CraveOnline: When you were at LAFF showing Only God Forgives I saw some interesting comments tweeting out of that showing. How did you feel about that screening?
Nicolas Winding Refn: It was great, but I loved the showing in Cannes. Having the film everybody talks about, anticipated and then when it finally shows at 8:30 in the morning at the Palais and you hear people clapping and worshiping it and you had people booing it saying it’s the antichrist of cinema, then you know you’re the Sex Pistols and then cinema is interesting.
Does that help or hurt you getting the $100 million Hollywood movie?
It’s not about that because in the end the most pleasure is doing the kind of movies I make the way that I make them.
I understand about you, but Hollywood wants their $100 million movies to be loved by everybody, which is sort of impossible. Do you think about playing that game, or how to tell them on that?
There will come a time when a trailer will work, but right now I’m pretty happy the way things are moving along.
Interestingly, at a recent conference George Lucas and Steven Spielberg predicted Hollywood imploding. Would that be good for filmmakers if tentpole movies and theatrical showings are minimized and there’s more emphasis on going directly to viewers on VOD or downloads?
Yes, because then the whole point of going to the theater is about having a different experience. It’s about seeking out progressive culture, very much like theater is. See, there has never been an art form that has been invented that has disappeared. It just mutates. Therefore, we go through different stages and different times of mutation, but essentially in the end, as I say, the digital revolution just made it easier for everybody to participate. The digital revolution didn’t change storytelling but it changed accessibility to storytelling.
That’s a really good point. Everyone’s worried about people not going to movies anymore, but nothing has ever disappeared.
No, it’s impossible. So I don’t know about this imploding end of the world philosophy. It may for certain movies but then you can ask yourself, do those movies really resonate long enough to get made? See, when it’s about art, it’s all about what’s there. If there is something that people seek they will go out. I just came from the Alamo [Drafthouse] in Texas doing a few days of press for Only God Forgives. I went to the screenings and I can tell you, they’re not about to leave that theater. They’re there forever so it proved to me that actually the contrary, the theater experience in that way is on a massive rise.
And that’s an audience that doesn’t necessarily want to see the Marvel movies or other big studio movies. Some of them, but they definitely attract weirder fare at the Drafthouse.
There are people that enjoy an experience and they deserve progressive cinema.
Is that up to the theater to create the good experience, or can the studios do something to make all theaters as pleasurable an experience as the Alamo is?
See, the Alamo functions because it’s a labor of love. It’s designed by people that love what they do, they love cinema, they love creativity. They love storytelling. That’s what makes it work. It’s not about the money. It’s about the love. And then, it’s what we all wish it would be. Like going to a museum, or play or concert. We spend so much time agonizing about the future, the digital revolution, that we’re tending to forget how great it is. All we’re agonizing about is money. The whole discussion we’re having about the possible implosion of cinema is from a financial perspective, not a creative perspective. We must not forget that if you do films for money, you might as well sell shoes at the same time.
Right, the people with the money want to keep making money the same way, but there’s a change coming that’s forcing them to adapt.
They’re the ones who have to adapt. Young people, my kids, they want a creative experience. Why wouldn’t they? They’re human beings. Something like The Alamo gives them that. They’re going to love it, they’re going to go and it’s going to survive. It’s on the rise even. So I guess it goes against everybody’s prediction.
Could you conceivably make a movie that only plays at a theater like the Alamo Drafthouse, and you forbid it from playing anywhere less?
I would be honored to make a movie that only plays at the Alamo.
How long will you be wrapped up with TV production on “Barbarella” before you do another feature?
Not too long because I have so many films I want to make before this implosion is about to happen. I think of implosion the same way as saying there’s a black hole that’s about to consume the earth. Let’s hurry up and live so we can die before the implosion happens.
What is the next film on your radar?
I’d love to do a horror movie.
Is horror a genre that can do without narrative?
Well, you always need some kind of narrative. Don’t forget, cause and effect. But horror is very primal, just like revenge. So it’s more about emotion than anything else, emotion of the fear. Terror. Curiosity. Mystery. All those exciting states of mind.
There are so many subgenres within horror: slasher, supernatural, etc. Do you have any preferences?
Don’t forget, you need a little bit of mystery to keep everything alive.
Is Logan’s Run still a possibility?
No. Schedule, commitment, elements, it wasn’t the right time. It wasn’t meant to be.
That one might have imploded.
Well, it means you can see the future.
Is there still a chance for a Drive sequel?
No and there never was.
Was that just something you were joking about at the Drive junket?
You say things for the stupidest reasons and then it suddenly gets printed. But, it’s a great mythology to keep alive.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Shelf Space Weekly. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
