"That's ridiculous," Jarmusch said later that day, in his typically low, drowsy voice. "Cassavettes, Ed Wood, Warhol — they pioneered independent film. I just make the films that I have an urge to make, without much thought to the consequences. Calling me 'the godfather of independent film' is like focusing on one tiny wave in an enormous ocean. They gotta just step back a little and take a look at the bigger picture."

Jarmusch's films are like oceans, too: slow, contemplative, but sparkling with detail, rhythmically flowing, and often very deep.

Jarmusch moved to New York City when he was 17, got a B.A. in English from Columbia, and was subsequently accepted into N.Y.U.'s film school (rumor has it, without any previous film experience).

He loved New York then: "I lived in an apartment for $150 a month. There was an amazing energy there — so many artists, so many ideas." After N.Y.U., Jarmusch worked a bit with Wim Wenders, made Stranger Than Paradise, got recognized at the Cannes Film Festival, and was pretty much on his way. Ever since, he's worked a little like Mikes Leigh and Figgis. He doesn't have much use for scripts or storyboards, and lets his stories take him into unexpected locations, both physical and emotional. Since he's never been interested in making big budget pictures, he doesn't need a lot of money, and he's allowed total artistic control.

But when Ghost Dog, his latest film, opened in New York, it earned more money per screen than any other film in the country. That's unprecedented for Jarmusch, and actually worries him a little. Ghost Dog is about a mob hit man who lives by the ancient samurai code. With that kind of synopsis, people may buy tickets expecting to see shoot-outs and bloodshed. But even the shoot-'em-up scenes plod thoughtfully along, like we're breathing with the gunmen instead of just watching them blow each other away. A thoughtful gun movie, pieces of a puzzle.

But Jarmusch denies that we're supposed to read the thing like a collection of small, tenuously connected shorts.

"No, no. It's definitely a narrative piece. The reason you want to see it as disconnected is just because the film doesn't really satisfy any genres or conventions. It uses these genres for its own ends, but then abandons them just as quickly."

This genre-bending reflects Jarmusch's own taste. The last movie he saw was a kung fu flick with Jet Li: "Good stuff." Then, "I liked Eyes Wide Shut a lot more than I thought I would. I loved its pace."

"It's hard for me to analyze my own movies. With Ghost Dog, I really just wanted to make a film about a soft-spoken man whose work was the opposite: violent. Beyond that, I'd wanted to work with Forest Whitaker for a long time, so I came up with this role for him. And those different elements in the film — the cartoonish mob guys and the serious hit man — the tension between them, was a major concern throughout, but I had to just go with my instincts and carry it through."

Jarmusch is an actors' director, and he gets great performances from the sprawling cast.

"We make up scenes outside the story, to teach the actors how to react in character to various situations. You never want an actor to enter a scene with a really defined motive or purpose, because then it looks forced."

Star Forest Whitaker said he doesn't mind the prep work at all.

"Before The Color of Money, I spent 14 days, 12 hours a day, in a pool hall. Ultimately, I was almost angry because I was so prepared, but Scorcese and Newman didn't involve me creatively. For Bird, I learned how to play the sax, I hung out with heroine addicts, I walked the streets alone at night. For Ghost Dog I meditated two or three hours a day. I do whatever I can. I always try to find the arc in a character, the emotional history, the meter of their speech, their physical nature. I notice what words the character repeats. I think I used to look for the connection between the character and everyone else on the planet, trying to find some fundamental, universal meaning of the role. Now I just try to express my own spirit through the character and hope that others learn something from it."