Q&A: Steven Soderbergh goes 'Full Circle', talks DVDs, Danny Ocean and 'Out of Sight'

Tuning in to Steven Soderbergh's new MAX series “Full Circle,” you may want to put your phone or tablet down and have the time to focus. This is not a show you can have on in the background.

Debuting Thursday, “Full Circle” features a large ensemble including Claire Danes, Dennis Quaid, Jharrel Jerome and Zazie Beets. It's a story about the fallout from a botched kidnapping — planned out of revenge — and the secrets that caused it. There are a lot of characters and various storyline threads to follow.

“It makes one demand on the viewer, which is that you pay attention,” said Soderbergh. It's a story with “a lot going on, especially in the first two episodes but it’s going to land you in a very different place than where you started.”

Soderbergh describes working on the show as “a cross-fit exercise in information release.”

“We were constantly working on the script up until we were shooting. We were working on the script as we were shooting. We worked on the script after we stopped shooting and then did some more shooting."

The situation required the actors to adapt to changes and be fluid, which Soderbergh says the cast could handle, with clear communication.

“When you ask somebody to do a scene and then to come in and do the scene again and it’s different, you need to be very precise about why.”

The “Traffic” and “Sex, Lies, & Videotape” director spoke with The Associated Press on a variety of topics related to his career and Hollywood. Answers are edited for clarity and brevity.