And I always had this idea for making a movie about a femme fatale, because I like these characters. They're a lot of fun, they're sexy, they're manipulative, they're dangerous.
And in my case, I just don't think they're much interested in directors anymore. It's all a celebrity business.
And that's what's so inspirational about something like DIONYSUS. It actually records the moment that it happened. Kind of like a document of the period.
And we've become very doubtful of our information sources, because they're all controlled by these huge multilateral corporations.
But acting in plays, I got to know Wilfred Leach very well; and he helped me get this fellowship to Sarah Lawrence. I had a graduate fellowship in the theatre department from 1962 to 1964.
But, number one, I think traditional noir doesn't work in contemporary storytelling because we don't live in that world anymore.
Godard is incredibly brilliant, the things he says. Apparently here in France, the most interesting thing when a new film of his is going to come out are his press conferences, because he's so brilliant.
However, I spent most of my time in a Quaker school.
However, ironically, I was baptized Presbyterian, and went to a Quaker school for twelve years.
I did take a one semester course at NYU in production, but that was the only real film school experience I had.
I do like directing other people's material.
I don't see scarey films. I certainly wouldn't go see my films.
I guess what's most surprised me in most of the reviews is that they don't seem to get the noir story in the dream sequence, so they analyze it like a straight noir movie.
I hadn't done just a straight-out comedy in a long time, just letting an ensemble do really good character acting, having them carry the movie as in my earlier pictures.
I mean, I don't mind promoting a movie, or talking to the press if it's going to be used in some way.
I was thinking of doing something - I'm always sort of fascinated, you know, I have a fascination with watching these kids on MTV videos.
I'm always looking for a kind of new musical entity to sort of move into a motion picture venue.
I've been obsessed with this kind of visual storytelling for quite a while, and I try to create material that allows me to explore it.
I've been sort of traveling around the country for ten years talking about independent features.
I've dropped myself into straightforward character pieces in order to explore that form and reap its values. But you are sort of restricted visually when your first requirement is to tell a fairly straightforward story.
If anyone's been around some very long cocaine evenings, there's nothing that's in SCARFACE that we all haven't seen before.
It's always great to discover a new star of tomorrow.
It's always great when you discover someone.
Only in the fact that I was kind of a science wonk in the '50s. You know, won a lot of science fairs, built computers.
So I like to try to go back and develop pure visual storytelling. Because to me, it's one of the most exciting aspects of making movies and almost a lost art at this point.
Sure, but you learn, if you're going to shoot a straightforward story, that you're going to be shooting a lot of close-ups.
That's what noir feels like to me. It feels like some kind of recurring dream, with very strong archetypes operating. You know, the guilty girl being pursued, falling, all kinds of stuff that we see in our dreams all the time.
The biggest mistake in student films is that they are usually cast so badly, with friends and people the directors know. Actually you can cover a lot of bad direction with good acting.
The real trouble with film school is that the people teaching are so far out of the industry that they don't give the students an idea of what's happening.
Well, I just think through your career you go through different phases, and I just got sort of uninspired by the whole studio process of making and releasing films.
Well, like any time you're shooting documentary stuff, you've got to be in the moment, and you've got to be able to be in control enough to capture what's happening.
When you make a movie outside the system and it's successful critically or a moderate financial success, you usually have to go back into the system and make a big hit.
Yeah, I had an idea to make a very scary movie, based on a kind of serial murderer that preys on tourists.
Yeah, when I write all the time, the advantage of using the Web is just unbelievable. You know, to find out information.
You know it's always amazed me - I think the most startling thing that's happened in the last couple of decades is that there is no sort of objective reporting anymore.
You know, I listen to contemporary music all the time.
You know, when people want to get any information, research information, it will all exist on these Web sites.
You really are as hot as your last movie. And it goes away really quickly.
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