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"We never wanted to make 'Othello,'" says McG, director of the adventure-comedy flick "Charlie's Angels." "We wanted to make a film that didn't take itself too seriously, that just sort of exploded off the screen and tapped into the pleasure center of your brain."

"Charlie's Angels" marks the feature filmmaking debut of McG. The 30-year-old has cultivated a reputation by directing nearly 50 videos, including "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies, "Walking on the Sun" by Smash Mouth and "Fly" by Sugar Ray (a song he co-wrote). He also helmed the celebrated Gap Country ad for TV.

McG, center, director of "Charlie's Angels," stands among his film's stars, clockwise from right, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu.

"I think music videos are an excellent training ground," he says. "Spike Jonze, David Fincher some of the most exciting filmmakers today are coming from that place. It gives you an excellent opportunity to run a whole lot of film through the camera and sort of develop an imprint of your own."

McG confesses there were many adjustments between directing videos and crafting his first feature.

"Storytelling. The length of production. Putting the character arcs up there in the forefront," he lists. "You need to be cognizant of the pacing required. It's not just two or three minutes of pop candy where you say, 'look at me,' like you go for in a music video or commercial."

Born Joseph McGinty Mitchell his middle name offering the inspiration for his professional moniker McG was raised in Newport Beach, Calif., and eventually graduated from the University of California-Irvine with a degree in psychology. His college major came in handy during the filming of "Charlie's Angels."

"I come from a traditional male-dominated family ideal," he says. "My dad was just the patriarch of the family, and my older brother beat me up as a kid. Here, you have a film where the studio is run by a woman, the producers are all women, with the exception of Leonard Goldberg, and the stars are all women. I had to grow a lot. I had to do a lot of listening and be more patient than I'd ever been in any music video or commercial. In that respect, yeah, I applied those things I learned in psych classes."

It was star and co-producer Drew Barrymore who first believed McG was the ideal match for such a big-budget project. ("She just buoys your confidence," he says of the actress.) For his initial meeting with Sony Pictures, McG mapped out the whole movie on index cards, then play-acted the flick, shot by shot, for the studio brass.

"I tried to thread the needle of bringing a bunch of different styles together to create, dare I say, a new voice. The film is funny and action-packed and sexy and colorful to look at," he says. "That's what I pitched them early on, and hopefully we were able to deliver."

Boob tube inspiration

McG was just 6 years old when the "Charlie's Angels" TV series first aired. He claims his most vivid memory regarding the program was "being yelled at to go back to bed."

"I new there was a bloom or sparkle on the original show that stood out from everything else," he remembers. "But I just didn't understand that tingling sensation in my loins until I got a little older.

"When I made a commitment to the film, I made a point of watching all 109 episodes, all through the Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts era," he says. "I wanted to tap into the warmth and the charm, the collective fantasy of the show. It was working on two levels: Women aspired to be LIKE these women, and men aspired to be WITH these women."

The most noticeable difference between the original and McG's high-octane update is in the action/fight sequences. These angels kick butt in a way that Farrah, Jaclyn and Kate could never relate to.

"I'm a huge fan of Hong Kong cinema," he admits. "That's why we brought over Master Cheung-Yan Yuen, the choreographer. His brother is Woo-ping (Yuen) who was the choreographer of "The Matrix."

McG believes that "The Matrix" "changed everything" in terms of the way directors now approach action scenes.

"I liken it to cinematographers who first started doing wet-downs for nighttime exteriors," he says. "Somebody had to be the first, but then all the other guys started going, 'Wait a minute, that looks better.' I think the days of the John Wayne right-cross being satisfactory may be behind us. But I'm still a tremendous John Wayne fan. In fact, his grandson is in the movie."

Workout time

Part of the regimen McG's angels had to endure to prepare for the role included 6 to 8 hours of daily workouts with Master Yuen for four months. At the beginning, the women could barely touch their toes, but by the end they were combat-ready.

"They all brought different elements," McG evaluates his stars' reaction to the training. "Drew was really gritty and tough, and just kind of picked herself up by her bootstraps in a street-fighting, Rocky Balboa sort of way. Lucy (Liu) had the most elegant groundwork with what she would do with her arms and legs. Cameron (Diaz) was the one who's just this insane athlete. I can't express the physical prowess of this woman. She can run and jump and kick, and her coordination is extraordinary. I feel like the Hunchback of Notre Dame next to her.

"We only used stunt doubles for like the most extreme, dangerous, insurance-wouldn't-let-us type stuff. Believe me, they were so fired up at that point that they all wanted to do that too. I was like, 'No Cameron, you can't jump off the exploding building with the flames licking your backside.'"

While a tongue-in-cheek remake of a tasteless TV show may not be everyone's idea of a cinematic dream debut, McG views the endeavor as the perfect vehicle for the moment.

"Right now, I feel like I'm suited to make the kind of movie that reaches this largest movie-going audience one who goes out there and dreams a little bit and has a little popcorn," he says. "Hopefully, when I've done a little more living myself and developed a little depth to my character, I'll be able to make a more introspective and 'important' film."