Swing Vote s democratic leader

In 2005, Joshua Michael Stern's first feature, "Neverwas," opened the Toronto International Film Festival; but despite a cast full of Oscar winners, it ended up going straight to video shelves. On Aug. 1, his second, "Swing Vote," written with Jason Richman and starring Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, will premiere in theaters. Already moving on, he's got Sir Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Keira Knightley and Naomi Watts in talks to appear in his own version of "King Lear."

So, how, at a time when experienced feature writers are having trouble finding work, has Stern rocketed from 0 to 160? First, he said, he's never stopped writing since he started at 14. Next, besides writing and directing, he's also involved in managing, producing and whatever else needs doing. Then, too, as a child of Hollywood, he said he knows how to persuade top-notch actors to sign up for his films.

"When I meet an actor, I always let them know this is a collaboration," Stern said. In the case of Ian McKellen, who starred in "Neverwas," Stern flew to England to explain the role he wanted him to play and to discuss how they could collaborate to make the role the actor's own. "If an actor can feel he can do something interesting, he'll at least consider it."

Costner, he said, was so involved in "Swing Vote" that he produced and wrote as well as starred as Bud, a schlumpy single dad whose vote will decide a presidential election. After the candidates flip-flop on their major issues to win Bud's vote, Bud sums up the situation in a speech at the end of the film.

"It was a hard speech to write," Stern said. He and Richman "kept delivering versions of that scene that were poetic, lofty, Capra-esque. Kevin kept coming back and saying it's too poetic for this character." Eventually, Costner wrote the speech himself, "as Bud would say it," Stern said. "It was wonderful."

He means it. Stern sounds like some sort of Hollywood outlier, a writer-director without an ego. He does think of his work, humbly enough, as a craft, and his role as a workman -- a workman who's in charge of everything. "You're your own CEO, salesman, no one does anything for you [including agents and managers]," he said. "You have to create your own work. You're your own producer. You're the only one to convince an actor. If it's the right actor, he gets funded."