INT: You don't remember when you first joined?
RA: It was television, when I did HITCHCOCK things, joined the GUILD then. [INT: Can you remember who the notable directors active in the guild were? Any involved in leadership? Did you come to know any of them?] Not really. My first experience with the GUILD as a result of MASH, you know army stencils, I took a foot locker, khaki colored, stenciled MASH on the top of it, photographed it till it bled off the screen, screen 100%, main title was 125%. That's opening credit. They came back and said my name had to be 75% of that tile which means it's enormous. I said I can't do that. I had to go to GUILD before group and fight this point and I did. I'm not diminishing director's name in this, I want my name out there, and we finally resolved that. We got special thing for it.

RA: Next time I had issues with the GUILD was POPEYE. I wanted my name taken off the picture because, we had a scene where ROBIN WILLIAMS jumped off side of the boat and he went shiiitt, and they called and said you have to take that off. WALT DISNEY would turn in his grave. I said, well, I'm not making WALT DISNEY movie, you guys bought this after settled at PARAMOUNT. This is how it is or we can go to GUILD. We went to the GUILD. I think I won that point. [INT: You would've taken your name off the picture?] Yes. They were fooling around for an arbitrary reason, and it's the only weapon I had, was hari kari. It's silliness, it seems so silly. At the time, people were very adamant about those kinds of things. GUILD never been anything negative about it, or worked against me.

INT: Describe any GUILD related events that have been meaningful?
RA: That's lip service. I've had good support, I think they've done fantastic, they're my agents, they negotiate my salaries, my residuals and so I support them and they support me. [INT: You don't have an agent?] Yeah, but they're my real agent. I wish they'd started what they are doing 20 years earlier.

INT: What would you advise a young director asking to join the Directors Guild?
RA: I think it's just a logical thing. You've got people that are supporting your issues, and I've always felt that collaboration, people getting together and bargaining, it's been good.

INT: Was MASH the first picture to have fuck in it?
RA: The first R rated picture, it was an x up until then. If you had the word fuck in a film it was an x rated film. In 70, that wouldn't have escaped. Way it occurred, it was in a football game, we were shooting all kinds of improvisational stuff and one time JOHN SCHUCK looks up to the guy and says, alright bub you're fucking head's coming right off. I just left it in for edit assuming it would get cut out, but it didn't because there was no one to cut it out but me. Times were changing then and when they said you have to get rid of it, I said no no, someone has to order me to get rid of that. And since it was in a nonsexual, we broke that barrier.

INT: Do you find it interesting that in this period, if someone says, it's fucking beautiful, they're being fined and JANET JACKSON's breast has become a headline issue?
RA: Well, that's a total reflection on Ashcroft, Bush and the gang of 4. That's just the time we're going through. Who would've thought that we have same sex marriages going on in Massachusetts of all places, and yet they're happening. And 20 years from now it's not even going to be an issue. Never should have been. How dare we been so narrow minded and inconsiderate about other's people feelings, saying they have to be like ours. But that's just process.

INT: What do you see ahead?
RA: I don't know. I know that we've worn out television and drama and we keep reverting to classic things because there's only so many stories you know? [INT: What about the new reality stuff?] An example of it. One of those people are going to die... and that will bring those to an end, I hope. But mainly it's ennui. Cartoon, New Yorker, showed two women having tea, television set. Plant had grown, vine coming down across the screen, she was saying, one night the power went off and John picked up a book and I started knitting and just stopped looking. I think that's going to happen. These sitcom things that just seem to go on forever and they're the same thing over and over. Like a narcotic, keep feeding the addicts because they are the reason for television. People pay money to advertise their own addictive products to already addictive audience. [INT: Directly tied in to just coming back to television and eating?] Radio much more interesting. NPR. Laugh track, I have to turn it off.

INT: TANNER, tell me about the things you're adding?
RA: TANNER was done in 1988, we did 6 hrs, now 16 years later, the Sundance channel, GARRY TRUDEAU and I kept ownership of that. On HBO, leased it to them. Now they showed it earlier this year, 2004, now we're going to shoot an additional 3 episodes, an hour and a half of JACK TANNER as he is today, his daughter ALEX. We've got him 16 years later, going back into political scene, into this election. Going to Democratic National Convention, daughter is making documentary about father's run for presidency, we will shoot through the convention, on air at the end of August.