JONATHAN LEVINE talks Mandy Lane
Matt here.... this is certainly not an interview Mike had with the coolest cat we've ever spoken to hear at OWF, the up and coming director Jonathan Levine. This is two guys just hanging out and throwing around filmic references to each other. I love directors who are quite happy to talk like the true geeks they are and let their movies do most of the work. I have a Blu-Ray copy of ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE which I'm gonna watch in about 5 mins and I can't wait. Take it away Mike... With the forthcoming DVD release of ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE and THE WACKNESS poised to hit UK cinemas, Jonathan Levine has decided to hang around PR haunts and see who accosts him. Luckily he paid heed to my accost and we had the following chat:
ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE was feature debut as director, did you feel a lot of pressure going into it or were you just there to have fun?Most of the pressure was kind of self-imposed, I just wanted to do a really good job because I just wanted to have the opportunity to make another movie and another movie. But I didn't feel a tremendous amount of pressure because the producers were nice, they were confident in me and and I was confident in myself. I put a lot of pressure on myself though, and I certainly didn't sleep much. It felt more like an sense of opportunity than 'don't fuck this up'... although that was there too!What do you think the film says about you?
About me? I don't know, I would hope that what is says is that I'm... well I hope it doesn't say too much about my personality! I don't want anyone to lock me up. I hope it just shows my interest in challenging the audience, and my interest in teenage life and life in general, and just my interest in using filmmaking to excite people and have a good time at the movies.So you weren't chanelling any issues you had with the 'beautiful people' at high school then?
No, I mean Jacob had a lot of that is his script and I did definitely bring that out as well, and I certainly wasn't that popular at high school and I really wasn't into high school but I never wanted to invite my classmates out to a ranch and kill them!I'm glad to hear that! There were a lot of really dark scenes in there, did you have trouble trying not to traumatise the actors?
They seemed all very.... When you're working with kids of this age, when they're all in their early 20s, I was just very lucky to have a group that was so committed and intelligent. They knew the difference between playing it and being it, they were willing to go to the dark places but they would just come straight back from there. So they took the lead, they immersed themselves in it.What about the more gory scenes, was it hard to keep a straight face when they were wrestling in mud in a pit of cess?
That stuff is just fun. It's intense. And when you're covered in mud pretty much the only thing you can think about is being covered in mud, so the movie just sort of happens around that notion. Basically you're there for eight hours being like "when the fuck am I going to get out of this mud??" So there's nothing other than the visceral, pure, raw, "I'm stuck in mud" and we were just trying to get through it as quickly as possible. I think in many ways that just helps the scene - there's a rawness and intensity to it that's really real and coming from the fact that everyone's in a disgusting place.Was that your favourite scene in the film?
It was my favourite scene to shoot, definitely. It was really fun... really gross, but fun. I don't know man, we had a lot of fun shooting and I have a lot of favourite scenes. I certainly like the action stuff, that's what I think about when I think of fun scenes: the car chase, and stuff like that. But it was all really fun, even just sitting around with the kids and watching them come up with funny stuff. It was great.If you could choose any project that you desperately want to make, what would it be? Because you know I've always wanted to make a Gremlins 3.
(Laughs) Yeah man. The thing is, you're not going to do better than GREMLINS 2. That movie is awesome.It is tough. Do you reckon that's why no-one's attempted a third one?
Yeah, I guess. It's like GODFATHER 3. You'd need Joe Dante to do the film.... Ummm, so my dream project... I don't know man, I just finished a movie coming out soon. I don't know when it's out in the UK, I think it's late August that kind of is my dream project and now I'm just waiting for inspiration for the next one. That movie is called THE WACKNESS, make sure you mention it somewhere.(Laughing) I will, but you need to hype it up a bit first!
Is it better than TRON?? Yes!Are you sure? TRON is pretty awesome.
It's better than TRON... It's different. It's apples and oranges man, there's less dayglow but there's more sex.Sounds better already!
Yeah, it's like TRON with sex.That's the best description of a film ever, I have to say.
It's actually nothing like that.That doesn't surprise me at all. So what directors have had the greatest influence on your life? Not just your work, your life.
Growing up I was really into Scorcese, Woody Allen and Tarantino, but now I've started getting an education in film. Both in college and in graduate school I got into Godard and the French New Wave and Antonioni and Fassbinder...Come on, you're just listing cool directors now! Isolate one or two for me.
Godard was huge for me, and I would say Godard and Woody Allen would be the two biggest...That's a weird combo.
It is a weird combo, but it's cool.You have to give a gut reaction answer to this question - what's your favourite film ever?
CITY LIGHTS, Charlie Chaplin.Good choice! I asked somebody that a while ago and they said JAWS.
Oh I just watched JAWS, that's up there man.Yeah, I was surprised but when I thought about it it kind of made sense.
That movie's unbelievable. Steven Spielberg has made a hundred great films but that's still his best film.This is a wide-ranging film discussion, and I've got a great bit to throw in. There's a bit in MANDY LANE, one of the deaths, where I wondered if you'd put an allusion to CHIEN ANDALOU there?
Oh yeah, of course man!... I neglected to mention Bunuel earlier but, you know.Oh yeah, everyone mentions Bunuel(!) You don't want to sound pretentious.
Although in CHIEN ANDALOU that was a real eye in there. We didn't hurt any eyes.Uh, OK! I think that's a great note to wrap up on! Thanks very much for your time Jonathan.
Thanks, it's been a pleasure.ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE is out on DVD now, and THE WACKNESS, which is a superb film, is hitting the UK in just over a month. Keep your eyes peeled, I'll have a review up soon...