THC: And in terms of actors, were there certain people that came to mind? Bill Murray, for example is one actor that fits well in his role as Polonius.

MA: He was our first choice. We talked to him through his agent, and he said he was "interested". His agent said he usually turns everything down, and when Bill Murray says "maybe", it usually means "yes". So, we just had to wait for the Cubs to lose the pennant, because if they had won, he would have been too busy, and he has his priorities. But, they didn't win, and we were very fortunate.

EH: Shakespeare attracts all kinds of interesting people. Like Diane Venora, who played Gertrude in a production of Hamlet last December.

MA: Diane had also played Hamlet in her twenties, and also played Ophelia with Kevin Klein onstage, so she knew the play better than anyone. EH: She was a great resource, in three different capacities. She was Clare Danes' mother in _Romeo + Juliet_.

THC: With both somewhat being the introspective artist, what do you think of comparisons between this Hamlet and your character in _Reality Bites_?

EH: Actually, I hadn't really thought of it. I mean, I played them both, and I look pretty much the same.

MA: He didn't wear that hat in _Reality Bites_.

EH: I think it's accurate in that it's been a goal of mine to present Hamlet, to call up the notion of Kurt Cobain, that kind of modern mind. That contradiction between the desire to have some authentic connection and intimacy in your life, mixed with real apathy. All that is with Hamlet. There's part of him that wants to change everything, and this other part that says "aww, f**k it, none of this means anything anyway. What does it matter?" So, there's something in the spirit of both.