Chris Pine talks about 'best thing' after 'resilient' directorial debut

Chris Pine is being vocal regarding the response to his feature directorial debut.

Pine, forty-three, opened up to host Josh Horowitz on the Thursday, May 9th episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast regarding Poolman (which opens in theatres on May 10). Pine co-wrote, starred in, and directed the film.

The director acknowledged, "I was like, 'Maybe I did make a pile of s***,'" following the film's September 2023 Toronto International Film Festival premiere and the accompanying unfavourable reviews.

But, he continued, “I went back and watched it. I f***ing love this film. I love this film so much.”

Poolman follows "a native Los Angeleno who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block and fighting to make his hometown a better place to live,” per its official synopsis.

In April, Pine shared with People magazine a sneak peek at his first time working behind the camera on a big film, describing the process as “a flow state for months. There wasn’t time to think or get in my head.”

Alongside costars Annette Bening, DeWanda Wise, Ariana DeBose, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito, and others, the comedy-mystery's creation "was so joyful and the most creative I've ever gotten to be on set."

Pine clarified that the criticism and the entire filming process demonstrated "how resilient I am."

“It’s ultimately been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s forced me to double down on joy and really double down on what I love most about my job — which you kind of forget, it’s fundamentally about play.”