In quotes
Roger Avary pioneers jail-tweeting.
By Vadim Rizov on 11/04/2009
Filed under: In quotes
Until recently, Roger Avary was a respected if controversial writer/director, best known for "Rules Of Attraction" (easily the best of the Bret Easton Ellis adaptations) and for breaking up with video store-days friend Quentin Tarantino over accusations he was shafted on credit for the "Pulp Fiction" screenplay (he only got a story credit). On the geek side, Avary worked on "Silent Hill," "Beowulf" and a proposed upcoming adaptation of the "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" video game. None of which seemed to matter after Avary got drunk, crashed his car into a telephone pole and killed one of his passengers. Avary... MORE »
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Desplechin vs. Anderson: "Fantastic" family men.
By Vadim Rizov on 10/28/2009
Filed under: In quotes
Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (which is, yes, fantastic) begins its platform release domestically two Fridays from now, but it's already out in the UK -- complete with a "Fantastic Mr. Fox Happy Meal" -- and the publicity mill is already grinding. One of the cooler interviews Anderson's done is with French director Arnaud Desplechin (recently ordained the future of cinema by Alain Resnais at a New York Film Festival press conference) -- though, per Interview magazine's usual form, it's more of a curious dialogue between equals than a straight-up interview. They talk about Proust, argue about which directors influence... MORE »
Rob Lowe, keeper of the '80s grail.
By Vadim Rizov on 09/28/2009
Filed under: In quotes
Hell hath no fury like a British journalist scorned. Even by the notoriously scathing standards of UK interview profiles, Elizabeth Day's take on Rob Lowe is a pretty stiff read. The first sentence: "Rob Lowe announces his presence as he walks into the hotel bar by shouting across the room to order his coffee." It gets worse from there: when Lowe spouts platitudes ("I enjoy meeting people and I enjoy interacting with humanity"), Day is "left with the impression that he has been told so frequently that he is charismatic and hilarious that he no longer feels he has to... MORE »
When Judi Dench swears, people cry.
By Vadim Rizov on 09/14/2009
Filed under: In quotes
Here in the U.S., Judi Dench is gazed at with the same gauzy reverence given to all British actors with crisp enunciation, but in the UK she's a bona fide cultural treasure (she was once voted second only to the queen as the most-liked and respected Brit in a poll). Which is what makes the long, prickly profile of her by Kira Cochrane in the Guardian so great. For one, she doesn't care for the designation: "That sounds pretty dusty to me. It's [playwright] Alan Bennett and I behind glass in some forgotten old cupboard. I don't like it at all."... MORE »
Whit Stillman heads back to the dance.
By Stephen Saito on 08/25/2009
Filed under: In quotes
Whit Stillman will never again have to answer that nagging question -- when will "The Last Days of Disco" finally be rereleased on DVD? Criterion, who did a splendid job with "Metropolitan" in 2006, released their edition of "Disco" today, with the full bells-and-whistles treatment. There's also a screening at Lincoln Center in New York on August 27th, complete with a dance party, and a subsequent screening at the Jacob Burns Film Center on September 1st, both with the filmmaker in attendance. Stillman confessed that he never actually got a copy of the long-out-of-print first disc, having seen it only... MORE »
Selections from David Fincher.
By Alison Willmore on 01/06/2009
Filed under: In quotes
A few highlights from "Behind Button: A Conversation with David Fincher," hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Kent Jones to close out their Fincher retrospective pairing the director's work with films he likes, a set-up that yielded the whiplash double feature of "Se7en" and "Mary Poppins." He was drawn to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" because it seemed to offer "a more complete telling of a love story... because it involved one being there to help the other pass on," and found that "there were a lot of moments in the script that were semi-clichés" that he... MORE »
"When have we ever had the chance to vote for the 'most liberal' of anything?"
By Alison Willmore on 11/03/2008
Filed under: In quotesA tour around the interview circuit: "Personally, the opportunity to vote for someone like Barack Obama will be one of the greatest things I will have done in my life. The Republicans aren't kidding when they say he's the 'most liberal' senator in the Senate. When have we ever had the chance to vote for the 'most liberal' of anything?" --Michael Moore gets out the vote, at Time. "It's always the same story. Everyone will be gathered in the house, and after 1 hour and 10 minutes, someone will say, 'Actually, I'm gay,' and the mother will say, 'By the... MORE »
Watch your mouth.
By Alison Willmore on 09/11/2008
Filed under: In quotes"My apologies." --Viggo Mortensen, after going off about the things "that have been happening in the last eight years in this country," and being reminded that he's actually in Toronto, from the New York Times. "Contrary to what I was quoted as saying, I feel very proud of my country and through my work I have always tried to contribute to its culture within and outside Spain and to honour my people." --Javier Bardem backpedals after calling the Spanish "a bunch of stupid people" in an earlier interview, from the Indepedent. "My wife Tonya told me I may have hurt... MORE »
"I would simply go to the Internet and watch real people having real sex."
By Alison Willmore on 09/09/2008
Filed under: In quotes"I was on a roll, so I kept going with it. I said, 'Look, if I were a 13-year-old boy, and I saw ['Zack and Miri'] on cable back in 1983? Yes, it would send me to the bathroom to jerk off. Now, as a 13-year-old boy, if I saw this movie? It would not titillate me. I would simply go to the Internet and watch real people having real sex. How can you possibly say this is too erotically charged when it's so obviously a comedy with people having over-the-top fake sex, when we can see examples of real... MORE »
"Oh, Lynch is way weirder than I am."
By Alison Willmore on 09/04/2008
Filed under: In quotesThe world in quotes: "Oh, Lynch is way weirder than I am. That's obvious." --David Cronenberg weighs in on the eternal question of which David is weirder, at Defamer. "You know how there's no Asian American players in the NBA yet? There are Asians -- Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi -- but no Asian American has yet broken that barrier. My theory is that that guy exists or did exist who had the natural ability and the physiology and everything, but his parents were so fixated on him playing the piano or violin, studying for the SATs, that they didn't cultivate... MORE »
Life's like a movie - political edition.
By Alison Willmore on 09/03/2008
Filed under: In quotes"McCain's situation really does mirror Snakes On A Plane," posits David Poland at the Hot Blog, who goes on to present a bizarre and elaborate box office metaphor that I don't buy, but enjoyed anyway: "But then... it turns out that the only movie opening against it is a Denzel Washington movie. Yeah, he's a movie star and everyone seems to love him, but there also seems to be a glass ceiling when it comes to his grosses." Over at pullquote, the cinetrix sees some Palin movie parallels: "The patriotic, pro-life, pro-gun, pageant vet Alaskan governor shares DNA with the... MORE »
"Kurt Russell is to the right of Attila the Hun."
By Alison Willmore on 08/28/2008
Filed under: In quotesQuotes from the interview circuit: "No one seems to mention that the President of the United States in Escape from New York is British! [Laughs] We made up some story about him being the love child of Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. That didn't make it into the movie because Kurt Russell is to the right of Attila the Hun. He actually doesn't think we should have to pay for roads--unbelievable. But we're friends because we respect each other's work ethic. He's a wonderful guy; I love him." --John Carpenter on political disillusionment at Time Out New York. "You know, at... MORE »
"I knew then that the SOB was going to be a 'star.' "
By Alison Willmore on 08/26/2008
Filed under: In quotesThe world in quotes: "I knew then that the SOB was going to be a 'star,' " --Christopher Plummer's thoughts (and judicious use of quotation marks) on having to give understudy William Shatner a chance at his role in a 1956 stage production of "Henry V," after a one-night stand dislodged a kidney stone and put him in surgery, at Page Six. "The event for London could never have the same political clout as Beijing; we should find a way to be self-advertising. Considering the British traditions of free speech and the individual, and the British suspicion of organised crowds,... MORE »
"It was all in the script, and that is why Joan did the movie."
By Alison Willmore on 08/21/2008
Filed under: In quotesThe world in quotes: "It was all in the script, and that is why Joan did the movie. She loved it. It's Death Race, right? And Joan Allen, three-time Oscar nominee, The Notebook, The Upside of Anger: she is always seen as the moral center of films...And I thought how interesting to take someone who is usually the moral center of movies and make her the exact opposite. But I knew that if I am going to get Joan Allen in the movie I am going to have to write a fucking good role, because she is stepping outside of... MORE »
"Oh, my God, I'm kissing Spicoli."
By Alison Willmore on 08/13/2008
Filed under: In quotesYet again, the world in quotes: "The ï¬rst kiss of the movie was out on Haight Street, with, like, 200 people watching, outside. It was a crane shot--I'm sure in the end it will be a really cool shot, but it starts close and then it takes maybe a minute. That's a long time on film with everybody watching and, like, a fake mustache getting in your mouth. It was long enough that you couldn't help thinking, 'Oh, my God, I'm kissing Spicoli.' " --James Franco on his role in Gus Van Sant's "Milk," at GQ. "[O]n the whole, I... MORE »
"I thought, eh, I'll be dead in three years."
By Alison Willmore on 08/05/2008
Filed under: In quotesThe world in quotes: "This was like three years ago. And I thought, eh, I'll be dead in three years. So I said OK. And then I didn't die." --Woody Allen on how he ended up directing an opera, at E! Online. "It's the big action ones or the ones with Will Ferrell. In those you howl for two hours and you feel like you get a six-pack [of ab muscles] from all the laughs!" --California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on his moviegoing choices, at the LA Times. "I'd love to say that I invented and meticulously crafted that. But it... MORE »
"That's like saying Americans are gangsters because they like Michael Corleone in The Godfather."
By Alison Willmore on 07/31/2008
Filed under: In quotesQuotes from the interview circuit: "That's basically ridiculous. That's like saying Americans are gangsters because they like Michael Corleone in The Godfather. We don't take ourselves that seriously." --José Padilha, director of "Elite Squad" (I'm filled with urge to follow that title up with sound effects -- "Elite Squad: BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!") on why the success of his film doesn't indicate a nation-wide endorsement of vigilante justice, at the London Times. "I've been noticing that a lot of young people today don't want to grow up. Why is that? It's because, in their eyes, society has stopped advancing." --"Ghost in... MORE »
It's beginning to look like August.
By Alison Willmore on 07/30/2008
Filed under: In quotes"[D]id I mention the Abominable Snowmen, who help Rick, Evelyn and Alex combat Li's revived baddie and, after kicking one of the emperor's many minions over a Himalayan gateway, victoriously raise their arms like an NFL referee signaling that a field goal is good?" --Slant's Nick Schager on "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "making the first two Mummy films seem like The Godfather I and II." "The blame...should rest at the feet of Paul W.S. Anderson. His direction is horrible, with the exception of a couple of admittedly stellar shots the car race scenes are actually kind of... MORE »
Mike Mills votes "no" on "The Dark Knight."
By Alison Willmore on 07/30/2008
Filed under: In quotesEveryone's got an opinion on Batman. From Aaron Hillis' interview with director/artist Mike Mills, who's featured in the documentary "Beautiful Losers," opening next week ("Dark Knight" spoilers ahead): Do you feel the weight of the waning indie film economy, or have you witnessed anything in the art scene that mirrors that? It's absolutely having a collapse, I'm totally feeling it. I think it's been coming for five years, at least. When I did "Thumbsucker" in 2005, it felt like it was collapsing then, and more so now. It feels like we're living in the '50s, like, the films that are... MORE »
"Nobody's seen your film but say they have heard about it and that they probably will watch it on Sunday. Maybe."
By Alison Willmore on 07/24/2008
Filed under: In quotesOnce again, the world in quotes: "The world of film festivals can really be a gamble - In worst case you arrive after ten hours in different means of conveyance at The No Name International Film Festival to a dead quiet hotel room, sitting on the bed like Bill Murray in 'Lost in Translation.' Nobody tells you anything about what to do or where to go. In the evening you're invited to a party celebrating the car manufacturer who's the main sponsor. You and end up in a corner with as greasy bacon snack in one hand and a glass... MORE »
"It was huge in Russia."
By Alison Willmore on 07/02/2008
Filed under: In quotesThe world in quotes: "I definitely reached a point in my career where I felt confused about where I was going and felt somewhat stuck in rut. So I took a break, but [I] never did any sort of announcement about stopping or quitting and just sort of tried to keep doors open. I think I was somewhat creatively spent after a film that I did in Russia that took a year. It was never actually distributed here. It is called The Barber of Siberia, and it was huge in Russia. But I took a break to really try and... MORE »
"Nowadays they call them sound bites."
By Alison Willmore on 06/17/2008
Filed under: In quotesA look at who's been saying what in interviews lately: "There are maybe seven women who make up Caroline. But these 'Did it really happen?' questions really don't interest me. That's what everybody kept asking me when I did a Q&A at South by Southwest. I got off a couple of one-liners, like, 'I've got a BA in dope but a PhD in soul.' I'm good at those. Nowadays they call them sound bites." —Lou Reed on the inspirations for the main character in "Berlin," at the Independent. "To me, it's used up. It's condescending now. The people that celebrate... MORE »
Re-imagine, re-invent, recycle.
By Alison Willmore on 06/04/2008
Filed under: In quotes"It's a re-imagining of the original DEATH RACE. It's not a straight remake. It keeps a lot of the original concepts in tact. The masked racer called Frankenstein, who appears to be indestructible, but is not who he appears to be underneath the mask. Yeah, it's still got Machine Gun Joe. It's still a death race, you know, it's a race to the death where the drivers are allowed to kill one another and are encouraged to do so. And just like the original movie had a political message in the 1970s, this does. It's not a massively overt political... MORE »
"Why don't you guys just start remaking your hits?"
By Alison Willmore on 06/02/2008
Filed under: In quotesThe world in quotes: "They have to make Bourne Identity before they make Bourne Ultimatum. They don't really want to make Bourne Identity because it's a trial thing. But they really want to make Bourne Ultimatum. So it was an idea I had--you know, why don't you guys just start remaking your hits." —Gus Van Sant on his shot-for-shot "Psycho" remake at The Believer. (The complete interview is not, alas, online.) "This is a cheap way for Seven Stories to get my story. And it's disgusting they're using celebrity names to sell it. I'm not interested in making a career... MORE »
Thomas Kinkade, son of a bitch.
By Alison Willmore on 05/07/2008
Filed under: In quotesNew York's Vulture blog has a great, too-short interview with "Fritz the Cat" animator Ralph Bakshi (the subject of an exhibition at the Animazing Gallery running through the end of the month) that's worthy of its own post. Key quotes: On giving Thomas Kinkade his start as a background artist on "Fire and Ice": "That son of a bitch! Kinkade was the coolest. If Kinkade wasn't a painter, he'd be one of those cult leaders." On "Night Moves" being used at the end of "American Pop": "' 'Night Moves' sucks! I was furious! It was all wrong. I had a... MORE »
"I just say I'm not brain dead any more."
By Alison Willmore on 05/05/2008
Filed under: In quotesA survey of who's been saying what: "I don't even say I'm not a liberal. I just say I'm not brain dead any more. I just want to consider the other guy's point of view. It's a wonderful lesson for me to learn so late in life." —David Mamet on his March Village Voice essay "Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal'" (which you can find here), at the Boston Globe "I like Frank Rich a lot. I know him. I like the whole editorial. I am not eager to have an obituary written for my film before the... MORE »
"It's been axiomatic that documentaries are incapable of presenting the entire truth since the Lumière brothers..."
By Alison Willmore on 04/23/2008
Filed under: In quotesAnother tour around the interview circuit: "It's been axiomatic that documentaries are incapable of presenting the entire truth since the Lumière brothers first pointed a camera at workers leaving a factory, then got them to leave all over again for a second take." —Guy Maddin on the blurry line between doc and narrative at the Village Voice "[C]ome on! Planet of the Apes? It was so below what we were doing!" —Dan Richter on playing the ape with the bone at the beginning of "2001: A Space Odyssey," at New York "That had one of the best martial-arts fight scenes... MORE »
"I played the male, when I am not playing a hermaphrodite."
By Alison Willmore on 04/21/2008
Filed under: In quotesA tour round the interview circuit: "I am a ham. It makes people laugh when I play the male. So I played the male, when I am not playing a hermaphrodite." —Isabella Rossellini on depicting insect mating habits in "Green Porno," at the New York Times Magazine [Rossellini also discusses the "gigantic genitals" of insects at AMC's Shootout blog.] "My idea of perfect happiness is a healthy family, peace between nations, and all the critics die." — David Mamet at Vanity Fair "[S]ecretly that I am very unhappy to not have two towers being built, because I could offer to... MORE »
Observations on the passing of Charlton Heston, movie star.
By Alison Willmore on 04/07/2008
Filed under: In quotes, Memoriam"Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing 'Ben-Hur' and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84." —AP "Few films thrilled me -- or scared me -- as much as 'Soylent Green,' in which his character realizes that the stuff keeping the human race alive is made from other human beings: 'Soylent Green is people!' By then, he had played Moses and saved an entire people from destruction. Things didn't look good in 'Soylent Green,' but somehow, I thought, surely Charlton... MORE »
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