The 73-year-old has been at the cutting edge of US independent cinema since the 1980s. As Father Mother Sister Brother opens in the UK, he talks about grief, greed and \u2018doing crazy shit\u2019 with Steve Coogan<\/p>\n
In 1991, Jim Jarmusch was casting for his anthology film Night on Earth. The premise was simple: five taxi drivers in five cities pick up passengers, set to a soundtrack by Tom Waits. The writer-director wanted Gena Rowlands to play a passenger, but she took some persuading. \u201cNight on Earth was the first film she\u2019d made since losing John [the director John Cassavetes, her husband] and she wasn\u2019t sure. Eventually she said: \u2018OK, I\u2019ll be in this film for you.\u2019\u201d Jarmusch does a perfect impression of Rowlands, as he does with everyone he quotes \u2013 it\u2019s quite a talent.<\/p>\n
In the first vignette, Winona Ryder picks up Rowlands, who plays a casting director. Ryder, chewing gum, baseball cap on backwards, lights a cigarette; Rowlands, all old-school Hollywood elegance, sits in the back, asking Ryder about her hopes and dreams. Ryder turns down Rowlands\u2019 offer of potential stardom, declaring that her dream is not to act, but to be a mechanic.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/32cc4f7a30ab9b6a23a7f4722d539fa7204bf0ce\/0_37_2255_1803\/master\/2255.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d6ec2e7f40fe2e6c9d41a278e7006984\" "\\"\u2018I\u2019m")
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