Christopher Doyle (not just a cinematographer anymore)

Started by analogzombie, November 02, 2005, 06:11:44 PM

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analogzombie

There's a great interview with Doyle in the Fall issue of filmmaker inwhich he discusses upcoming projects and the state of Asian and American cinema. Here's a few choice bits:


Doyle: ...Have you seen Shall We Dace?...The Richard Gere version.... It's the biggest piece of shit. You don't even know what the fucking thing is about. And with Shall We Dance, we're not talking art. We're not talking Kieslowski or Tarkovsky. We're talking mainstream Japanese film, and you (America) can't even get that right. Come on. Hello. In other words, you lost the fucking plot.

Filmmaker: Don't you think these bloated Hollywood films are an easy target? Do you watch any American Independent film?

Doyle: Does anybody? Hello! Come on. Come on, you can't be so naive that you don't know that the only thing they do in the US is look at the box office. It's not a film industry anymore, it's an accounting department. There's only two departments in American cinema- the insurance department and the accounting department. There are no filmmakers anymore.

Filmmaker: You don't think so?

Doyle: No absolutely not.

Filmmaker: There are no more filmmakers in America?

Doyle: Uh-uh. If Martin Scorsese can make a piece of shit called The Aviator and then go on to remake a Hong Kong film (Infernal Affairs, lensed by Doyle), don't you think he's lost the plot? Think it through. "I need my Oscar, I need my fucking Oscar!" Are you crazy? There's not a single person in the Academy voting department who's under 65 years old. They don't even know how to get online. They have no idea what the real world is about. They have no visual experience anymore. They have preoccupations. So why the fuck would a great filmmaker need to suck the dick of the Academy with a piece of shit called The Aviator? And now he has to remake our film? I mean this is bullshit. This is total bullshit. I love Marty, I think he's a great person. And the other one is Tarantino. Oh yeah, let's appropriate everything. Are you lost? Yes, you are lost.



Next year Doyle plans to direct 2 films. One of which is a movie about a Japanese country music cover band who think they are on the run from the mafia when they have actually entered  music hell.
"I have love to give, I just don't know where to put it."

Ultrahip


Ghostboy

I've seen parts of Doyle's first film. It was pretty good, and predictably gorgeous to look at.

cowboykurtis

Thats a hilarious interview

I think he's being a bit melodramatic with his criticisms - still hilarious - what a drunk - a brilliant drunk if anything
...your excuses are your own...

SHAFTR

I like his work as a cinematographer, but what an asshole.  I really hope he fails as a director.
"Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that i'll probably regret soon"

hedwig

Quote from: analogzombieSo why the fuck would a great filmmaker need to suck the dick of the Academy with a piece of shit called The Aviator?...

And the other one is Tarantino. Oh yeah, let's appropriate everything. Are you lost? Yes, you are lost.

holy sheeeyat, that's brutal!

shaftr, why do you hope he fails as a director? which specific parts of the interview did you think were so detestable that you'd be compelled to say somethin like that?

JG

he completely generalized american cinema.  honestly, what about PTA?

cowboykurtis

Quote from: JimmyGatorhe completely generalized american cinema.  honestly, what about PTA?

He mentions PTA later in the interview - he says " PTA is a talentless american faggot-boy".

What do you think about that?
...your excuses are your own...

cowboykurtis

I think doyle is argueable the best DP working -

I respect his honesty and bluntness in that interview - however I just remembered one fact that invalidates every comment towards american cinema he so boldly made -

He's shooting M. Night's next film - Meaning his opinions are essentially hypocritcal shit -

he's hypocritical brilliant drunk shit.
...your excuses are your own...

Gold Trumpet

Honesty, if anything here, is funny.

The problem is he does seem drunk. He rants and raves and has little explanation for any of it. I don't mind harshness toward american cinema today, but explanation goes a long way. He was too pissed to do that. It makes those who are really disgruntled look bad.

And besides, the best version of Shall We Dance doesn't belong to the Japanese. It belongs to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Pubrick

being the hardest working alcoholic in the business does grant u sum validity, he makes good points. i don't think he believes his words will have amount to anything except maybe to piss ppl off a little, the fact is he sounds too funny to be taken very seriously. he prolly wouldn't deny that he's just raving for raving's sake. (and ravi's sake? :ponder: )

also the premise of his movie kicked my ass.
under the paving stones.

pete

I bought Doyle's directorial debut, starring Asano Tadanobu and his best friend Kevin.  It's called Away With Words.  I found it on Ebay for about 7 bucks, it was widescreen but felt cropped.
I think Doyle does mean what he says, he's like Herzog that way, like a real dogmatic, physical, blue-collar type of filmmaker, and guys like that love to tell people how the world works and how cinema should be.
I read his book/ collage essay (written in Chinese) where he talked about trying to stir shit up shooting Van Sant's Psycho and Liberty Heights, he does despise bureacracy and hollywood.  He usually doesn't talk like that though.  He's usually a nice sweet drunk who likes to talk about romantic abstract things.  Space, for example.

ps. did anyone attach a link to the interview yet?  if not then here it is:
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/fall2005/features/wild_man.php
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

cowboykurtis

this guys a real peice of work:

"What are you going to do? Are you going to wait? I mean, look what happened to Kubrick. The more he waited — I mean, Eyes Wide Shut is a piece of shit, come on. It's flustered; it's someone frustrated by his own ideas. It's like cheese; it molded, you know? [laughs] Maybe 20 years ago it would have been more interesting, but it has no relevance anymore. And you can't do that."
...your excuses are your own...

Pubrick

the power of his words are too much to ignore. i'm converting to doylenism.

:(
under the paving stones.

matt35mm

Quote from: cowboykurtisthis guys a real peice of work:

"What are you going to do? Are you going to wait? I mean, look what happened to Kubrick. The more he waited — I mean, Eyes Wide Shut is a piece of shit, come on. It's flustered; it's someone frustrated by his own ideas. It's like cheese; it molded, you know? [laughs] Maybe 20 years ago it would have been more interesting, but it has no relevance anymore. And you can't do that."
You can see that philosophy manifesting itself in the sheer amount of work Doyle does.  I can see where he's coming from, but I disagree.