depp was brought in as the lead after all these directors had turned the film down...

They wouldn?t have turned it down if they knew that beforehand (laughs). I thought of him immediately because he still had this child-like quality. I said, ?I?m going to ask Johnny because he?s one of the few actors who makes decisions because he?s passionate about something.?

n Was there extensive pre-production work on the costumes and settings?

I tried to get as much time as possible for the money we had. Visually, I had a certain style and approach. Also, in terms of costumes, I worked with an entire British crew, except the cinematographer that I brought with me. Alexandra Byrne, who did the costumes, did Elizabeth as well, which I really thought looked beautiful. We did a lot of discussions, especially for the Neverland scenes and the fantasy sequences. She made everything handmade. I also wanted the characters not to change clothes too much.

n What was it like directing scenes with both Johnny Depp and Dustin Hoffman?

Their approaches are definitely different... Dustin definitely comes from a different school than Johnny does. If you have a scene where they both are in the shot, Johnny?s best work is between take three and take five, that?s when he peaks, and Dustin peaks between eight and 25, somewhere in between there. So it was hard for Johnny because it?s Dustin Hoffman, we both love him, he?s an icon of ours, so you just try to keep going and keep his focus going.

n What is your favourite moment in the film?

I really do like the final scene between Johnny and Freddie. It has a certain honesty in how he treats the child. We also had so much fun in the dinner scene where everybody is there: Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Johnny and the kids. Johnny had this great idea. He had this fart machine and he said, ?We should use this for the kids. It?s hysterical.? It had a remote control and I stole it under the chair of Julie Christie. And Julie didn?t know; nobody knew except Johnny and I. I had the remote control and when we?re shooting the scene and they were eating? (makes a ?fart sound?). And you just got these great natural reactions. By take seven or eight, I was just going nuts and then they realised that it?s a machine. But the laughter we got from the kids and the reactions from Julie, how she got more and more tied up during the whole thing, was worth it.