TheoVanGogh Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Last week I sat in on roundtables for Interview, the new Steve Buscemi-directed remake of a 2003 film by the same name. The film stars Buscemi and Sienna Miller and focuses on a night shared by a political journalist assigned to do a celeb profile and the celeb he's profiling, a television and movie actress known simply as Katya. The two start the night by hating each other -- he's offended that she shows up late to meet and she's offended that he's never seen her slasher film -- and they go from there. The roundtables were pretty short and sweet: one standout moment was when someone showed Sienna a copy of the new Factory Girl DVD that advertises itself as "Sexy" in big bold letters. "I'm not surprised," she said. "I wouldn't expect anything less. And I say that with absolute love." Another was when someone asked Buscemi to defend rumors that a movie he's soon to be appearing in, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, is anti-gay. Here's a sampling of the questions asked by everyone who was there.

Sienna Miller

What was the process of getting this role like?

It was really uncool. I got a call from my agent saying that Steve Buscemi had got in touch and was doing a film, directing and acting in it, and it was sort of a two-hander and 'would I be interested in reading the script?' And I said 'I'll do it, without seeing the script.' I figured if it was good enough for Steve Buscemi it was good enough for me. So I actually agreed to it, and they were like 'Surely you should read the script or talk to Steve' and I was like 'No, I'm doing it.' Then I spoke to Steve and he was like 'Please read the script' and I was like 'No, done. I'll come and make the tea on your set, let alone come and act.' So it was sort of a no-brainer, and then thankfully read the script and loved it and loved the character and loved the dynamic between the two people. So it was a really interesting project, and I really love the film as a film. It's the first one I've done that I've actually watch and think 'God, that's actually a cool movie. It's very European, yeah.'

Your character is sort of playing a character herself in the film.

Yeah, and it got really confusing. It's hard to talk about it without giving the entire thing away, but at the moment when that decision has to be made, to 'act', you know, I didn't know how to really portray that. I thought there has to be a flicker of some ... 'oh my God' ... and then a decision to sort of really go for it. But it was a hard thing to get in a look. But yeah, she's definitely playing a role. She plays several roles that night, like victim and helpless girl and evil woman and seductress.

An intriguing set-up is only half-realized in Interview, the Steve Buscemi-directed remake of a 2003 Theo van Gogh film. The premise: a political journalist, Pierre, is pulled out of his comfort zone to interview a popular actress known as Katya, who he's clueless about. Their initial meeting at a posh restaurant goes awry when she shows up late and he, not being steeped in the realities of celeb journalism, takes offense. Within minutes they are like lawyers, correcting each other's assertions and sniffing out any bad insinuation. "They certainly loved your slasher film," Pierre says, to which Katya replies coldly: "The horror film?" This opening interplay between Buscemi and Sienna Miller, as Katya, is fun, but the film stretches believability to get to its main action: after the two storm out of the restaurant in mutual disgust, Katya causes a fender-bender by catching the eye of a cab driver who is driving Pierre away. Pierre comes stumbling out of the cab, practically into the arms of Katya, and she, feeling guilty, invites him back to her apartment. Uh-huh.

Once interviewer and subject are where they need to be, there are a few ways the film can go: romance could bloom (a possibility seemingly short-circuited by Buscemi casting himself in the leading man role), a naturalistic film-length conversation could commence (the option I was hoping for, having never seen the van Gogh original), or we could have what's behind door number three: a night of teasing, false starts at intimacy, dramatic and melodramatic reveals, and the occasional sharp observation about the mutual parasitism of the celebrity-journalist relationship. It's door three. Interview turns out to be a mediocre 'night to remember' film in which the half-intrigued, half-bored actress and the caustic journalist try to get the best of each other. Their interaction in Katya's loft tends to go like this: Pierre finds an opening to serious conversation and then Katya's phone rings (the sound of a yapping dog, which Pierre rightly points out is incredibly annoying) and she runs into the nearby bedroom space and flops down on the bed, leaving Pierre alone to snoop around.

Our pals over at Sony Pictures Classics just sent Cinematical a new poster for Interview, directed by Steve Buscemi and starring himself and Sienna Miller. The film is a remake of Dutch director Theo van Gogh's 2003 film of the same title, and is about a political journalist (Buscemi) who is forced by his boss to interview a popular but vapid soap star, played by Miller, even though there's a big White House scandal going on at the time that he'd rather be covering. Thus begins a sort of psychological duel between the two, but since I haven't seen the film yet, there's no more I can tell you. Those interested in learning more can check out Erik's Berlinale review of the film; Interview is opening in theaters on July 13.