Writer-director Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind follows two small-town friends, Jerry (Jack Black) and Mike (Mos Def) as disaster at a VHS-only video rental store forces them to try to replace the wiped tapes ... by re-shooting the films they once contained. When their ultra-low-budget, ultra-high-spirit remakes of films like Ghostbusters, King Kong and The Lion King become hits with customers (who are told the tapes are Swedish imports), Jerry and Mike's absurd yet logical attempt to save the store becomes an unexpected starting point for their own artistic journey -- and a celebration of movie making and movie watching. Gondry brings Jerry and Mike's collaborations to life with the mix of big-idea film making and intimate wonder he's demonstrated in all his work, including Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Be Kind Rewind will premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival; Gondry spoke with Cinematical about everything from the joy of creation, racism in film and popular culture, and how Sundance feels different from other film festivals: " (At Sundance) ... I felt encouraged to continue; in Cannes, I felt really like people were asking me to stop doing my job."

(The audio file of this interview, like all of Cinematical's podcast offerings, is now available through iTunes; if you'd like, you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below: )



Cinematical: I guess the first, and easiest question is where did the idea behind Be Kind Rewind come from for you?

Michel Gondry: It comes from a utopia I had -- do you say 'having a utopia?' -- a belief I have that people can create their own entertainment. I always wanted to create this community that would come and tell their own story, shoot it -- and watch them. The idea is to not have one entity who creates the work, the project, and another entity who consumes it; the idea is people create their own work, like somebody cultivating his garden.

Cinematical: And in the film, we see the characters go from imitation to actual creation; that was always part of the idea?

Michel Gondry: Yes; it's very important to me that they go through this journey; I don't want to advocate imitation; I want to encourage creation. In this case, they start with imitation because their goal is not being creative; they don't realize they're being creative until they become successful and they are forced to be creative. And actually Alma (Melonie Diaz), who's sort of the smarter, the smartest guy of the band -- she's a girl -- tells them that they are much more creative than what they think they are. And then they realize that they don't have to copy movies; they can create their own. And I think it's very important that people not just make their own entertainment, but that they create it, that they really invent the story.

We're already well aware at how nutty some studios are getting with regards to marketing certain movies. Seeing the Empire State Building lit up yellow in honor of The Simpsons Movie DVD release was just one example of where movie marketing is heading in 2008. Some might feel all the viral websites, phone numbers and staged events are a little too much, while others welcome the additional moviegoing experience with open arms. Personally, I'm somewhere in between: The viral sites and videos are good time wasters so long as they don't ruin the film, but I'm not crazy about plastering an entire city with posters and images in order to promote a film people were already well aware of. That said, New Line is currently right in the middle of a fun promotion for Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, and according to an article in the LA Times, the marketing for that film is about to get a lot cooler.

Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black and Mos Def as a couple of guys who attempt to re-create a bunch of classic movies after the VHS tapes at the video store they run are destroyed. This process of re-creating a piece of work using whatever crap one has stored around the house has been given the name "Sweding." While explaining "Sweding," Gondry says: "I wanted a name that meant nothing. I had in mind, like, the suede shoes -- a fake velvet. A sort of ultra-suede? But I always get the word wrong because I'm French." Fans already have a chance to "Swede" a whole bunch of stuff over on the film's official website, but New Line is taking it one step further by transforming a New York City art gallery into a "Sweding" studio for roughly a month, beginning January 24 -- one day before the film hits theaters. Here's how it's explained in the LA Times:

"Groups of people walk in and will have access to a workshop," Gondry explained. "There is a very simple protocol: You shoot in camera, edit while you shoot -- which means you stop the camera when you want to go to the next scene, you don't edit. Story lines last five to 10 minutes. And most of the exhibition will be a mini back lot with 15 little sets."

That sounds like all kinds of awesome. Additionally, while at the Sundance Film Festival (where Be Kind Rewind is set to have its premiere), Gondry will be on hand to perform music from the movie along with Mos Def and Jean-Michel Bernard (both of whom wrote the film's score). The LA Times also says that New Line will open up a "Sweding suite" on Main Street where folks can stop by and "participate in Sweding, such as inserting themselves into photos from the film."

[via Slashfilm]