"I played the male, when I am not playing a hermaphrodite."

A 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 dance again--a dance of freedom, of victory, of 'We shall not be doomed.'"
       —Tightrope walker and "Man on Wire" subject Philippe Petit on the Freedom Tower, at the New York

"That was really Pennebaker's film. I just went around with a camera looking for good-looking girls."
       —Direct Cinema pioneer Richard Leacock on shooting "Monterey Pop," at the Globe and Mail

"[T]his time, the financiers told me to do what I wanted. It was possible to shoot anything! And this time, I discovered it was just natural to be graphic. To be graphic, this I like! And many times, people will say, 'Oh, this is graphic,' but I think of Renaissance painters. Their imagery is very strong and passionate. I wanted to do that without any sense of restrictions."
       — Dario Argento on being freed of censorship burdens when making "Mother Of Tears," in the new issue of Filmmaker Magazine

"[T]o me, it's extremely ludicrous, but the US audience can accept it, so I shot it according to the script. The story is a fairy tale, just like a cartoon. I believe the scriptwriter loves Chinese culture, for he could combine Drunken Fist, Jade Emperor, Eight Immortals, Monkey King, etc. together."
       — Jackie Chan talks frankly about "Forbidden Kingdom" at Wu-Jing.org [via Kaiju Shakedown]

[Photo: "Green Porno," Sundance, 2008]

+ Bugged Out (NY Times Magazine)
+ Proust Questionnaire: David Mamet (Vanity Fair)
+ Daring Frenchman Wants WTC Back (New York)
+ Through a lens weirdly (Globe and Mail)
+ DARK CITY (Filmmaker Magazine)
+ Forbidden Kingdom Interview: Jet Li Gets Philosophical While Jackie Chan Speaks His Mind (Wu-jing.org)

By Alison Willmore in In quotes | Link | 0 Comments | Recommended (2)

Tags: Dario Argento, David Mamet, Green Porno, Isabella Rossellini, Man on Wire, Monterey Pop, Mother Of Tears, Philippe Petit, Richard Leacock