Tony Kaye and his one regret

Ten years ago, director Tony Kaye’s squabbles with actor Edward Norton and the Directors Guild of America over the making of the skinhead drama “American History X” became the stuff of Hollywood legend. Given his reputation, Kaye’s the last person anyone would expect to make a thoughtful, evenhanded documentary about abortion. But Kaye’s “Lake of Fire,” newly available on DVD, is a nonconfrontational exploration of a highly confrontational subject and a study of how political issues in America can become more about rhetoric than solutions.

Are any of your friends angry with you for your decision not to have the film advocate a certain position on abortion, either in favor of abortion rights or opposed to them?

The only person I know who’s been justifiably angered by the film is the New York Times critic Manohla Dargis. She gave it a good review, but she was angered that I didn’t spend long enough reflecting on a woman who died as the result of a self-inflicted abortion. And that was a mistake on my part. I should’ve gone into that story with more depth. Because that incident, and incidents like it, are what makes me pro-choice. Actually I don’t think a woman has a right to choose, because I don’t think anyone has a right to kill another soul. But I do think a woman has every right to an abortion. That’s what makes the issue so impossible. You can’t take the privilege away, because some women -- poor women, mostly -- would risk their lives and in many cases would lose the bet.

During the 12 years you spent on “Lake of Fire,” did you ever doubt the project and start thinking about all the other movies you could be making?

The process of a filmmaker is that of a marathon runner. All films take a long time, from the concept to what goes into the theater, so if you want to succeed, you’ve already got to be that kind of a person. With “Lake of Fire,” because I financed it myself, it started the moment I hired a camera. And right now I have three other personal films that are going on concurrently and have been going on for at least 10 years apiece. Do I question myself? You know, the satanic sides of ourselves try to pull the rug from under our feet many times during the day. And in the past, I have unfortunately been tripped up. [Laughs]

Are you referring specifically to the way the whole “American History X” situation played out?

My next documentary is all about that. It’s called “Humpty Dumpty and the Kabala,” and it’ll be out next year. Then eventually I want to get back to “Lake of Fire,” because to be honest, I don’t really consider it to be finished. The issue of abortion is of such importance, irrespective of what the culture feels about it at any point in time. It’s such an enormous philosophical question, and the energy of the world has drawn me to it. I just can’t deal with it for a few years.