Is It the Director's Prerogative?

I usually think it's not soon enough. People always say, oh, we'll just bring them in. If they could do it their way. I don't know. Sometimes the best work maybe happens without too much discussion. But surely if you agree to do a feature and yet you're not on prep yet, you're talking with the director, right? Because before you leave for a location, you have to know how to pack your cat, right? Donald, I would ask too, are directors ever coming to you for creative ideas and having you define the character? Or are you solely working off of what they've given you?"