The director of the film, Ed Harris, knew everything about Pollock so well that it was difficult for him to give the film to others. In 1986, his father gave him a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Pollock, "Jackson Pollock: The Legend of an American", as a roundabout warning to Harris who was suspected of being a drunkard . It was not this warning that irritated Harris the most, but how much the person on the cover of the book resembled him. From that moment on, Harris had the idea of performing Pollock on the screen.
Ed Harris initially only intended to be a producer and actor, but with the encouragement of his partner, he decided to try the director. Harris chose a difficult goal and a difficult role. For the film, he almost exhausted all his financial resources and efforts
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