Jean-Jacques Beineix is in LA for the American Cinematheque US premiere of one of his films and for the Cinema Libre DVD roll-out of his entire catalog, including Diva, Betty Blue, and a package of shorts that include the real life look at the man who wrote The Diving Bell & The Butterfly. The writer-director sat down for a 30 minute chat.
The complete video interview in QT after the jump… and the podcast is available here.
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
BETTY BLUE. Most erotic movie ever.
I’m glad the Lions movie finally is getting some exposure. Saw it years ago at a Toronto Fest, and enjoyed it unreasonably.
Funny, I recently “found” Beineix’s The Moon and the Gutter online, and loved it. Apparently it wasn’t received well, and certainly reminds one of Coppola’s One From the Heart, but it’s such a beautiful mess.
Definitely going to check out one of these next week.
Major Beineix fan: I’ve always preferred “The Moon in the Gutter” (Depardieu/Adjani/gasp/sigh) and “Betty Blue” to “Diva.”
Can’t wait to buy the “director’s cut” “BB” dvd.
Beneix is, without question, the great unsung director to emerge from the ’80s. Never really understood why he flamed out the way he did. Seems mystifying to me that he barely can get a movie made in France. He must have pissed off the wrong people. Even Carax, who crashed and burned notoriously with “Les Amants de Point Neuf” (sp) and “Pola X” can still get financing. Luc Besson, who started off as a poor man’s Beneix (c.f. “Subway,” which is basically “Diva”-lite) should help his old influence out. Unless there’s some bad blood there (Carax pun, unintended). Do you have any skinny on this, DP?
I’ve seen the uncut version of “37.2
He kinda explains what happened to his then-surging career in the interview, DC.
He does and he doesn’t, David. To take him at face value, it would sound like he’s spent 26 years trying to make his vampire comedy, but clearly there’s something else afoot. Granted, a lot of foreign directors get caught in development hell awaiting a greenlight in Hollywood, but what’s puzzling to me is how few and far between his French films have been. Sad, actually.
Nevertheless, a great interview and hopefully the renewed interest in his old work will give him the momentum necessary to write a new chapter to his career.