“I often feel like my Los Angeles is never represented accurately onscreen.”
– Alex Kurtzman
This is one of the only times I’ve spoken to Alex Kurtzman by himself. He’s usually part of the screenwriting duo of Orci and Kurtzman. He and his partner Bob have written films like Transformers, Star Trek and Cowboys & Aliens. The duo also co-created TV’s Fringe. Forbes Magazine called them “Hollywood’s Secret Weapons” and considers them “the force behind $3 billion in box office.”
Not only was I getting Kurtzman solo, but he made time for me at a moment I couldn’t believe. He had just returned from a nationwide tour promoting his new movie, People Like Us, and as soon as he got home from the airport he called me. I know what it feels like to travel. I would not be coherent after a flight and a drive. I guess that’s why I’m not a screenwriter.
People Like Us is also Kurtzman’s directorial debut. It is the personal story of a debt-ridden investor (Chris Pine) who grudgingly returns home for his father’s funeral. When the will is read, he learns he has a sister (Elizabeth Banks) and nephew, whom he meets but doesn’t quite fully introduce himself to.
If you thought talking robots or space aliens were hard to explain, here’s a situation that would take a Hollywood mastermind to sort out. Luckily Kurtzman was on the case. He couldn’t keep his original title, which was Welcome to People, but Kurtzman explained how he dealt with a human drama. After we asked about all the other big movies he’s writing and producing, Kurtzman left us with some screenwriting theory advice too.
“The message of Deep Throat was different strokes for different folks.”
– Randy Barbato And Fenton Bailey
I first saw Deep Throat about 15 years ago on grainy bootleg VHS tape [remember those?]. At the time I thought that Cinemax Friday Nights after Dark were more scandalous and titillating. However Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbatos documentary Inside Deep Throat schooled me just as it will school everyone else who forgot or never knew what an impact the seminal porno film had on this country. Through brand new interviews with director Gerard Damiano, Norman Mailer, Harry Reems and archive footage of Linda Lovelace we find out just why Deep Throat polarized America and ended up grossing over $600 million.
“It’s very expensive to make a film in Britain because the exchange rate is so terrible. Dollars are worthless in the UK.”
– Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle is near and dear to the heart of probably every SuicideGirl and member. If not for his debut film noir Shallow Grave or the film that broke him through, Trainspotting, then definitely for the horror film, 28 Days Later. That film gave a pure shot of adrenaline into the heart of the zombie picture. His latest picture, Millions, might surprise casual fans. But Boyle nuts know that the man can tackle any genre and come up with a wonderfully inventive picture.
Millions tells the tale of a three person family; a practical nine year old called Anthony, his religious seven year old brother Damian, who sees saints around every corner, and their father who is the superintendent of a new housing development in Manchester. When a suitcase full of money falls out of the sky at Damian’s feet, it sets the boys on the adventure of a lifetime that leads them to realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money.
“Just because its a big genre picture you should still put a lot of layers to those characters.”
– Sigourney Weaver
After 30 years in Hollywood Sigourney Weaver has created a filmography that would be the envy of any young ingénue. From Alien to Ghostbusters to three Academy nominations, this beautiful actor has created some of the compelling characters ever.
Her latest is Sandy Travis in Imaginary Heroes, which was written and directed by 25 year old Dan Harris. The film follows one year in the lives of the Travis family. After a terrible tragedy, the family pretty much falls to pieces. Teenage son Tim [Emile Hirsch] sleepwalks through life, mother Sandy [Sigourney Weaver] finds escape in smoking pot, and father Ben [Jeff Daniels] goes into shut-down mode, disconnecting from his family
“You must not forget that all the people in the movie are perpetrators and are bad.”
– Oliver Hirschbiegel
Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich is a very difficult but important film. The plot of the movie has Traudl Junge [Alexandra Maria Lara], the final stenographer for Adolf Hitler [Bruno Ganz], telling the story of the Nazi dictator’s final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII. Downfall has been nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
Oliver Hirschbiegel is the brilliant director of Downfall who first made an impression on US soil with the psychological horror film Das Experiment which was partially based on the Stanford Prison Experiment. Before making that feature he created Kommissar Rex and directed dozens of television movies. With Downfall he tackles another very high pressure situation which has become his trademark.
“Most people are just happy that I punched David Duchovny.”
– Madeline Zima
I actually met Madeline Zima in person at the South by Southwest film festival where her new film, Crazy Eyes, premiered in March. I ended up sitting right next to her as she took the reserved seat to my left. She was perfectly lovely and laughed throughout the film.
By midway through the film I was surprised she found it so funny though, considering many of the scenes involve what they call “Struggle Fucking.” It’s what it sounds like, you fuck someone even while they’re struggling against you. If Zima was in the scene and she was laughing, then I guess it’s okay to laugh.
Crazy Eyes is a semi-autobiographical film from writer/director Adam Sherman. Lukas Haas plays Zach, an aimless hard partying drinker who becomes obsessed with Rebecca (Zima.) He calls Rebecca “Crazy Eyes” and pines for her even though she’s made it clear she’s not interested in him, hence the struggle fucking.
Now that the film is out, I got to catch up with my movie date properly. Speaking by phone, Zima wasn’t quite as aggressive as her character in the movie, or certainly her character Mia Lewis on TV’s Californication. Zima actually revealed some vulnerable moments and had fun discussing the ins and outs of struggle fucking with me.
“What if the Devil was not the bad guy? Maybe he’s been painted in a wrong light. What if God was not so good?”
– Darren Lynn Bousman
Director Darren Lynn Bousman has been to hell and back getting his recent projects to the big screen. Since leaving the Saw franchise behind after helming films II, III and IV, he’s been forced to seek alternate routes to get his work seen. If necessity is the mother of invention, then Bousman’s latest Rocky Horror-inspired project, The Devil’s Carnival, is invention’s demented bastard child.
Bypassing traditional distribution channels entirely, Bousman took the first installment of his unique episodic cinematic rock opera direct to his considerable fan base via a rock & roll-style cross-country tour earlier this year. The film-cum-theatrical experience played to mostly sold-out houses packed with the willfully immersed, prompting an encore tour – the first date of which was at San Diego’s Comic Con. We caught up with Bousman by phone as he boarded the train back from the annual geek fest…
