'We have to question the narrative of our ideals' - Edward Norton on 'Motherless Brooklyn'
Record ID:
1436577
'We have to question the narrative of our ideals' - Edward Norton on 'Motherless Brooklyn'
- Title: 'We have to question the narrative of our ideals' - Edward Norton on 'Motherless Brooklyn'
- Date: 12th October 2019
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 11, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" CAST, BOBBY CANNAVALE, WILLEM DAFOE, GUGU MBATHA-RAW, JOSH PAIS, BRUCE WILLIS AND EDWARD NORTON POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" WRITER, DIRECTOR AND STAR, EDWARD NORTON, SAYING: "L.A. Confidential, films that I was inspired by because they create a kind of hypnosis on you. You get lost in them and you love being lost in them and I think noir films to me, when they're at their very best, they kind of remind us that we have to question the narrative of our ideals. We have to look hard at whether in the shadows things are going on that we shouldn't tolerate, you know?" NORTON AND HIS WIFE SHAUNA ROBERTSON POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" WRITER, DIRECTOR AND STAR, EDWARD NORTON, ON GETTING THE FILM MADE AFTER 20 YEARS, SAYING: "There were times I felt there was a reason we were gestating and I feel it's very much the right moment for it." NORTON AND "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" CO-STAR GUGU MBATHA-RAW POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS VARIOUS OF MBATHA-RAW POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" CO-STAR, GUGU MBATHA-RAW, SAYING: "Edward Norton actually adapted the film from the novel, which was set in the '90s and he transposed it to the '50s. I think there's so many themes in the film that are really resonant today. You know, the abuse of power in our society, these type of tyrannical leaders. I think also gentrification and what that really means, the cost of gentrification, it sounds like such a refined word, but I think you know, historically people use quite dirty methods to establish it and also the rise of the underdog. I think you know, it's the classic underdog story line of Edward Norton's character is a detective with Tourette's syndrome and my character, Laura Rose, even though she grew up in the Harlem club scene, she's a trained lawyer. But people underestimate her and assumes that she's a secretary. So it's about sort of not being seen for who you really are. And I think there's something about the noir genre that really deals with, you know, what's under the surface of our culture." MBATHA-RAW SPEAKING TO REPORTER / "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" CO-STAR WILLEM DAFOE SPEAKING TO REPORTER DAFOE POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS VARIOUS OF DAFOE AND JAZZ MUSICIAN WYNTON MARSALIS POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" CO-STAR, WILLEM DAFOE, SAYING: "It's about power. It's about how people seek personal power, how power is sometimes ... people say they're acting on behalf of the people when they really aren't. It's really interesting when power is sort of invisible and you don't know who's the puppet master. This is a case where it kind of examines all those questions." VARIOUS OF "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN" CO-STAR BOBBY CANNAVALE POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS VARIOUS OF MARSALIS POSING FOR STILL PHOTOS EXTERIOR OF FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
- Embargoed: 26th October 2019 04:06
- Keywords: Motherless Brooklyn Edward Norton Gugu Mbatha-Raw Chinatown L.A. Confidential
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATION
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATION
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0SIEZ1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and more hit the red carpet in New York on Friday (October 11) for "Motherless Brooklyn," the closing night selection of the New York Film Festival.
Norton compared his film that he wrote, directed and starred in, to Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" and Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential."
"Films that I was inspired by because they create a kind of hypnosis on you," he said. "You get lost in them and you love being lost in them and I think noir films to me, when they're at their very best, they kind of remind us that we have to question the narrative of our ideals. We have to look hard at whether in the shadows things are going on that we shouldn't tolerate, you know?"
Based on Jonathan Lethem's 1999 crime novel and set in the '50s, the film centers around private detective with Tourette's syndrome, Lionel Essrog, played by Norton, as he tries to solve the murder of his mentor Frank Minna, played by Bruce Willis.
"It's about not being seen for who you really are," said the film's co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw. "There's something about the noir genre that really deals with what's under the surface of our culture."
It took Norton 20 years to make the film due to various false starts over the years.
"There were times I felt there was a reason we were gestating and I feel it's very much the right moment for it," he said.
"Motherless Brooklyn" opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 1.
(Production by Hussein Al Waaile and Roselle Chen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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