By Nick Haramis

In Jake Paltrow��������s first film, The Good Night, Martin Freeman stars as Gary, a man forced to choose between his humdrum real-life relationship (with Gwyneth) and the muy caliente woman (Penelope Cruz) who pervades his dreams. Paltrow, one quickly learns, has some pretty ambitious dreams of his own. Below, he chats about Woody Allen, his famous family, and plane crashes.

BLACKBOOK: How are you doing with all the media stuff?

JAKE PALTROW: Well, I��������m not very good at it, in general. And I��������m starting to hate the sound of my own voice. But without explaining all of my intentions, I��������m happy to be able to talk about the movie, you know, so people don��������t think it��������s just a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy.

BB: Has your upbringing added any pressure to becoming the next big thing?

JP: There are certain standards that I hold myself up to, because the people in my family are so talented. Any of the nerves I��������ve had stem from wondering if I can be as good as they are, I guess. There was definitely no pressure to do this. My initial interest wasn��������t even writing and directing��������it was special effects. I just didn��������t have the knack for sculpting and the art and stuff. I just don��������t want to be the bad one in the family.

BB: We talked to Martin Freeman the other day, and he told us that the idea for this story came to you in a dream.

JP: Yeah, but it wasn��������t exactly a fully formed narrative. It was very much about dramatizing that emotion of waking from a very fulfilling dream, and I think most people have had that experience. It��������s about feeling like, �������I would do anything just to get back into that dream.�������

BB: Did you look to any dream-related films for inspiration?

JP: A big one for me was Stardust Memories, one of my favorite Woody Allen pictures. I love his version of Fellini��������s 8 1/2, because it��������s not done with any sort of gauzy light or special effects. In our film, we shot reality in 16mm and the dream sequences in 35mm��������the only difference is resolution.

BB: Where do you get inspiration when you��������re awake?

JP: A lot of it is very self-motivated. I��������m very hard on myself. I think and think and think, and I don��������t really run just on inspiration. I work to come up with good ideas, rather than just strolling through the museum. I watch a lot of movies, sometimes two or three a day, but lately I��������m in a period where I just need to sit down with a pad and paper and work.

BB: As a first time feature film director, were there times when you felt in over your head?

JP: Maybe before we started filming, although, having worked in television, I knew what I was doing from a technical standpoint. But once we started, it was so clear that everyone was there to achieve something good. I didn��������t have to bring the movie to the actors as much as I thought I might have to. BB: Is it difficult to pull rank on your sister?

JP: Well, there weren��������t really any ranks. I was most nervous because we hadn��������t really been in a work environment together. I just didn��������t want to be bad at it. But I also knew that I had this person who was really on my side, and who was only there to help this thing come off well.

BB: You had Martin Freeman in mind when you came up with the character of Gary. What was it like working with him?

JP: He has this incredible Jimmy Stewart-like quality. Physically, they��������re very different, but emotionally, they have this ability to enlist an audience��������s trust early on in a piece��������especially important in a movie like this where most of his decisions aren��������t exactly ethical. When I wrote this, I had only seen him in �������The Office,������� and that whole piece might just be the best comedy since Annie Hall.

BB: I read that you were adapting Chuck Palahniuk��������s Survivor.

JP: Not anymore. I love that book, but it is sort of about crashing planes, and we were working on it around September 11th.

BB: What are you working on now?

JP: [Laughs.] I��������m writing another funny, sad movie.

BB: Can you talk about it?

JP: I kind of don��������t, no. Only because when I do, I start to hate the way it sounds. Then I��������ll leave here today, and think, �������Maybe you shouldn��������t work on that one. Maybe you should get rid of that one. Maybe you should stop. That doesn��������t sound any good.�������

--- The Good Night is out in limited release on October 5.