2 Days in Paris…
After a successful run in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore,2 Days In Paris – a romantic comedy directed by Julie Delpy releases today in Kolkata. The movie was screened at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival
Below is an interview with the Academy Award Nominated Director, Julie Delpy (click here for more interviews)
Q: Why did you decide to make this film?
JD: I actually thought about making this film about 5,6 years ago. I’ve been writing projects here and there for years but they always cost above 2 millions, like The Countess (based on the true story of Erzebet Bathory) or “The End of the War”, a movie set in the Pacific about Japanese soldiers during WWII (in Japanese), or “World War and other fun stuff to watch on the evening news”, a comedy on war and the media. I’ve been trying to get those projects off the ground for years and was having a hard time convincing people to give me money for it since they are closer to 5 million budget movies. A friend of mine advised me to make a lower budget movie as my first, and especially one that would not be too different from what people are used to see me in. Since I had co-written “Before Sunset”, I knew that if I presented something in the same budget scale, it would be easier to finance. But I also wanted to make a very different film; in a way, I wanted to do the opposite. I had already written a lot of “2 Days in Paris” when I started writing “Before Sunset”, so somehow; “2 Days” came first.
I know some people will think that I can only write about a French/American couple in Paris, but it’s not the case when I write about other things no one gives me money for it so… I guess it’s a bit unsettling when you meet a French woman that writes Japanese war movies.
So when I met Christophe Mazodier about another project, I told him about this one that I had in mind. Originally I wanted to make it totally guerilla with 20 000 euros etc. He offered to produce it and to raise more money — and he did, which wasn’t easy because I had not written a full script yet, I finished the script after I got the financing, which is unusual. That’s when 3 L got involved, and then Rezo. The movie got financed in Berlin last year on half a screenplay and actually there were 2 lines that convinced the financiers to jump in; Those 2 lines were:
— I would say that a blowjob is a big deal; after all it is a blowjob that brought down America’s last chance at a healthy democracy.
— Is this a kid’s size condom? Do they make condoms for kids?
Q: You wrote the script in a few weeks?
JD: Yes and no. That’s my way of writing: I do a lot of planning and thinking, then it comes out very fast. I wrote the first draft of “Before Sunset” in about 5 days but Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and I had worked on the idea for years. And then of course we kept on working on it. Same here I wrote the first draft very fast and then worked on it for quite some times until the last week-end before the shoot.
Q: Were you nervous about writing something after your academy award nomination?
JD: Well, it was a real honor to be nominated for “Before Sunset” with Rick and Ethan and I enjoyed writing that film very much and I believe it’s a very classy and beautiful film, but I try not to think about the past and always look forward. Of course, this screenplay is so different in tone: I wanted it to be crude, politically incorrect and a bit mean at times, when “Sunset” is very romantic and sweet — which this film is not. There’s more edge in this one and much less romance, so the romantics might be a little surprised. It’s another side of my writing, a side I didn’t express in “Sunset” because of the nature of the story and characters. But again, this is just one other side. My next film will be something totally different, I like to write different genre.
Q: There are lots of friends and family in the cast…
JD: Well, when you decide to make a movie with little money, you want to be surrounded with people you trust, just like a family. Since it’s my first film, I have not built these relationships that a director builds with his crew and producers over the years, so I felt better getting people I already knew in the cast. Plus I wrote most of the parts with actors in mind… I wrote the part of Jack for Adam Goldberg, for Marion parent’s I had my parents in mind because they are wonderful actors. I found out quickly that, for example, some financiers were scared away by the dad’s crude dialogue. But I knew too that my dad would give it this adorable quality, because he looks like Santa Clause — like a perverted Santa Clause. And also on paper, the mom character seemed a bit like a strange woman but I knew my mom would give it this adorable quality. Same for my sister Alexia Landeau, etc…
Really, when I wrote the parts of Marion’s parents, if I had not cast my real parents I would’ve been in so much trouble… They would have kidnapped my cat and blackmailed me!
Q: So, “Two Days” is a romantic comedy set in Paris?
JD: I’d say it isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s more comedy than romantic. I really fought to keep the dark side of the film and the little political comments as well. The film is kind of harsh on everyone: men, women, the French, the Americans, etc… Believe it or not the only ones that are offended a bit are the French — there is a long tradition in France of not criticizing anything that they do wrong. French people are perfect, it’s true!
Q: France Versus America?
JD: No, I don’t confront the two cultures, but by living in both countries I see the differences — even if overall it’s not so different: people are free and women are not mutilated by their own mothers… So it is the same world, but then there is something deeply different as well in the way we deal with basic things like love, family etc…
To me there are two kinds of French people; the French like the character of Gael, that kind of horrible, disgusting bourgeoisie (like the people in power in France right now), and there’s the Gauls that are closer to Marion’s parents and therefore Marion but of course liberal Gauls. The parents are obviously liberals actually no, even better; they are anarchists. Anarchist Gauls!
Jack is a liberal, cynic and open minded until his value of private property is shaken! In this case, Marion is his private property and the idea that he could have shared her with anyone in the past or actually in the present is unbearable to him.
The film is a lot about jealousy. The film talks about small issues that everyone deals with in a lifetime. I’d love to make a movie about war and corruption, but it’s expensive so I make a movie about jealousy and human nature in a nutshell, and I make it funny because the kind of problems the characters have are not that serious.
Q: You shot the film in 4 weeks. Was it a choice?
JD: I would have loved an extra day for the shooting of the party, for example, but overall, I actually liked the emergency of the shoot for this film. We had no rehearsal time, which was the only difficult thing for me. Especially with Adam, I wanted at least a week of rehearsal, but he was on “Deja vu” and showed up 12 hours before the shoot, so we had to adapt. Luckily, Adam is usually good on the first take. In retrospect I believe too much rehearsal time could have actually not been necessarily a good thing. I had no time to analyze the film too much (omitted). I don’t believe it’s a good thing for every film but for this one it adds something spontaneous. Now that I see it, I see little things in the film that teaches me more about myself than anything I’ve done.
blogged by Shamath Mazumdar, NDTV Lumière
Tags: Academy Award, Before Sunset, Julie Delpy, Movies, World Cinema
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Damn, this multiplexes are killing me
both “sunset” movies are absolutely fantastic, I’m sure this one too is!
I don’t know whether it’ll release in Pune, I guess need to wait for the DVD to come out!
This film is Hilarious is parts.
Esp when Julie’s parents are on screen.
Adam Goldberg is always so much fun….
this film is absolutely hilarious!!!