Anjelica Following Dad's Footsteps

The daughter of legendary director John Huston has been doing more directing herself lately.

"I had the pleasure of directing Rosie O'Donnell in a movie last summer called 'Riding the Bus with My Sister,' " Anjelica Huston mentioned to The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

Asked if she's more comfortable at this point behind or in front of the camera, Huston replied, "Well, I'm growing more comfortable behind. I think, obviously, since I've been acting now for over 25 years, it probably comes a little easier to me, or I have less trepidation about it, I should say."

Huston is back in front of the camera in her latest effort, playing Bill Murray's wife in "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou."

It's the story of an aging, Jacques Cousteau-like underwater explorer and documentary maker (Murray) who sets out to do yet another film. Murray's character is at the end of his road and has made too many movies that aren't as good as they ought to be. It becomes clear that his wife (Huston) is the real brains behind their operation.

Huston describes "The Life Aquatic" as "original, a little eccentric, upbeat, and brilliant."

She got to work again with director Wes Anderson, who, Smith notes, pretty much wrote her role with her in mind.

When Anderson called, asking for her to take part, Huston says her immediate response was, "I'm yours."

Working with the likes of Murray and Owen Wilson was, she observes, "great. We were all in Italy. We started off in Rome and covered most of Italy. …It was a large cast and a very eclectic cast."

"The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" opens nationwide on Christmas Day.