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James Mottram is the author of the book Sundance Kids. The book takes a look at some of Hollywood's most unique and innovative directors. We hear all about Alexander Payne, Wes Anderson, David O. Russell, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh. This book is a must-own for those looking to study up on their film history. James was recently kind enough to grant me an in-depth and revealing interview regarding the book. If you would like to purchase his book, please go to http://www.faber.co.uk/
You won't regret it.
TONY: What inspired you to sit down and write a book about Sundance and some of the filmmakers from Sundance?
JAMES: As odd as it may sound, particularly given the title of the book (which came quite late on in the process), I never saw it as a book about Sundance. I think Peter Biskind's Down and Dirty Pictures – which was published while I was writing The Sundance Kids – is a far more comprehensive book about the festival. I really see it as a book about Hollywood, and its recent evolution. In a way, Sundance is the springboard for many of these filmmakers – and some of them (David Fincher and Spike Jonze, for example) have never been near the festival. Really, I saw the title 'The Sundance Kids' as a phrase to sum up the maverick spirit that I felt many of these rising directors shared as they took on the studio system. What really started it for me was the formation of the now-defunct F-64 group. With the likes of Fincher and Jonze on board, attempting to control the rights to their work, it began to make me think that these guys were all like-minded – and while their work was all very different, they wanted independence in the way their forefathers from 1970s Hollywood did. Whether they've achieved this or not was what the book really explored – though I also wanted to use the text as a chance to look at their films. While Biskind's book is good, it never really examines the actual movies, and I felt it was about time someone did.
TONY: I was very impressed by the detail and research you put into your book. How long did you research this book for? Also, what filmmakers were most helpful to you in putting this book together?
JAMES: Well, the whole process – researching, writing and editing the book – took about two-and-a-half years. I started in July 2003 and finished in November 2005. But in many ways, without realizing it, this is a book I have been researching for a decade. Many of the interviews used in the book have been conducted over the years, in my day-to-day job as a film journalist. However, one filmmaker in particular was very helpful while I was actually writing the book – which was Steven Soderbergh. Although I'd interviewed him several times (for The Limey, Full Frontal/Solaris, Eros and Bubble) in my professional capacity, he also generously gave up his time so I could fill in a few gaps. This proved invaluable when writing the chapters that featured the early part of his career. As for other filmmakers, I was fortunate that while writing the book, the likes of Alexander Payne, Wes Anderson, David O. Russell and Quentin Tarantino all had new films out, and were available, in some capacity, to talk about their work.
TONY: Steven Soderbergh comes up often in your book. What is it about Steven that is so unique compared to other filmmakers?
JAMES: So many things! Let's see: he has an incredible work ethic (17 films since 1989), an amazing diversity (has worked in sci-fi, crime, film noir, melodrama genres to name but four), a willing to experiment (who else could make Schizopolis and the Ocean's movies), and great technique (he also shoots and edits most of his films now). He also encourages other filmmakers – be it through Section Eight or otherwise – and he has an incredible lack of ego. He may yet to have produced his masterpiece – though I'd say The Limey comes close – but there's no doubt he will always prove to be a consistently challenging director. As far as I was concerned, he was the spine of my book – the unofficial 'godfather' of this group of filmmakers – because sex, lies, and videotape encouraged so many filmmakers to pick up a camera. And, as fortunate as I was in the timing of its arrival to be able to finish the book with Bubble, that film's unique simultaneous distribution on DVD, theatrical and cable, just proved how Soderbergh from the beginning of his career has always been an amazing innovator.
TONY: There seems to be a trend with a lot of the filmmakers that you wrote about in your book. The trend is that a lot of these filmmakers (Quentin Tarantino and others) take long breaks between films. Why do you think that is? Do you think it's draining because of all the pressure to be creative and make your next film better than your last?
JAMES: That's a good point and I'm not sure I 
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have the answer to it. I certainly wish they wouldn't. After all, look at Soderbergh's incredible work ethic – his work is frequently vital, and yet he feels no need to pontificate over his next project as if it will be his 'masterpiece'. I certainly think that rather blighted Tarantino after Jackie Brown; as Kill Bill proved, by 2003, he had begun to believe his own hype. I'm thankful that at least he has teamed up swiftly (well sort of) with Robert Rodriguez for Grindhouse, another director – like Soderbergh and also Richard Linklater – who has a strong work ethic.
Oddly, two filmmakers who finally have new films out this year, Paul Thomas Anderson and David Fincher (with There Will Be Blood and Zodiac respectively), last made movies in 2002, before I started writing the book. I know in the case of Fincher, he toyed with several projects before settling on Zodiac – and while some (such as Lords of Dogtown) were clearly not worthy of his attention, others were. At least he is now filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, so he in not deliberating again. As for PTA, I'm at a loss as to why it's taken him five years since Punch-Drunk Love (which in many ways was meant as a small-scale project after Magnolia). Then again, he is a genuine auteur, in the sense that he always writes and directs (something Fincher and Soderbergh cannot claim) and he is just not the sort of director who can 'churn' something out.
In answer to your question, I just think it's different for every filmmaker: for some, these delays are caused by the size of their egos, for others it's a creative block or the need to take some time off due to the intense pressure, as you put it. And in some cases it may simply be a question of not being able to get financing for projects – though I don't think many of the filmmakers I've looked at in the book have really experienced those problems.
TONY: You mentioned in your book the battle between filmmakers and studios. Is there ever a battle between actors and filmmakers? Do they ever have conflicting ideas and theories about a particular film?
JAMES: I'm sure that happens all the time – I guess it's what's referred to as that age-old Hollywood euphemism 'creative differences'. In general, we don't get to hear about such things and they get hushed up in the interest of presenting a united front when the film is released. Unless, that is, you're Sean Connery, and you're still happy to hack down the director of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, whenever you get the chance.
TONY: Out of all the major studios, which studio do you think is most open to Indy projects?
JAMES: Well, they've all had their moments, though as you can see from the book, the company I admire the most has been Fox Searchlight. Their track record, on films like Kinsey and I Heart Huckabees, is highly impressive. For a while Warner Independent, especially when they were linked to Soderbergh's Section Eight company, was also doing good work. As is the way with these things, when personnel changes, then the mandate of the company sometimes changes too – though it's all very cyclical.
TONY: It seems like a lot of filmmakers are taking the direct-to-DVD approach with their films. Do you think this trend will continue? Do you think it's a way to get your film out there with low risk and high reward?
JAMES: I'm sure this trend will continue, though at the moment it only seems to be for 'franchise' related products – sequels to films that have automatic consumer awareness. While this is a good training ground for actors/directors etc, it's hardly a place for filmmakers with artistic ambitions. I still think having your film play at festivals before a theatrical release is what should be aimed for. That said, using the Internet as a means of distribution, is not to be sniffed at – particularly for unknown filmmakers. Even David Lynch has used his website for fans to download short films. And it cannot be denied that the costs of releasing a film, for the distributor, be it prints, shipping or advertising, have spiraled in the last few years.
TONY: Why do you think the box office numbers are not what they used to be?
JAMES: A multitude of reasons, from the paucity of studio product (a reliance on sequels, comic book adaptations etc) to technological advances in home cinema systems and the rise of the Internet – with the increasingly widespread phenomenon of illegal downloading. Also the 18-25 demographic the studios so desperately want to target seem more enchanted by video games – and, frankly, when you get games as involving as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, why bother going to see Bad Boys 2 or whatever? In some cases, it's also down to the over-exposure of celebrities in our increasingly star-obsessed culture. MI:3 – which I actually thought was a 
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very smart thriller and far better than the John Woo-directed predecessor – suffered greatly because of Tom Cruise's antics last summer.
TONY: Why do you think the gap between box office success and critical success is so wide?
JAMES: If I knew that, I'd probably be a studio head! I guess because critics tend not to dig films designed for mass entertainment, which – doing the job myself – I can understand. When a film panders to the broadest demographic, it's hardly likely to be appeal to critics, whose job it is to rate films on their artistic merit. After all, most critics aren't in the aforementioned demographic in question, which the studios tend to court with a lot of its blockbuster product.
TONY: Without naming any names, do you think a lot of filmmakers go on automatic pilot after a big hit or two? Do you think they become too comfortable?
JAMES: I'm certain of that, but if they do, and they produce a flop or two in a row, then that usually wakes them up! I can't say any of the filmmakers I have featured in The Sundance Kids have go on "automatic pilot". In the end, I think there's still a major difference between these independently minded directors, and studio hacks-for-hire, who are more prone to going on auto-pilot.
TONY: You mentioned in your book how some filmmakers tried to get their own studio going to combat the major studios. Do you think we will ever see a group of filmmakers try that again?
JAMES: I'm not sure: maybe not for some time. The industry is in such a state of flux at the moment, it's hard to predict what will happen.
TONY: How do you think other film festivals compare to Sundance? It seems like we are seeing an abundance of film festivals these days.
JAMES: Yes, I think you could literally spend every day in the calendar year hopping from one festival to another. I have to say, Sundance really feels like a festival that's rather outgrown itself. It was intended as a celebration of American independent cinema – and while the core of that is still in tact – it now feels like its bursting at the seams, as more and more celebrities descend on it every year to party hard. Sundance has also been a victim of its early success, when the likes of Soderbergh and Tarantino first arrived. It's been a long time since we've had a new director like that burst onto the scene in such a dramatic way. While I have never been to the festivals at Telluride, Toronto and New York, it seems – from what I can gather – that these are festivals less blighted by the extraneous elements that seem to cling onto Sundance and give it a bad reputation. Coming from Europe, where I regularly attend Berlin, Venice and Cannes, these are genuinely international festivals and are styled as such. Sundance really isn't in that league – and perhaps it doesn't want to be.
TONY: What current filmmakers impress you the most?
JAMES: Well, if you're talking about up-and-coming directors, I do think David Gordon Green (as I mention in the conclusion to the book) is a very exciting prospect. His new film, Snow Angel, was one of the best works I saw in Sundance this year. I should also, as I'm British, big up some home-grown filmmakers...I had a whole chapter in my book, which was eventually removed because we felt it wasn't quite relevant enough, concerning the British 'arm' of The Sundance Kids. Two men I included in this segment, Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Glazer, are two directors who are consistently challenging in their work. Nolan in particular has learned how to handle the studio system with consummate ease.
TONY: Do you think studios will release anything these days as long as it makes money? Lately, I'm just amazed at some of the film that get released.
JAMES: You and me both! As I said earlier, the costs of releasing a film are phenomenal these days, but then if you consider that the studios have already bankrolled these films, then I guess you have to understand why they roll them out in the hope that the films will make money on a theatrical run. After all, as dreadful as many of these films are, there's no accounting for taste! The worst films can make tonnes of cash....and, yes, I do mean anything by Brett Ratner.
TONY: What do you think is the key to longevity in the film industry?
JAMES: That's a difficult question. I'd like to say 'integrity' but I don't think that's the case. Again, if we return to the example of Soderbergh, alternating between more experimental and more commercial fare seems to be a smart way of keeping in the studios' good books.
TONY: Thanks so much for your time, James. I really enjoyed your book. Anything you way to say or plug before we go?
JAMES: Just 'thanks' for some good questions and taking an interest in the book!
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| Tony Farinella |
Tony is an Oak Lawn, IL based film reviewer and columnist looking to have fun and share his unique views on film with everyone. Tony also has an unhealthy obsession with Vanessa Lengies, but that is neither here nor there.
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