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Mr. Wenders: I am currently
finishing up a book entitled REEL PEOPLE: 50 DIRECTORS ON MOVIES, which
is a collection of original filmmakers. Some of the directors who are
participating in this project are Frank Darabont, Robert Wise, Allison
Anders, Tony Scott, Alexander Payne, John Milius, Barbara Kopple, John
Singleton, Kevin Smith, Betty Thomas, Bryan Singer, Wes Anderson, Wes
Craven, Steven Zaillian, Roger Avary, Irwin Winkler, etc. If you are interested,
I would very much like to interview for this project ......... Best, Andrew
J. Rausch
A.J.R.: NOTE: In a small section between the introductory paragraph and
the interview itself, I like to list somewhere between five and 15 films
the director most enjoys as a viewer (not directed by themselves). No
discussion is needed here, simply a listing of your five to 15 favorite
films.
Wim Wenders:
- "All of Yasujiro Ozu", whose work of 50 films, in my book,
is just like one big masterpiece, my "sanctuary" in the history
of cinema.
- "Breathless" by Jean Luc Godard
- "The Rule of the Game" by Jean Renoir
- "The Wild Child" by Francois Truffaut
- "All of Anthony Mann" especially his Westerns. (I learned
the grammar of filmmaking through these films.)
- "Down By Law" by Jim Jarmusch
- "The King of Comedy" by Martin Scorsese
- "The Lusty Men" by Nicholas Ray
- "The Woman in the Window" by Fritz Lang
- "The Lovers of Pont Neuf" by Leos Carax
- "Blade Runner" by Ridley Scott
- "Only Angels Have Wings" by Howard Hawks
- "Marnie" by Alfred Hitchcock
- "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" by John Ford
- "Red Line 7000" by Howard Hawks
A.J.R.: You have a well-documented
fascination with the American West. Have you ever considered directing
a Western film?
W.W.: I look at "Kings of the Road" and "Paris, Texas"
as my Westerns. I'm not interested in directing period films anymore,
so a straight Western would be out of the question.
A.J.R.: You once said,
"Originality now is rare in the cinema and it isn't worth striving for
because most work that does this is egocentric and pretentious." I find
that statement fascinating and I wondered if you might elaborate on that
for me?
W.W.: Did I say that? I wonder in what context. And why. I find that a
pretty pretentious remark, to tell you the truth.
A.J.R.: Is it at all intimidating
directing an accomplished filmmaker such as Samuel Fuller or Nicholas
Ray, and do you approach them any differently than you would any other
actor?
W.W.: There was nothing intimidating about it, on the contrary. Otherwise
I wouldn't have made FOUR films with Sam Fuller as an actor. It was a
sheer privilege. And a pure pleasure, especially listening to all of Sam's
stories for hours and hours after every day of shooting. Sam was a relentless
storyteller. And an amazingly disciplined actor. With Nicholas Ray, that
was a slightly different story, insofar as I had witnessed Nick teach
acting classes. I was very much in awe of Nick's highly subtle and emotional
work with actors. I did learn a lot from Nick, especially when HE directed
me in "Lightning Over Water" where we would take turns being
each other's director.
A.J.R.: After Lightning
Over Water debuted at Cannes, you re-edited the film considerably, excising
nearly 30 minutes from the film. What factors led to your decision to
recut the film?
W.W.: My editor, Peter Przygodda, had practically finished the film all
on his own. I had been involved with "Hammett", and after Nick's
death I had been unable to face the editing room. So the film was told
"in the third person", so to speak, by a neutral observer. It
was only after we showed the film in Cannes that I realized I would never
forgive myself, for the rest of my life, if I didn't bring myself to tell
the film in the first person. And that I owed that to Nick and to our
friendship. So I re-edited it from scratch, all alone, without even an
assistant. And I wrote a narration for it and recorded that myself, too.
A.J.R.: To what degree
was The State of Things autobiographical regarding your experiences on
Hammett?
W.W.: "State of Things" was based on experience, sure, but not
so much on "Hammett", and certainly not on my conflict with
Coppola. It was rather about two different worlds of filmmaking, working
in Europe as opposed to working in Hollywood. It was a bleak film, made
from a dark perspective, and out of a hole that I felt I was in. But still,
I didn't fill it with "autobiographical" material. (Except that
Friedrich Munroe was driving my own car, an Oldsmobile Delta 88 with the
license plate of "SAM SP8". THAT was the most personal touch…)
A.J.R.: After The Million
Dollar Hotel was released, actor Mel Gibson made some disparaging remarks
regarding the film in the press. What was Gibson like to work with on
the film, and was there any indication during filming that Gibson was
unhappy?
W.W.: Mel liked the shoot and was impressed how fast we proceeded. I had
2 weeks with him, and he didn't work for a single day longer. He didn't
really believe we could do it. He was great to work with, very precise,
very relaxed, no problem whatsoever, and I still think that "Skinner"
is one of his best performances. I'm proud of it, that's for sure. And
I know "Million Dollar Hotel" is amongst my best work. The rest
doesn't matter much anymore. Mel regretted to have said in public what
he should have kept for himself. But he sure likes and dislikes movies
for other reasons than me…
A.J.R.: Of what accomplishment
in your career are you the most proud?
W.W.: With the exception of "Hammett" I controlled all my films
and produced or co-produced them all. So I can only blame myself for all
mistakes, be proud of some of my flops and suspicious of some of my successes.
A.J.R.: NOTE: This is for a separate section of the book in which each
filmmaker participating in the project give their advice to those who
aspire to direct. What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers?
W.W.: Don't make the film if you're not sure why you HAVE TO make it.
A film needs a beating heart all the way through, and you're the one who's
responsible for it to be still beating when the audience gets to see it.
A film is like a flame that is passed through a lot of hands, almost like
the Olympic fire, but YOU are the only one responsible for the flame to
still burn in the end.
back to April 2002 News Reel
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