No detail is too small for him, says Thompson, who stars as Bianca, of Caple.

He really is happy to get in there and talk about everything from hair to wardrobe, set design.

He really advised me to be a part of those areas, really in a collaborative way.

It will start with us always.

What do we want?

What do we see?

Then how to communicate that to the rest of the artists that are involved in satisfying that vision.

So it was really just great.

I think it would be pretty stale just to repeat what somebody else did.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Stallone was originallyannounced as the directorand then it was decided thatyou would be taking the helm.

His thinking seemed to be that somebody of this generation should direct it.

Im guessing you weregrateful for that.STEVEN CAPLE JR.:Definitely.

It was a great conversation.

For a lot of fans, this is a very special franchise.

Ryan had the first swing withCreedand succeeded and then the pressure was on you to keep it going.

How intimidated were you going into this?

Or did you feel confident from the jump?You hit it right on the spot.

Im confident in my abilities.

The question was how do you take that and step into a franchise.

There are so many expectations on theRocky-level where people expect a certain kind of formula or feeling.

ThenCreedcame in, and it has its own little spin on it.

Coogler and I are close in age, and so we have similar tastes.

I was like, All right, how do I keep myself separate from that?

I know its the same advice that Sly gave Ryan.

I think thats pretty cool.

I remember as a kid it motivating me.

Then as I got older, it was very much an artistic way of looking at a film.

I was able to appreciate it for its filmmaking execution, done by Sly and the whole crew.

This whole story behind getting it made.

You appreciate it on another level.

When you think back on it, the firstRockymovie really was a scrappy indie movie.

We think of it now as this big blockbuster…No, no, it was an indie film.

The texture was there.

It had this grit to it.

Youre like, oh wow, this guy is doing something new and different.

They really challenged themselves on that level.

It is a continuation with callbacks as well as a new story that pushes forward.

The film is for everyone, but you all managed to thread in moments specifically for black audiences.Culturally specific.

That was a huge thing for us in front of the camera and behind.

We always spoke about it.

It was like changing the narrative on screen, seeing us as different people.

Seeing us as a family.

I know Mike is big on that.

I think you might really say that we really tried to maintain that fromCreed.

I remember talking to Mike and Ryan about it.

Not justRockynostalgia, but start to createCreedthemes.

Michael and Tessa have something special onscreen thats hard to quantify.

Hell tell you this.

They have two different approaches to acting.

If you want him to cry, hes going to go there.

If you want him to stand still, he will stand still.

Want him to take a punch, hell do it all.

Whereas I love free flowing with Tessa more.

When she comes to set, we talk about characters in the moment.

Shell just play in the moment.

Somehow that works with those two.

Thats something I picked up really quick.

If Mike needs to get there emotionally, she will go there emotionally with Mike every take.

When he needed help to cry, she would just deliver it in every take.

You could tell they had this sort of relationship.

Then let them do their thing.

Reporting by Sarah Rodman

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