Licorice Pizza - Interviews

Started by itwasgood, November 10, 2021, 10:03:41 AM

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itwasgood

Paul Thomas Anderson and his timeless "Licorice Pizza"
https://carrollnews.org/186115/arts-and-life/paul-thomas-anderson-and-his-timeless-licorice-pizza/

QuotePaul Thomas Anderson and his timeless "Licorice Pizza"

Claire Schuppel, Arts & Life Assistant Editor
December 13, 2021

The trajectory of independent cinema changed the day Paul Thomas Anderson stepped into the public eye. His break came in 1997 with "Boogie Nights," premiering when he was just 27-years-old. From then on, he has created timeless masterpieces that revolutionized film. I had the opportunity to talk with Anderson after seeing his latest 1970s period piece "Licorice Pizza," which opens in theaters everywhere Dec. 25.

Anderson's body of work is filled with impressive pieces, with Academy Award Nominated titles, such as "There Will Be Blood," "Magnolia," "Punch-Drunk Love," "Inherent Vice" and the aforementioned "Boogie Nights." His collaborations are just as iconic as his work, frequently directing Hollywood's biggest names: Daniel Day-Lewis, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix, among many others. While his films are often bleak, dramatic slow burns, "Licorice Pizza" strays away from his typical style and ventures into the timeless story of growth between adolescence and adulthood.

"Licorice Pizza" fits the same mold as a lot of Anderson's previous works, as it takes place in 1970s Southern California. He said in a Vanity Fair interview that he loves the way the atmosphere looks and feels, so he commonly uses that as his story settings. The film stars fresh-faced actors Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman. The story follows the two as they flirtatiously navigate their lives — Haim as a young woman struggling through her mid-twenties, and Hoffman as a creative teenager. Add in the elements of impressive cinematography, a well suited soundtrack and established stars in secondary roles and you have an exceptional film.

We discussed the technical aspects of the film in our conversation. Anderson talked about the soundtrack, saying, "the majority of it is figured out beforehand in the writing process. But certainly for the major sequences: the David Bowie song (heard in the trailer) was always planned to be there...this helps determine camera movements and cutting, storytelling, shot selection, all this sort of stuff." The soundtrack of the movie helps set the atmosphere just as much as the wardrobe, set design and other world-building devices. Names like Bowie, Nina Simone, Paul McCartney and the Doors appear on the film's soundtrack, along with the original score done by Jonny Greenwood.

Anderson emphasized the importance of character appearances when asked about what specific details were most important to him in recreating the era. "...[N]o one is wearing makeup, and no one is wearing makeup because that would be unrealistic," Anderson said. "The San Fernando Valley, where the story takes place, is incredibly hot. You would only wear makeup maybe at night, you'd maybe wear makeup to go to a job interview or something like this."

He also mentioned his continued use of film cameras in a digital age, which helped to enhance the seventies experience. "A technical challenge to me would have been to not shoot on film because I don't know how to do that," he says. "So, we have a whole infrastructure in place that was built around how we do it, whether we were shooting a feature film or shooting a music video for Haim or Radiohead...." Decades of learning the nuance of shooting with film certainly worked to his advantage in creating the authentic look of the 1970s.

The lead characters became the topic of conversation when Anderson was asked about navigating their platonic romance as a writer. He highlighted the emotional maturity of Hoffman's adolescent character, which was paired against Haim's instability and how she is "stuck firmly in her adolescence and not anxious to grow up, even though she might say she is, she's doing everything she can to stay young." Anderson also noted that these differences further emphasized how they could not be together. This dynamic supplemented the comedic element of the movie for him, as the roles of immaturity and maturity do not correlate with their respective ages.

Anderson's talent can partially be attributed to the influence his father, Ernie Anderson, had on him. His late father's presence was well known in Cleveland, as his Ghoulardi character was the biggest media sensation on local Channel 8 from 1963 to 1966. His character was an announcer for grade-B horror and science fiction movies, along with being the face of a few different programs on the channel. Anderson commented on his father's influence in his work, saying, "He had a very strong sense of tempo and how a story would move, and I can remember that making a very strong impression on me. I can't say it really got into my work until just now because generally the films I make are long and slow." The pace at which "Licorice Pizza" moved compared to the rest of his work was much faster, as his typical style would not have matched the high energy of the story. He was glad to hear that his father's influence was still so grand in Cleveland, as he could not verbalize how much his father did for him in life.

Pairing the "Licorice Pizza" viewing experience with the director's perspective on the process of making the film strengthens how heartfelt the story is. He said in our interview that this film "verified this belief that you really don't need much more than the desire and a handful of friends and a handful of your family and you can make a great film." "Licorice Pizza" is a passion project, as it intimately portrays blossoming adulthood. Anderson's works before have had levels of heart, as he focuses his stories around humanity, but nothing can compare to the tenderness and personal element rendered in "Licorice Pizza."

So much goes into the film to create this world, from the shot composition and the use of color and light, to the natural chemistry between the lead actors. Every aspect reinforces "Licorice Pizza" as one of Anderson's best, along with one of the best movies released in 2021.

jzakko

I swear to god all interviews should be in q&a format, this interview had so many quotes that would be gold if there were more context.

It feels like a summary of an interview rather than an actual interview.

wilberfan


pynchonikon

https://mndaily.com/270256/arts-entertainment/qa-paul-thomas-anderson-talks-licorice-pizza/

Q&A: Paul Thomas Anderson talks "Licorice Pizza"

Between debut performances, the complexities of platonic romance and the logistics of shooting a 70's era film, the director's latest is cementing its spot among coming-of-age classics.

wilberfan

Quotethe David Bowie song playing was always planned to be there, the Paul McCartney song was always planned to be there, Nina Simone singing "July Tree" was always planned to be there.

I find that fascinating.  I always supposed that music was chosen during editing in most cases.

QuoteThe great thing about releasing a film right now is that movie studios are looking at what it means to make a film and release it and they've thrown their hands up and said, "We have no idea what to do." Now in the land of unintended consequences here, that's very exciting. That means that there is room to do things differently and in a new way. So we're trying a lot of actually not revolutionary but very old fashioned techniques to get the movie out there. What seemed to happen recently with films is they would just kind of get carpet bombed into existence and then forgotten about within two days. So we were trying to sort of raise people's awareness over a long period of time instead. We're so used to consuming things so rapidly that to stop and to give audiences a chance to breathe, or at least present the film in a more respectable way, in turn gives respect to an audience.

:bravo:

QuoteThere's an old light called an arc light — literally a carbon arc. Using it was like resurrecting an old '57 Chevy Bel Air that had been sitting in a garage for 30 to 40 years that had never been turned on again and trying to fire it up and having it run the Indy 500.

A couple of people proudly mentioned this to me in Chatsworth.  Excitedly commented that "one of the lights was used on 'Gone with the Wind'..." [or 'Singin' in the Rain'--I've forgotten exactly at this moment]  I snuck a peek at it a couple of times (from across the small side street)....

Lots of Bees

What scenes was that used in? Was that the rotating light outside the waterbed/pinball store?

wilberfan

No, that one was a 'conventional' movie-premiere-searchlight kind of thing. (I saw one just like it--unless it was the same one (!)--outside the 'family-only' premiere in Westwood.) 

The one they were referring to was behind the Waterbed/Pinball store when it was pointed out to me.  My memory is that they likely used it (the vintage arc lamp)--at least in part--for one scene (one of many that didn't make the film!) of Gary back-lit walking into his 'palace' in his white suit for the first time.  That was my impression at the time, anyway...  It's possible they might have also used it to film 'daylight' scenes at night...

itwasgood



Alana on The Tonight Show.
There's also a clip from Licorice Pizza.

itwasgood





A couple of junket interviews for LP with HAIM girls.

wilberfan

Paul Thomas Anderson talks about his dad, Ghoulardi, 'Licorice Pizza' and growing up in the San Fernando Valley
Updated: Dec. 20, 2021, 11:40 a.m. | Published: Dec. 20, 2021, 11:40 a.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Never forgetting your first love is what Academy Award-nominated director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights," "Magnolia," "There Will be Blood," "Phantom Thread") is exploring in his new film "Licorice Pizza," which opens Christmas Day in theaters.

Set in the San Fernando Valley during the early '70s, the coming-of-age comedy-drama stars first-time actors Alana Haim (of pop-rock band Haim fame) and Cooper Hoffman (son of Phillip Seymour Hoffman), as well as Sean Penn, Tom Waits and Bradley Cooper.

We caught up with Anderson recently to talk about the continued popularity of his dad Ernie Anderson's mid-'60s late-night television character Ghoulardi, working with first-time actors and how being a father of middle-schoolers led to "Licorice Pizza."

Hey Paul, congrats on the film. Before we get into "Licorice Pizza," let's talk about your dad and Cleveland. What kind of ties do you have to Northeast Ohio?

I have this deep, deep, deep connection to a place I've only been to once in my life. It's so odd because it's not just that my father was Ghoulardi but my mother is from Cleveland, my uncle -- who I'm very close to -- and my grandmother and grandfather were there. And yet the only time I've ever been there was as a child. I stepped off the flight from Los Angeles and I watched what happened when my dad, who was not famous to me at all, walked through the airport. Before we got to the exit, it was as if The Beatles arrived. And it's amazing how long this has lasted.

Despite the fact more than 50 years have passed since Ghoulardi was last on television, your father's impact on Northeast Ohio Baby Boomers still lives on today.

I was so fortunate a few years ago to meet Chrissie Hynde. It was for an event we did for "Phantom Thread." I was in awe of Chrissie Hynde, always. She made her way across the room and came over to me. My ego perked up. I said, "Wow, Chrissie Hynde is coming to tell me just how much she loved 'Phantom Thread.'" And she arrived and said nothing about the film and everything about Ghoulardi. It was great. The same thing with Jim Jarmusch. The reach of the impact of this thing is so far and long-lasting. It's wild, isn't it?

Regarding "Licorice Pizza," is this the San Fernando Valley of your youth?

It's not directly my youth but it's more of the youth of my friend (film and television producer) Gary Goetzman, who is a little bit older than I am. It's all essentially the same stuff, the same locations. Tale O' the Cock was a restaurant my dad went to all of the time. He loved it there. I imagine there's an equivalent in Cleveland. It's the red-leather booth. It's the martinis, either on the rocks or straight up. It's a great piano player. It's the prime rib, mashed potatoes and salads. It's Shirley Temples for the kids. This is somewhere I went all of the time as a kid with my dad. When my dad moved out of Cleveland, the valley is where he landed. I think everybody's idea of Hollywood is like mansions in the hills, this kind of overblown thing. That is certainly true for some people but Los Angeles is very large and the majority is occupied with suburbia. So that's where we lived and what I grew up around. This is a pretty accurate portrayal of what it looked like and smelled like at the time I was growing up.

Whether rooted in idealism, capitalism, ego, desperation or finding a sense of purpose, the film depicts the art of the hustle across all age groups and various characters.

I think we're all kind of inherently mostly selfish. We're just sort of taking care of ourselves or our immediate family and that's what we're doing most of the time. So each character is really doing their own thing. The more you think of characters that way the more dramatic the possibilities. For example, Jon Peters, played by Bradley Cooper, has one mission to go out on a date with Barbra Streisand.

Speaking of Jon Peters, writing for that character, a famous film producer in the '70s, must have felt like low-hanging fruit.

I don't know if it's even accurate to Jon Peters at all. I met an older, much more mellow version of Jon Peters. It's really kind of a creation of every one of those types of characters that we heard of over the years -- the crazy Hollywood producer type, particularly in that era. So was it fun to write? Yes. Was it even more fun to watch? Absolutely. It's the kind of gift that keeps on giving. It's pretty fun and endless to come up with stuff for that character.

What were the challenges associated with having first-time actors Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in lead roles?

Here's where it would have been a challenge: If they had not understood emotionally what was happening in this story. That's a problem, but they understood this story. They understood these characters. They understood the dynamics of each other and the rest of the world. That's what was so wonderful about them. They had enough confidence and insecurity that you felt comfortable going to work with them because that's how everyone feels. You don't want to go to work with actors who are over confident. The things you have to supply to people who have never done it before are so mundane -- teaching how to read a schedule, emotionally bide their time or physically with a 65-day shooting schedule. Making a movie, it's like the worst jet lag that you've ever had. It's so weird, you step into this whole alternate reality out of your normal life. You're doing the same thing over and over again multiple times. It's enough to really mess with your head and then 65 days after skiing down this mountain it's all over.

How exactly did a zygote of a story idea 20 years ago lead to "Licorice Pizza" coming to fruition this year?

It really kind of comes down to when a certain amount of things line up. It was a kernel of a story 20 years ago. I have a few of those but it had nowhere to go until some other piece comes in. Alana was a key component -- meeting her, working with her, seeing her ability and thinking she should be a great vehicle for this story. Added to the mix is that I'm a father of four kids -- ages 16, 12, 10 and 8 -- so I traffic in this world. I'm surrounded by middle schoolers, teenagers. They're in my life so these things lined up being able to feel an opportunity to tell a story and one that you try to talk yourself out of, actually. A way to find out how serious you are, you try and count off all of the ways why you shouldn't do something. Then when you're empty-handed you make the movie. That's what you do.

Nice chatting with you. Let's hope we get you back to in Cleveland soon to shoot a Ghoulardi movie?

Oh my God, one day. Wouldn't that be a great, great film.

d

Not exclusively about LP but an interesting interview with Greenwood about his scores. Do not think it has been posted before.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-jonny-greenwood-wrote-the-years-best-film-score/amp

I have not seen LP yet but was wondering before: in that deleted tweet JG mentioned only few pieces yet there is only one his track on OST. Here the question: "But, especially toward the end, I felt like you were pushing the film a little bit in terms of emotional direction. . . ." also suggests there is more than one? Or am I reading too much into it? Is there more than one piece by Jonny in the film?

wilberfan

Technically, probably--but my sense is that they'd be very small morsels.  You'd probably have to go thru the film with one of these to spot them.

wilberfan

[MILD SPOILERS.  And this is by the woman that grew up in the house they used for Jon Peters place. (She also interviewed Paul early in this cycle.)]

Alana Haim Is the Ultimate Valley Girl
The musician and actor talks 'Licorice Pizza' and her go-to spots in the San Fernando Valley.
alana haim


Alana Haim and I were both in New York when we met over Zoom last week, but spiritually, we were in the San Fernando Valley.

I was quick to establish that I'm from the Los Angeles area where Haim's new movie Licorice Pizza is set, and she, of course, is also a Valley girl, a title I think it's fair to say we both wear with pride. (She was also aware that the house I grew up in is featured in the film, and wanted to know if I had ever crashed my car in the very steep driveway. I didn't, but I explained I got into accidents elsewhere on Ventura Boulevard.)

Haim is best known as one-third of HAIM, the Grammy-nominated band she formed with her older sisters, Este and Danielle, but she makes her film debut in Licorice Pizza as Alana Kane, a role Paul Thomas Anderson wrote with her in mind after directing a number of her band's music videos. Alana is an aimless twenty-something working for a school photographer when she meets Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), a teenager aging out of being a child star and into a consummate entrepreneur. Despite repeatedly rebuffing Gary, Alana eventually gets into business with him selling waterbeds, all the while wondering why they are still hanging out.

As the movie heads into wide release over Christmas—and Haim celebrates her 30th birthday—we linked up to talk about our shared hometown, Jewish girl tummy issues, and her read on the ending of Licorice Pizza. Some light spoilers do follow.

Thrillist: What does the Valley mean to you? What does it mean to travel back in time in this place?
Alana Haim: Being from the Valley, I don't know where you hear it first, but it's just like a feeling where you're like, "Oh, everyone thinks that we're uncool in LA." We're the uncool kids, but it's weird because no one ever sat me down and was like, "Oh, the Valley is uncool." It was just this thing that you kind of grow up knowing, but weirdly it makes you proud of it because, I mean, as you know, going to some party not in the Valley and then you're looking for your Valley kids. And then you'll meet someone that's like, "Yeah, I'm from Studio City." And you're like, "Oh no, no, no. Now we're best friends." Like, "What middle school did you go to? I went to Millikan."

It's just like this unspoken thing. And I think that was one of the main things that me and Paul connected on when me and my siblings met him, we've always loved the Valley because we were always proud of living there. I mean, even though now, funnily enough, people seeing the movie are like, "I want to go to the Valley," and I'm like, "It's a suburb." I guess I'll take you to the Fashion Square? But yeah, I just always loved it because everyone thought that it was uncool. And I was like, "Well, if it's uncool, then I don't care. Then that makes me feel cool because I think it's cool."

And being in this movie: All of the points of reference, I knew exactly where they were. And if I didn't know where they were, I knew what had taken over after it was a thing. It was a little bit farther down Ventura, but when Du-par's closed I mourned that for a very long time. The facade of Du-par's is still there. They haven't changed the sign or anything. They just painted over everything and it's a Sephora and you're like, "The amount of memories I have at this place," because that area was basically where I grew up. So, that was my place. Late night, you go to Du-par's.

It was great being in the Valley and knowing it because it helped with my character. I mean, I'm a Valley girl, and Alana Kane is a Valley girl. I grew up the same way as Alana Kane. I lived with my parents until I was in my twenties. And I'm still so close with my parents. I call them every day. And they come visit me every day at my house, even though I don't want them to, but it's okay because that's a Jewish family for you. We can't get away from each other.

What are your current Valley spots? What are your favorite places that are still in the Valley?
It's so hard because COVID really did kind of switch things up. So I don't know if these places are even open. Going to Disco Saturday Night at Oil Can Harry's was my Saturday night. And it's weird because it felt like overnight the secret was over. Like, someone let the secret out that Oil Can Harry's was the place to be because I would go there and there would be just the regulars. You know what I mean? I would see the same people every week. And then it kind of felt like one night I went and there was a bachelorette party or something. And then the next week, it was like, "Oh, wait, I can't even get in?" I mean, every night is amazing at Oil Can Harry's, but Disco Saturday Night was always super fun because I'm such a fan of the '70s music. But I loved Oil Can Harry's. There's a rumor that it's coming back, but I don't know. It might be Valley folklore.

Art's Deli was my deli. If it wasn't Canter's, it was Art's. If I couldn't make it over the Hill, it would be Art's. And Casa Vega was the thing. And also, funnily enough, the first Menchie's ever opened up down the street from my house. And that was the craziest technology, where I'm like, "Oh, you do the... " [gestures pulling a frozen yogurt lever]. I remember I desperately wanted to work there because I think they opened around the time that I was 14 or 15. And they never gave me a job. I didn't even get interviewed. They were like, "No, you can't work here." And I was devastated. I worked at Crossroads Trading Company on Ventura Boulevard. That was my job when I went to Valley College. And what else? Oh, More Than Waffles in Encino. I'm sure you knew that. And everything came with a fucking waffle. What more could you ask for? Those were my Valley hangs for sure. I mean, I have 50 million more.

How did you approach where Alana is in her life in this movie? She's in this middle ground of being an adult but not feeling like one.
I feel like every single person on this planet has gone through that point in their lives where they have no idea, where you're in that in-between. I mean, I talked to my mom the other day. My birthday's tomorrow, so me and my mom always have this—

Happy birthday!
Thank you. We always have this call every year, where she tells me the story about how she sneezed and her water broke. That's how I came into this world, with a sneeze. She was like, "I can't believe you're turning 30." And I was like, "I know. I can't believe it either. I still feel like I'm 16." And she was like, "Me too." You know, everyone goes through this time where they feel so young. They don't feel like an adult, but they're considered an adult, but you weirdly are like, "Okay, I have to act like an adult, but I don't know how to act like that."

To know that your parents felt like they were 16 when they had you,  they were very much flying by the seat of their pants, was also weirdly comforting and also kind of scary because I look at my parents being like, "Oh, you guys had all the answers," and really, they had no answers. Especially with someone like my older sister, they really were like, "We have never done this before." The amount of first-time parent mistakes that you make. I feel like every single person on this planet goes through that time where they're looking at their life and they're saying like, "Okay, I'm in this in-between. What do I do?"

That's very much where Alana Kane is. I think she's super willing to work. I think she really wants to succeed. And she has all the tools, but doesn't have someone. Like, her siblings are not helping her through this time. Her parents are not helping her through this time. If anything, they're like, "You'll get into the family business," and that's it. And she has bigger dreams for herself. She wants to do something on her own. When she meets someone like Gary who's like, "I want to start a water bed business." She's like, "All right, then let's start this water bed business." She's up for it. That's what I admire about her so much is that she's super willing to do the work, but she just doesn't have any direction.

I'd love your take on the ending of the movie.
You know, I laugh about this all the time because the thing that I love about Alana and Gary's friendship is that they're constantly at each other's throats, but the universe pulls them apart and brings them back together. My take on the ending is, probably, they're running and it seems like, "Oh, they figured it out." And then, in my mind, Gary pulls Alana too hard and she falls forward and gets scabs on her knees. She doesn't talk to Gary for another three weeks, and then is like, "All right, fine. I'll talk to him." He'll probably chain call her and she won't answer. And then finally, she'll be, "All right, fine. I'll talk to you." And then it's like a never-ending rollercoaster. They'll never get it together, but that's the funny part of it. They're two pieces that are trying to fit, but it's like you never know where it's going to go with that. But I do have this vivid image of Alana falling and then never talking to Gary again and then being like, "All right, I'll talk to you. Fine. Let's go to the Pinball Palace. I'll meet you there."

There's a lot of running in this movie for you.
So much running. So much. And I'm not a runner.

What was the importance of the Jewishness of Alana and the Kanes for you?
It's no secret that I'm Jewish. I mean, I have the nose. I have the name. I grew up doing Shabbat dinner every Friday. My humor comes from my Judaism. My stomach issues come from my Judaism. As we all know, every Jewish girl knows, our tummy issues are very... it happens. And that's okay. And we grow up with it. And that's fine.

But especially with the Shabbat dinners. I mean, the funniest moments in my life have always come from Shabbat dinner. That story that's in the movie is true. It wasn't Shabbat, though, it was Passover. Not my boyfriend, but my middle sister's boyfriend had come to Passover, and we're reading the Haggadah, as you do, you know, you take turns. You sing the songs. You take turns. And then you eat matzah for the next week, which prolongs your tummy issues. Let's talk about matzo brei all that time. You're fucked.

I do love matzo brei though.
Oh, my mom makes an incredible matzo brei. It's insane. But it literally fucks with my stomach for the next three years. I'm still dealing with all the Pesachs through the years. This whole interview is just going to be about my tummy issues. I'm really going to get a lot of dates through this interview.

But yeah, it was my middle sister. She brought her boyfriend at the time to Passover. And it got to him, and he refused to read the Haggadah. He refused to read this little paragraph. It was incredibly awkward. And I remember telling Paul that story years ago, and while he was writing the script, he was like, "What was that story again? There was a guy that Danielle brought over?" I told him the story. And then when I read the script, it was in the script. Honestly, shooting that scene—I feel like all of us, because my family, my dad, my parents have never acted, obviously, just like me.

Your dad is so good in the movie.
He's incredible. He's literally Robert De Niro. I'm like, "Who are you?" But while we were shooting it, we were laughing so much that, after the day was over, I think we all got on a family conference call and we were like, "There's no way Paul is putting this in the movie. This is going to be on the cutting room floor." Now, seeing it in the movie and having people laugh... Because that's the thing, especially me and my siblings, but my whole family, we love making people laugh. That was my upbringing. It's like, if I can make a dude in seventh grade laugh when I was in seventh grade, I thought that he would have a crush on me. I was wrong. Very wrong. But that was my strength, like, "I'm funny. I'm funny. Come on. I'm funny. Why don't you want to make out with me?" But yeah, we love making people laugh. So, watching the movie and having people laugh at my dad, it's just so funny. We find it amazing. It's my favorite part of the movie, for sure, other than being with everybody else, like Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper. But, you know, my dad's pretty great too.

You mentioned the Sean Penn scene. Can you tell me about being on the back of that motorcycle with him and falling off?
I mean, it was so great. I think the thing that Paul kind of quickly realized working with me on music videos is the amount of crazy things that we did on music videos—I say this all the time. This is LA. This is not the Valley. But I'm a Sagittarius. So, I know my star sign. I'm obsessed with my star sign. I'm very LA in that way. But I'm a Sagittarius. And Sagittarians love new adventures. They're up for anything. And something like the sentence, "You're about to get on a motorcycle with Sean Penn and then fall off," was like, thank you. I'm so ready. I've been preparing for this moment my whole life. Something completely out of my comfort zone and never thought I would ever do to a Sagittarius is like, "Let's go. Of course." And so, it was just fun. I mean, what can I say? Being on the back of a motorcycle with Sean Penn. There's worse things that I could do on a Saturday night. There was nothing wrong with that image. It was just so fun to be able to try things that I would never in my life ever think that I would ever try. Again, Sagittarius. If anyone's like, "Do you want to jump out of a plane?" I'm like, "Yes. I would love that. Let's do that. A hundred percent." If you ask that to Danielle Haim, who's an Aquarius, no, she would not do that. Me? 100 percent.

What were your first moments of bonding with Paul, where you sort of realized that like, "Okay, this is going to be a really, really fruitful, creative relationship in my life"?
I think about it all the time. I say it all the time also that I felt like my whole life, me and my siblings and Paul were kind of just in this weird orbit waiting for us to collide. And I always kind of secretly knew, I'm like, "If I ever met Paul, I really do think that we'd be friends," because of just the Valley connection and just his movies are so fucking incredible and I'm such a big fan of his that I just like felt like we have so many points of reference that we can connect on. I didn't think we were going to become family. I felt like we were going to be friends, but not family. There wasn't a moment where I was like, "Oh, we're going to be family," but it was just this thing of he understood, we both understood where we came from.

He's always just been so supportive of my siblings and I. It's very rare to find someone like that in your lifetime, someone like Paul, because all he wants is for everybody around him to succeed. It's very rare to find, especially—I mean, I hate to say "in this business," because I mean, I've been in the music industry for a very long time and that's basically my connection to Paul. But it is true. I haven't found anybody like Paul in my whole life that just genuinely supports you. It's just endless. He wants you to succeed. And he makes you feel like you can succeed. Especially even with this movie, the amount of doubts that I had, and he never made me feel like I didn't belong. He supported me and constantly reassured me that I could do it, even when I didn't think I could. And that's rare. When you're in Paul's crew, when you get to call Paul your friend, you're a very lucky person. And that's how I feel. I feel very lucky to consider him a friend and also to consider him a part of my family.

Did you have a favorite Paul movie before meeting him?
I wasn't really allowed to watch Boogie Nights until later in life. But my siblings, we have this tradition in our family. Este started it. So, when Danielle turned 16, Este went to Second Spin on Ventura Boulevard and bought [Danielle] ten CDs that were going to be like her Bible for the next chapter of her life because when you turn 16, I mean, you're in high school. It's a big deal. You're going to discover heartbreak. You're going to discover going to parties. And Este bought her ten CDs. You're getting a car, so you need CDs. Este and Danielle shared a car for a very long time. So, she got her these CDs. And one of the CDs was the Boogie Nights soundtrack because Este was obsessed with Boogie Nights, and it's one of the best soundtracks of all time. And so that's how I was introduced to Paul. I thought that it was like a Now That's What I Call Music! for the '70s. I obviously saw the cover and it looked like a movie poster, but I didn't fucking know. And so, just knowing Paul through music, funny enough, I was like, "This is sick." That was the first time I heard "Brand New Key" by Melanie. I would listen to it constantly. I would steal Este's Walkman CD player from Costco. And I would listen to that soundtrack constantly. So, that's how I was introduced to Paul, through his music taste, which is impeccable.

jzakko

Quote from: d on December 20, 2021, 12:41:56 PM
Not exclusively about LP but an interesting interview with Greenwood about his scores. Do not think it has been posted before.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/how-jonny-greenwood-wrote-the-years-best-film-score/amp

I have not seen LP yet but was wondering before: in that deleted tweet JG mentioned only few pieces yet there is only one his track on OST. Here the question: "But, especially toward the end, I felt like you were pushing the film a little bit in terms of emotional direction. . . ." also suggests there is more than one? Or am I reading too much into it? Is there more than one piece by Jonny in the film?

I doubt it.  When he said 'cues' that doesn't necessarily mean there's more than one piece, it can just appear multiple places.

I'm pretty sure the piece in the album appears twice in the film and that's it for Greenwood music,
Spoiler: ShowHide
once at the beginning after their first date, and again when they're running to find each other at the end.
The latter instance is certainly what the interview is referring to.