P.J. Hogan Video Interview On Directing ‘Mental,’ Toni Collette

P.J Hogan, the writer and director of Mental, based the movie on the real events of his childhood following the nervous breakdown of his mother. Reliving his childhood days through the film, Hogan takes his audience on the anarchic rollercoaster ride that is mental illness. “Look, I am in the trenches with mental illness,” he told Uinterview in an exclusive interview. “My sister is schizophrenic, my brother is bipolar, and I am the father of two autistic children, so I live with it every day.”

The Australian film director first made his debut with his short fiction film Getting West. In 1994, his comedy Muriel’s Wedding became his first real hit, winning praise from critics internationally for its quirky charm. Other films directed by Hogan include the classic My Best Friend’s Wedding, starring Julia Roberts, Peter Pan and Confessions Of A Shopaholic based on the chick lit novel by Sophie Kinsella.

Hogan wants to use comedy to help cope with mental illness. “That’s why the film had to be comedy,” he told Uinterview, “because I think anybody who is a primary caregiver for somebody who suffers from mental illness will tell you that if you don’t find a laugh, you yourself will go mad.”