'You think I need to explain to Richard Dreyfuss how it feels like to be high on anything? He's Richard Dreyfuss.'Īfter swerving on to the subject of why the appeal of road trips endures (Priestley doesn't have a favourite by the way, pointing out, 'I can't say On the Road because everyone loves Kerouac, it's too pedestrian'), I figure it's finally time to ask the important question: was Shannen Doherty really as bad a nightmare on Beverly Hills 90210 as everyone said? 'Ha! Oh, Shan.' He's giving nothing away. 'Are you kidding me?' Priestley's laugh is a ratatat ha ha ha from the back of the throat. Was the director ever nervous about giving notes to the veteran actor? Say, for example, in the scene when Cas gets high on drugs? Dreyfuss spent two and a half hours on the phone to Priestley before he agreed to sign on. Tatiana Maslany's Dylan is his foil the ultimate Manic Pixie Dream Girl – the archetypal kooky young spirit who comes along for the ride. It took a long time to get the movie to a place where I didn't lose the audience in the first act.'Īn odd-couple road movie, the film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Cas, a cantankerous old coot with an inoperable tumour who sets off for his cabin for a last hurrah. I struggled when it was a script and I struggled with it after I shot it and when I was editing for months. 'I won't lie to you, I struggled with the set up and I struggled with the first act. He's proud of his first feature film but it's clear that its making was not without anxieties. 'I've been directing for 20-plus years,' he explains, reeling off multiple TV credits bookended with his two biggest hits: Beverly Hills 90210 and HBO Canada's Call Me Fitz. Older, stockier, but still handsome, Priestley handles my ungainly opener with good grace and conversation takes a smoother turn to Cas & Dylan.

Jason priestley