Last Days

[modage]

this is screening up the street in queens tomorrow but i guess i'm not gonna go because if it's not quite as good as gerry i will probably not enjoy it.  i might to see the island though!

[cowboykurtis]

what's intriguing to me is the level of artistic licensing Van Sant can take because this film isn't specifically about Cobain.

Have you seen the poster?

This film is about KURT COBAIN'S "Last Days" before blowing his head off.

I don't understand why people are so hesitant to embrace that.

[Ghostboy]

It's not about his last days specifically, it's about what might have happened, and Van Sant uses an avatar to give himself more freedom to explore this. The character's name isn't Kurt, and

SPOILER (kind of)

he doesn't blow his head off.

I don't see why you're so loathe to entertain the idea of artistic interpretation.

[cowboykurtis]

It's not about his last days specifically, it's about what might have happened, and Van Sant uses an avatar to give himself more freedom to explore this. The character's name isn't Kurt, and

SPOILER (kind of)

he doesn't blow his head off.

I don't see why you're so loathe to entertain the idea of artistic interpretation.

First off, i haven't seen this, so any response i have is an assumption - - all i can do is respond to the "idea" of what this film seems to be -

With that said -

The character's name is inconsequential - Obviously every person going into this film is watching the protagonists actions as if it was Kurt Cobain.
Van Sant went out of the way to make sure of that - with the content as well as the marketing - he very deliberately planted this contextual seed -

I don't have a probelm with artistic interpretation - However to use a real person, who tragically took his own life, and trivialize it by "artistically interpreting" who he was, in what is most likely an inaccurate account; i just find boring - but above all else - irresponsible.

Whether or not his intentions are of that to trivialize (im sure they aren't, for if he made a film about kobain, he obviously respects him), the effect of making a film about a extreemly recognized persona and invent his own interpreation, has the potential of slandering, discrediting, trivializing, etc...

I just know that I woudn't want someone (gus van sant of all people) "artistically interpreting" my life, without consent.

I think embracing van Sant artistic pursuit in this case is bullshit - I think his artistic choices were made out of legal reasons rather than creative approaches. As you said GhostBoy, he wanted to do a Cobain biopic and couldn't get the rights, so he molded it into a film where he wouldn't be sued. If you can't get the rights, you don't do the film - for me, it discredits van sant's intergrity as a filmmaker.

However this whole discussion is cyclical - becuase not knowing any of this bullshit backstory, the film is probably beautiful - out of context, in and of itself --

i wish i didn't know all of this so i could walk in unaffected - i most likely will not even bother seeing it, for the those reasons...

[Ghostboy]

Well, I know the whole name difference is trivial, but I referenced that more as a jumping point.

I don't have a probelm with artistic interpretation - However to use a real person, who tragically took his own life, and trivialize it by "artistically interpreting" who he was, in what is most likely an inaccurate account; i just find boring - but above all else - irresponsible.

I guess we have to agree to disagree here, because I think that it would have been irresonsible to do anything else (re: dreck like 'Ray'). It is most certainly inaccurate to Cobain's last days and hours, because no one knows what he was going through, or even the events of what happened (unless the whole conspiracy things is true, which I don't really buy, but I digress).

But to attempt to explore on film the mindset of a person who goes through what Cobain might have gone through - to attempt to understand - that seems entirely honorable, and far less 'boring' than a standard biopic. The 'why' is something no one can know, but everone can wonder, and what this is is Van Sant wondering and trying to come to terms with what a person must be going through when they reach that breaking point.

Van Sant was interested in the biopic way before he did Gerry, Psycho, Good Will Hunting - obviously, he lost interest in telling the story directly, but did not lose interest in the underlying ideas, the psychology of the story.

I mean, would you honestly prefer the upcoming TV biopic 'Heavier Than Heaven' to this? Because it's coming, so you'll be able to take your pick. I'd rather see something that adds to my gently and subtly adds to perception of the figure, as opposed to something telling me that 'this is how it happened,' which is what biopics imply.

Of course, your answer might be that they shouldn't make a biopic at all, but that's sort of a moot point. Additionally, you seem to not be a Van Sant fan - so that could be the main point of contention right there.

[Pubrick]

excellent discussion. no one resorted to childish name calling (usually stemming from repressed homosexuality and self-loathing), over-defensiveness, and all admitted the extent to which their statements could be substantiated. no retards here, that's for sure.

well done  

[MacGuffin]

Since Michael Pitt first made his big splash in films like Bully and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, many journalists have been calling him the next big thing in acting. With performances in The Dreamers and Wonderland he may just be proving them right.

Now he is a playing a Kurt Cobain like rock star in Gus Van Sant’s Last Days.

Daniel Robert Epstein: When did you become involved in “Last Days?” Director Gus Van Sant was saying you have been involved for years.

Michael Pitt: Maybe three years ago. Originally, Gus [Van Sant] had a couple of other people in mind. He was in between projects. He always has like five or six ideas he’s always talking about, and then he just mentioned this one day. I got really animated and was like, “You have to make this film,” and he was like, “I was actually thinking about you as the main character.” I really didn’t believe him at the time. I thought he was cool, but I thought he was a little misguided, because I was a big fan and I had lot of respect for him

DRE: Do you remember where you were when Kurt Cobain killed himself?

MP: I do, but I wasn’t a fan then. When I was younger, I really didn’t see the change, or impact, that he had. All I saw was that everyone was a fan by that point, and I naturally gravitated away from that.

DRE: What albums or songs attracted you to them?

MP: It was Bleach and Incesticide. I’m actually not that good with song names, but for me, the most impressive album is Incesticide and all the B sides. That album is amazing. For me, that album is what’s going to keep it alive, as opposed to Nevermind. Nevermind was a big success, but those other albums were when their success wasn’t as big. For me, [Incesticide] is what’s going to keep it going.

DRE: Did you study a lot of footage of Kurt Cobain for the role?

MP: I had [already] seen everything, but then I revisited things. I was able to look at some personal footage.

DRE: Did you connect to the experience of being in a band while creating the character of Blake?

MP: I think musicians are all different. We weren’t doing remakes of concerts and [explaining] how they came up with certain riffs, which is all just fucking hearsay. It was more about the last 3 days of his life. Definitely, his success and profession was a factor, but I was thinking more about his life, his wife, and his child.

DRE: Do you have mixed feelings about success?

MP: I think success is subjective. It sounds cliché, but success is your friends, your family, what you do, and if you’re happy when you wake up.

DRE: What kind of strategy, if any, do you have for choosing each role?

MP: There’s a bit of strategy that goes from one character to the next. It’s about changing perception, but I really just do things that interest me.

DRE: Being a musician, did you have any input as far as the music for “Last Days?”

MP: I didn’t really write the music for the film. Well, the last song “From Death to Birth” was a song I wrote a long time ago. Any reservation I had about doing this film was based on me being a fan [of Cobain] and dealing with that. Another big factor was my own music, and I didn’t want it to appear that I was trying to benefit [from] a song that I wrote. So, basically, the concept I came up with was that if I make music on the film, it will be improvised and it will be what happens that day. That is what I did, like in the first song. In the last scene we did about 7 or 8 takes, and each take I made up a song. It was something that said: This is a musician, he’s playing a song but there’s no confusion. And then Gus, in the last take, said, “Play that song,” and then I think Thurston [Moore the film’s music coordinator] suggested that we put that song in. I trust Gus and I trust Thurston.

DRE: Was Van Sant very rigid with the script or did he give you freedom?

MP: The whole film was improvised. The shoot was seventeen days. There was a map, no dialogue, and there are a lot of the scenes that are in the movie that weren’t written. I like working like that. Even when there is a script, I try and do that, but you can’t always do that. [For me], it’s the first time where it has been the whole thing. If you’re going to do a film like that, as a director, it can be so fucking great. You have to seriously trust the people you’re working with and make sure you can still make your vision with everyone’s input, which is amazing because he [Van Sant] just does it. Sometimes its eerie, because it doesn’t even matter what you do. Some directors have very strong egos and they say, “No, don’t put the cup there, put it here.” And Gus is like, “Put the cup wherever you want. You can put it across the room.”

DRE: How did you meet Aaron Woodley and get to do “Rhinoceros Eyes”?

MP: That film came to me. To be honest, it was the only original thing that I got. I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but I don’t care. I have issues with that film, because, at one point, they didn’t hand over total control to Aaron. You decide to do a film with someone, and that’s who you want to do a film with. It was the first feature for him, so it probably upsets him less because he got to make his movie.

DRE: What was it like working with Bernardo Bertolucci in “The Dreamers?”

MP: It was intense. It was a lot of things. Here was this director that is revered, and I’m starring in it. I was in Europe, alone for three months, and I was the only American. I feel like the relationship between actor and director is maybe different in Europe, but that’s probably not true. There was this thing where it was like: You’re the actor and I’m the director. At first, me and Bertolucci were very much going head to head. Part of it was because he wasn’t used to me trying to be so involved, and part of it was me not knowing how to present things. But once we got that figured that out, it was amazing. I would get an idea and I would scream it in the middle of the shoot. I remember thinking this was a good idea, and then Bertolucci would stand up and look around and say, “Does anyone care to have this movie directed by Michael Pitt?” It was completely humiliating and I realized that you don’t yell out on set, you talk in private and you explain what you don’t like. I think when actors give their input, it can be very ego-driven and directors are scared of that. He saw it wasn’t about my ego, and more about the film and about making him look good and doing a good job for him.

DRE: Would you have done this film if it was a strict biographical account of Kurt Cobain?

MP: I don’t know, to tell you the truth. The hard thing is that I really respect Gus. It’s just my opinion, but I think he’s the most important American director we have. He takes the most risks. He’s just pure to me. So it’s this weird thing where maybe I would have done it. But I also respect him enough that, if I didn’t feel like I could do it, I wouldn’t say, “Yea I can do it” and just reap the benefits.

DRE: What are you planning on doing next? I hear that you are going to work with Steve Buscemi?

MP: That’s not a go yet. Right now I’m just working on my music mostly. We recorded last summer, and right now we’re trying to figure out how to release it. I think we’re going to go an independent route, so it’s going to be a longer process. I play guitar and sing.

DRE: Do you have a preference between music and acting?

MP: The day someone put money in my hand for a job, I bought a guitar and figured it out. I was like 18 or 19, which is pretty late. I was always a fan of music. The acting, I don’t know really how it happened. I was the only thing I though I could do well, and I was fascinated as a kid. I would just watch movies all day long, and then I moved to New York and just went for it.

DRE: You started out in the theater. Are you ever going to go back to it?

MP: I think I should. First job was “The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek.”

DRE: Do you have good memories working with director Larry Clark in “Bully?”

MP: That was the first time I think I felt at home. I didn’t have to pretend. No one was going to judge, and no one’s going to think I’m a freak. I can just work. For “Bully,” they wouldn’t really see me, because I wasn’t on the list. So I went to Larry’s house, and I was like, “Read me, Read me.” That was the part that I could get, and I was lucky to get that.. The part was actually smaller on the page, but he just let me riff

DRE: Do you want to direct?

MP: Yes, I want to direct. I have like three projects in mind, but I think I’ve been out of it too long to direct a theater piece.

[modage]

i hate this kid.

[Stefen]

I don't like him either. He reminds me of a ghetto Ethan Hawke still trying to be a slacker 10 years later.

I do wanna see this though. I love how Van Sant can have just quiet soft moments in his movies that are never boring and always exciting.

On a side note, I see Harmony Korine in the cast list, what does he do in the film? What part does he play in reference (homage?) to Nirvana?

[Ghostboy]

He's just some guy at a rave/party.

[Brazoliange]

I like him  

[mogwai]

he was in dawson's creek, go figure.

[Ghostboy]

Full review here (although I may edit it when I wake up in the morning and decide its too melodramatic).

[MacGuffin]

Cobain's 'Last Days' inspire Van Sant movie

Director Gus Van Sant's new film may be dedicated to and inspired by Kurt Cobain, but moviegoers hoping for a sensationalistic look at the suicide of the Nirvana rocker won't find it in "Last Days."

The film, which stars Michael Pitt ("The Dreamers") as a musician hiding out in his enormous stone house from his career, his family and his parasitic hangers-on, opened in New York and Los Angeles on Friday.

Contemplative rather than reportorial, "Last Days" eschews many of the conventions of mainstream narrative movies, although with "Good Will Hunting" to his credit, Van Sant is no stranger to more crowd-pleasing fare.

Like the director's previous two films, "Last Days" uses a real-life incident as a point of artistic departure. "Gerry" (2002) centered on two hikers stranded in the desert, and "Elephant," which won the top award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003, followed a group of high school students in the days before a shooting rampage similar to the one at Columbine.

Like those movies, Van Sant's imagining of Cobain's final descent in 1994 is interested less in answers than in suggestion and observation.

"There isn't really one answer," the director said in a recent interview. "If there is, I tend to think that the answers become sort of like scapegoats. People want answers in the same way that they want the culprit. It doesn't matter if the guy or girl was really responsible for the crime, so long as you have somebody to hang by the tree."

But complicated questions like death, suicide and mass murder, he says, defy simple answers. "We show instances of what may be bothering our character in 'Last Days,' but we don't say, 'This is for sure the reason."'

Van Sant was drawn to the final chapter of Cobain's saga precisely because there is so little information about it.

What is known is that Cobain, battling heroin addiction, a chronic stomach ailment and creative insecurity, spent his last days in virtual solitude before retreating to the greenhouse of his Seattle home and putting a shotgun to his mouth. His body was not discovered for several days.

The film follows the Cobain-inspired character in long takes while he tries to protect his troubled solitude from a variety of colleagues, friends and strangers, including four stoned hangers-on living in his house. (Pitt contributes his own musical compositions; there are no Nirvana songs in the film).

For his ensemble, Van Sant uses both professional actors (Lukas Haas, Ricky Jay, Asia Argento) and first-timers like musician Kim Gordon of veteran indie rock band Sonic Youth.

Van Sant creates an atmosphere of seclusion and disconnection in the film, which was shot mostly in and around a 19th century castle in upstate New York.

"There is no story," Van Sant said with a laugh. "There's a direction, but there's no setup."

[Finn]

I saw Ebert & Roeper's review last night. Ebert appreciated it with a thumbs up and Roeper hated it with thumbs down. But Roeper also didn't like "Gerry" so I wouldn't put too much stock in his reviews on Gus Van Sant films.