Takeaways from "On Cinema: Paul Thomas Anderson" Include How Charles Manson Ruined It for the Hippies, an "Interstellar" recommendation and a Grimes Music Video

Paul Thomas Anderson talks with New York Film Festival Director, Kent Jones, during his masterclass at the festval.
(Photo by Michael Iannucci)

Just a day after Paul Thomas Anderson's hotly anticipated new film, "Inherent Vice," premiered as the New York Film Festival's centerpiece, the revered American director took the stage at Alice Tully Hall to talk all things film in the festival's annual "On Cinema" masterclass. Topics of discussion ranged from "Inherent Vice" and influences to the revelation that Anderson has seen and highly recommends Christopher Nolan's upcoming "Interstellar." While my review of "Inherent Vice" is still on the way (it is a lot more to digest than I anticipated), here are some highlights of Anderson's masterclass:

On Neil Young's "Journey Through the Past":

“It just looks like my idea of heaven on a Saturday afternoon, cruisin’ around with your girl and parking with a brook nearby and taking a joint out and eating strawberries. I don’t know how it could get any better honestly.”

On how Charles Manson ruined the perception of hippies:

“There’s a passage in Inherent Vice the book (that didn’t make the movie), but it was this discussion between Bigfoot and Doc, and they’re talking about what happened with Manson and how it just fucked everything up for all these hippies because it used to be that the straight world would just look at them and think ‘Oh look how cute they are! They’re kind of like monkeys in a zoo; the husband is carrying the baby and the mom is paying for the groceries’ and everyone treated them like cute caged animals and then Manson came along and suddenly it was ‘Stay away, they might mass murder all of us’ so there was this shift.”

On Robby Müller's cinematography in "Repo Man" and its relation to shooting on film:

“I’m always trying to get night interiors to look like Robby Müller did and I can never do it. I don’t know how he did it. It doesn’t look like there’s any lights on; it looks like how it really looks. And there’s gotta be a million lights on! I just don’t know how he did it. It’s like a magic trick. He had a magic with it that I can’t quite figure out. It’s something to look for in his photography that he was a master at. There are people who are good at certain things and he was a master at night interiors, which can be very difficult.”

“I would hate to think that there won’t be more artists like Robby Müller out there knowing the art of movie lighting. To be good at movie lighting is like a life-long job; to be skillful at it; to be great at it. So skillful, and that skill was required from them because they were shooting on film. I don’t want to say anything bad here but the skill level has been diminished when you shoot at night and you don’t need to put any lights up because you don’t need to put any lights up. And I would hate to think that that is going to be lost; that the job of someone who can light a movie set would go away.”

(Photo by Michael Iannucci)

On doing movie lighting in post-production: 

“That’s fucking cheating!”

On plot and "North by Northwest":

“I never remember plots in movies. I remember how they make me feel. I remember emotions and I remember visual things that I’ve seen and my brain has just never connected the dots of how things go together. This movie ('North by Northwest') in particular was a huge help getting ready for 'Inherent Vice' because I knew there was just so much ground to cover and it was a bit episodic and there was sort of jumping from stone to stone to stone and sometimes these connected pieces were made in the book, sometimes they weren’t. There were various blind alleys and dead end streets and all that kind of stuff. It was a helpful reminder to go back to this film and feel that energy again and feel a kind of looseness.”

“If emotional logic is betrayed, then you’ve got a problem. There’s a fine line between ‘No fucking way!’ and ‘Yeah, yeah, I could see that happening.’ If you start messing with the plausibility of someone’s emotions, that feels against the rules a little bit.”

On Quentin Tarantino, the state of film shooting and Christopher Nolan's upcoming "Interstellar":

“Quentin’s a film nerd too, I suppose; it’s a small group of us that’s hopefully growing and sticking together. Quentin’s much more vocal about it though. He wants to tar and feather people over it. I think at the moment things are going around where genuinely there’s such concern and fear in the air about film not even being an option. There really is a movement among filmmakers right now to sort of desperately encourage filmmakers that are coming up, filmmakers that are around and are producing stuff right now that to, if you have a choice, please shoot film. Chris Nolan is sort of at the front lines of all this, I have to say. He’s made a beautiful film. Everybody should get out and see 'Interstellar' when it comes out. But don’t fuck around; go see it in IMAX. Brave the line.”

On the music video for Oblivion by Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes (directed by Emily Kai Bock):

“That gets me going. It’s fucking great. I just saw it and it made me hyper and it made me bounce around the room. I just wanted to bounce off the walls. Not just a great song (‘cause it is a great song) but when everything comes together perfectly; you have a great song, you’ve got this great performer; this great artist matching up with these visuals and everything clicks. Taking her into a real situation; taking this amazing performer into a real situation, and it’s spooky too. It gets you pumped up and makes you want to dance but there’s something spooky about it. It’s so graceful the way she does that. There’s a really good energy, but that kind of energy that starts to get a little bit crazy and a little fevered when you see some of the faces that she got. These kind of frat guys bouncing around and they seem all too real and all too date rapey. So there’s that danger lurking underneath it, but on top of it, it just kind of makes me want to dance.”

On composer Jonny Greenwood's work in "Inherent Vice":

“With 'Inherent Vice' he plays a little bit of guitar, which is nice; sort of a first. He’s sort of reluctant to pick up the guitar sometimes, but the movie called for it. There’s one piece in particular towards the end that he’s had for a number of years with no where to go and it found a really nice home in this film.”

Q & A with "12 Years a Slave" Director Steve McQueen Plus Cast Members Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o

Acclaimed director Steve McQueen is known among cult fans as one of the harshest film makers in today's cinema. He is also known as one of the most talented up-and-comers in the business. Now his reputation is set to make its way into the consciousness of casual film fans worldwide, as his new film, "12 Years a Slave" is creating huge buzz on the film festival circuit as an early Oscar favorite. The film tells the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. McQueen was on hand to unveil his film to audiences at the New York Film Festival this Tuesday and answered questions for fans and media alike:

Director Steve McQueen at the New York Film Festival's opening
 screening of his new film, "12 Years a Slave." (Photo by Michael Iannucci)

Q: Steve, you have a personal family tree that you can trace back through your ancestors to slavery. How long has this desire to come to terms with it been brewing inside you?

A: I think it has been brewing inside me since I've been conscious of it. Someone asked me the question the other day: "When was the first time you heard about slavery?" And I could never remember. All I could remember was shame and embarrassment as a person, as a child. That was the only thing I could think of and as you discover certain things about your past you start thinking about things. But that's when things start, when you have an idea of what has gone on in the world.

Q: It would have been easy for you to make this film with a kind of anger, but you keep from moralizing in the film. How did you approach the actual shooting of this?

A: I wanted to understand it and engage with it. It was like going into someone's apartment blindfolded and you're feel, your touch, your senses, these things take over the obvious. The obvious makes you interpret things in a way which sometimes is a false because morals come into play. You have to be honest; you have to be brute; you have to be direct, otherwise you're kidding yourself.

Q: This is not a traditional narrative of the slave experience. Were you initially interested in depicting the more traditional experience of slavery before you arrived at this particular story?

A: I didn't really know what the traditional idea of slavery was. I wanted to find out what it was really. I went in with open eyes. I couldn't go in there with a preconceived notion because that's just not me. The whole idea for me was a free man who gets caught into slavery and what I liked about that is that everyone in the audience can relate to Solomon, being taken away from his family so therefore you're on that journey with him.

Q: There doesn't seem to be a real moment of despair for Solomon in the film. Does that have to do with his Christian faith, something he shares with his oppressors?

A: I didn't see it in a sense of Christianity. In the book he calls on God a lot, but for me it was about his own self-determination, courage, and the gathering up of his own will in order to keep on going.

Q: Where does the hatred of Paul Dano's character originate?

A: Our idea was that this guy was beaten by his father. I come from a West Indian family and a lot of parents beat their children. This comes from slavery. You see something and you think it's good to do to your children. That was the idea with Paul's character.

Q: How did you work with cinematographer Sean Bobbitt to achieve the images of the film?

A: I've been working with Sean Bobbitt for the last 13 years. First we talk about color. This was the first time I've shot outdoors in an environment that was so lush. Our costume designer, Patty Norris, took earth samples from all three of the plantations to match them with the clothes and talked to Sean to deal with the temperature of each plantation and each character temperature. There was a lot of that kind of minute detail.

Q: What drew you to Solomon Northup's story?

A: Solomon's story actually matched my original idea and it was just so striking. It was like a Brothers Grimm fairy tale; the darkest, deepest, most haunting fairy tales which end happily ever after but you go through hell to get there.

Q: This is your third movie with Michael Fassbender. Did you have him in mind for the character of Edwin immediately when casting?

A: Yes, he was always my choice for that and he's an amazing actor. Personally, I think he's the most influential actor of his time right now. People want to be an actor because of him; people want to be in a movie because of him; people want to make a movie because he could be in it. He has that kind of pull.

Q: Is there a certain scene from the film that stays with you when you look back on it?

A: Not really. I mean, the whole thing stays with me. It's just the experience. It's the whole shebang for me.

Q: How did you find Lupita?

A: How did she find us? I mean, over a thousand girls auditioned for this role. I got her audition tape and I couldn't believe it. I just thought, 'Is she real?' And she was. She's amazing.

Q: What did you learn about the psychology of slavey in making this film?

A: Survival. I'm here because some of my ancestors survived slavery in whatever way they could. Could you imagine being born a slave? I think that's the worst thing that could happen to a human being. Someone who doesn't think of themselves as anything other than what their so-called master thinks of them, which is nothing. It's a deep psychological wound. Deep. 

The Cast:

"12 Years a Slave" features one of the best casts of the year. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays lead Solomon Northup and is an early lock for the Academy Award for Best Actor, McQueen regular Michael Fassbender gives a powerful performance as evil slave owner Edwin Epps and Lupita Nyong'o, in her American acting debut, is undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the film as the most horribly abused of slaves, Patsey. They were on hand in New York to answer questions as well.

Steve McQueen and cast members Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender
and Lupita Nyong'o fielding questions about "12 Years a Slave."
(Photo by Michael Iannucci)

Q: Were you approached by Steve from the very beginning for this role?

Ejiofor: Yes, I've known Steve for a while. I met him for the first time after "Hunger" and that was a great film as well and I knew he was an incredibly talented director right. After a couple of years he called me about this.

Q: How did you go about humanizing the character Edwin Epps?

Fassbender: I think through the fact that he's in love with Patsey. He can't quite wrap his head around that or handle it because of the time he's in so he sets about destroying her, but I thought that was a very human aspect to the character.

Q: What was it like being on this level in your American debut?

Nyong'o: At first it was a little bit intimidating but Steve is just such a great director that it's easy to work your way into the characters and once we got going it just flowed.

Q: How difficult was it to shoot the long take in which Solomon is forced to whip Patsey?

Fassbender: That was actually a harder scene to watch, for me personally, than it was to film because there were a lot of technical elements in the scene. We knew that we were going to shoot it in one take and there were quite a few actors involved in the scene so we all had to keep our rhythms and our space in addition to keeping the rhythm with Sean behind the camera. So there's that dance going on; there's the distance between the players, the camera, and for me personally I had to hit a mark so I didn't hit Lupita but we tried to get as close as possible.

Ejiofor: I think in some of those sequences which ostensibly look hard to shoot weren't because we were very deep down the rabbit hole at that point and I think focus on set in those times was so high that we were just in there to try to tell the story.

Q: What do you walk away from this film with?

Ejiofor: So much. It was a life changing experience for me and it really opens up my work in acting.

Fassbender: Just the satisfaction of making it. It's a very important film and I'm just happy to be able to share it with everyone.

Nyong'o: An unforgettable experience. It's not every day or even every film for that matter that you become a part of something so important. 

Three Key Elements to Look for in "12 Years a Slave"

The intense physicality of both Michael Fassbender's performance and Steve McQueen's direction made "Hunger" (2008) a break out film for each. (Photo by IFC Films)

In honor of Steve McQueen's new film, "12 Years a Slave," which screens at the New York Film Festival this week, here are the top three key elements of McQueens first two films, "Hunger" and "Shame," that are likely to resurface in his newest work:

Bobby Sands (Fassbender) talking to a priest (Cunningham)
during the longest shot ever on film in "Hunger."
(Photo by IFC Films)

1. Long shots - McQueen's use of long takes is among the most powerful in recent cinematic years. His first film, "Hunger," features a much-talked about 17 1/2 minute long shot as its centerpiece. The shot, which covers the penultimate discussion between infamous Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and a priest (Liam Cunningham) about whether or not Sands should begin what ultimately proves to be a fatal hunger strike in 1981, covers 28 pages of script and is considered to be the longest single shot on film. It effectively draws attention to the serious moral decision being made and sets emphasis on the next shot immediately following its cut, one that delves into the psychology of deep belief in a cause via an intense Fassbender. All that follows in the film is the direct result of this interchange; without the long shot, the film's ending would prove empty. Watch part of the long take here (the important cut comes at 7:05 and continues here).
   
   The long shot also comes into play in McQueen's second feature, "Shame." This time its use is much less important to the plot of the film, and much more important to the underlying themes of the movie not yet fully understood by the viewer at the time of the shot. After allowing his sister to stay at his apartment, sex addict Brandon (Fassbender) soon finds himself in the awkward position of playing host to a late-night hook-up between his sister and his boss. After sounds of the affair take over the apartment, Brandon goes out for a late night jog to escape. Here starts a tracking shot that follows Brandon jogging for several minutes (and many blocks of NYC streets). Brandon is both literally running away from the sex of his sister, and at the same time is figuratively running away from sex itself, as his addiction is a more serious problem than the audience is fully aware. The camera stays perfectly on pace with Brandon; running will not help him escape from his addiction.                                                                                                          
2. A direction-matching performance - In both "Hunger" and "Shame" McQueen's brutal direction style is perfectly complimented by the performances of Fassbender. In "Hunger" Fassbender's unflinchingly determined and physical portrayal of Sands matches McQueens show-all style; McQueen's determination lies in his quest to portray the conditions of Irish jails during the protests of the late 70's and early 80's exactly as they were, while Fassbender's is a literal determination to adhere to his character's  beliefs. In "Shame," meanwhile, McQueens directorial techniques play the foil to Fassbender's character's weakness, with camera takes panning to and lingering on the triggers of Brandon's addiction. Both films feature a striking physicality that is embodied both in Fassbender's actions and McQueens images.
   
   "12 Years a Slave" is McQueen's first film without Fassbender as the leading man (he is a supporting character instead), but all signs from trailers as well as early reviews are that Chiwetel Ejiofor is a force to be reckoned with as Solomon Northup; it is very conceivable that his character's determination to make it through the rigors of slavery matching what will surely be McQueen's determination to portray all the ugliness that is slavery. There is also talk of Fassbender as a towering supporting figure, and that he plays a slave owner suggests he could play a major role in McQueen's portait of slavery.                                                                                                                                                 
3. The truth - There is something about McQueen's films that make you feel as though you are watching a near synchronization of art film and documentary. This is due to many things: his lean scripts, the honest performances he draws from his actors, and his willingness to show vile and disturbing images at the risk of turning off viewers (jail walls of "Hunger" are often painted with feces by the inmates themselves). "Hunger" shows the viewer the truth behind protests (and the cruelty they often invoke) and "Shame" shows the viewer the truth behind sex addition.
   
   "12 Years a Slave" automatically has an extra built-in value of truth above and beyond "Shame", as it is based on a true story. That, combined with McQueen's penchant for truth in images, will likely give audiences a wholly authentic experience, because the disturbing images they are being shown actually happened (as was the case with "Hunger").

"12 Years a Slave" has largely received rave reviews thus far in its limited showings, and by all accounts figures to be a major contender come award season. I will be at the New York Film Festival's Oct. 8 showing of the film, so expect a review soon!

"Inside Llewyn Davis" Stars Grace Both the Red Carpet and Concert Stage in New York

Carey Mulligan and me at the New York Film Festival's premier of "Inside Llewyn Davis." (Photo by Adrienne Straley)

The 51st New York Film Festival has just begun and it is already bringing out the big names. Present at the festival's premier of "Inside Llewyn Davis" last Saturday were directors Joel and Ethan Coen, stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, and numerous other cast and crew members.

The premier came on the heels of a press screening of the film just days earlier during which the Coens revealed that it is "probable" they will make the transition from film to digital shooting for future projects. Two of cinema's remaining traditional auteurs embracing the digital age is sure to stir up some grumbling among film purists, and even Joel himself told media he was not "wildly enthusiastic about the idea," however, talk of the Coens was nothing short of flattery on the red carpet Saturday.

"I would never want to mess with a Coen brother script," said Mulligan ("Never Let Me Go," "An Education," "Shame") when asked if there was any improvisation on the set of the film. "I was just given this gift of a role with these amazing sort of ranting monologues and I was just so lucky."

John Goodman signs autographs
for fans at the red carpet premier.
(Photo by Michael Iannucci)

Isaac ("Drive") pointed to the guidance he received from the brothers during shooting (in what was his first lead role) as "more than I could even possibly comprehend" and cast member Garrett Hedlund ("Tron," "Four Brothers") told Hilary Lewis of The Hollywood Reporter that he knew the film was going to be something special as soon as he saw the Coen name attached to it. 

Coen brother film regular John Goodman ("The Big Lebowski"), who apparently has some of the more memorable lines in the film, previewed his witty banter on the red carpet. "We are pretty serious about our damn comedy," said Goodman of his relationship with the Coens. 

Another aspect of the "Inside Llewyn Davis" earning considerable praise from critics and early audiences alike is its music. The film (about the Greenwich Village folk scene in 1961) features a soundtrack co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Marcus Mumford of the popular band Mumford & Sons (and husband to Mulligan). Mumford helped write some original music for the movie, including the much-talked about track (featured in some trailers for the film) "Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)." The film will also feature music performed by cast member Justin Timberlake (though certainly not the type of music you're used to hearing from him). Apparently the pop star isn't half bad as a folk artist.

The New York Film Festival red carpet.
 (Photo by Adrienne Straley)

While Oscar nominations for the film are already expected in many of the major categories, the score seems all but a definite lock for one. In fact, Mumford, Mulligan and others from the film performed at a concert celebrating the music of the film just a day after its premier in New York. It is pretty hard to imagine a movie that features such a talented cast and skillful direction yet remains focused around its music not getting at least a nomination for its score. 

Also in attendance at the red carpet premier were cast members F. Murray Abraham, Max Casella, Alex Karpovsky, and Jeanine Serralles. 

"Inside Llewyn Davis" plays twice more at the New York Film Festival (Oct. 5 and 11) before its wide release Dec. 20. I will be at the Oct. 11 showing so expect a review soon!