FILM FESTIVAL-CANNES/LOUDER THAN BOMBS INTERVIEWS Star of Cannes contender "Louder Than Bombs" bemoans Hollywood 'McMovies'

Record ID: 154839

  • Title: FILM FESTIVAL-CANNES/LOUDER THAN BOMBS INTERVIEWS Star of Cannes contender "Louder Than Bombs" bemoans Hollywood 'McMovies'
  • Date: 20th May 2015
  • Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 19, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOACHIM TRIER, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "I spoke a lot to Gabriel about wanting to create a more modern father character. We're used to often, we're told stories about fathers that were absent or authoritarian and sons have to rebel against them to liberate themselves. We wanted to do like a modern dad who's much more emotionally responsible and is grappling in this case to keep in touch with his sons who are desperately wanting to free themselves from his attachment. And this kind of sweet and humorous experience that I think this father goes through. But it's also a melancholic piece about a mother who dies and the after-effects several years later, what that has had on the family." CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) HUPPERT / PAN TO DRUID, BROSNAHAN, TRIER AND BYRNE CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 19, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GABRIEL BYRNE, ACTOR, SAYING: "Hollywood has always been a factory. It's a business, and it produces goods to be sold and the product needs to be sold to as many people as possible. So in order to do that you've got to shave off a lot of the complexity. You've got to present an edible product that people won't say 'well that's a weird kind of a taste'. It's in a way kind of like organic food versus McDonald's in some way, I'm not saying one is right and the other is not, but there's a certain kind of 'McMovie' that comes out and it's got one taste fits all, suits all. And no matter where in the world you go you can get it." CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BYRNE AT END OF NEWS CONFERENCE FOR "LOUDER THAN BOMBS" CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 19, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GABRIEL BYRNE, ACTOR, SAYING: "It's not just about whether it's independent or subtitled, it's a different perspective on the world because there's no such thing as a non-political film. Because all films reflect something deeper. And when you look at a major commercial film coming out of America, you're not just looking at that movie; you're absorbing its mores, its politics, its views on everything from consumerism to families. And what Wim Wenders said is, which is very true, is that American cinema has colonised the European mind. And it wouldn't be so bad if there was a bit more going in the other direction. More subtitled movies, more independent movies; less cars blowing up." CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) MORE OF CAST AND DIRECTOR ON RED CARPET TRIER CAST AND DIRECTOR CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 19, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOACHIM TRIER, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "You know, some countries are more open to reading subtitles than others. In Norway, I learned English from watching American movies and reading subtitles, it's a natural thing. But I know that for a Norwegian film to travel to America - I've had it happen twice - I've been very grateful, but it'll never become a very big film in the American market place, that's just the nature of things at the moment."
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA30PRU8L041MP275USY6AIEA43
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Actor Gabriel Byrne would like to see foreign language movies making a bigger impact in the United States, the Irish actor said on Tuesday (May 19).
    Byrne was in Cannes where he stars in Norwegian director Joachim Trier's first English-language film, "Louder Than Bombs".
    A portrait of a family shattered by the untimely death of a war photographer who has left behind her husband and two sons is the premise for Trier's competition entry in Cannes, that uses flashbacks to unravel the narrative, with Isabelle Huppert playing the photographer and Gabriel Byrne her husband.
    A posthumous exhibition three years after her death brings the eldest son, played by Jesse Eisenberg, back to the family home, forcing him to spend more time with his father and withdrawn younger brother.
    The film marks the Norwegian's upgrade to the main Cannes competition after his 2011 film "Oslo, August 31st" was featured in the Un Certain Regard category at the festival.
    Trier said he and his writing partner Eskil Vogt were more interested in showing human relationships than with other aspects of making a film.
    "I spoke a lot to Gabriel (Byrne) about wanting to create a more modern father character. We're used to often, we're told stories about fathers that were absent or authoritarian and sons have to rebel against them to liberate themselves. We wanted to do like a modern dad who's much more emotionally responsible and is grappling in this case to keep in touch with his sons who are desperately wanting to free themselves from his attachment. And this kind of sweet and humorous experience that I think this father goes through. But it's also a melancholic piece about a mother who dies and the after-effects several years later, what that has had on the family," Trier told Reuters Television.
    Star Gabriel Byrne, however, said "Louder Than Bombs" would likely have limited impact in the United States where the Hollywood formula to generate the biggest box office often comes at the expense of complexity.
    "Hollywood has always been a factory. It's a business, and it produces goods to be sold and the product needs to be sold to as many people as possible. So in order to do that you've got to shave off a lot of the complexity. You've got to present an edible product that people won't say 'well that's a weird kind of a taste'. It's in a way kind of like organic food versus McDonald's in some way, I'm not saying one is right and the other is not, but there's a certain kind of 'McMovie' that comes out and it's got one taste fits all, suits all. And no matter where in the world you go you can get it," said the 65-year-old star of "Miller's Crossing" and "The Usual Suspects".
    "It's not just about whether it's independent or subtitled, it's a different perspective on the world because there's no such thing as a non-political film. Because all films reflect something deeper. And when you look at a major commercial film coming out of America, you're not just looking at that movie; you're absorbing its mores, its politics, its views on everything from consumerism to families. And what Wim Wenders said is, which is very true, is that American cinema has colonised the European mind. And it wouldn't be so bad if there was a bit more going in the other direction," said Byrne, adding: " More subtitled movies, more independent movies; less cars blowing up."
    It was a sentiment shared by Trier who said the American market wasn't focused towards foreign language cinema.
    "You know, some countries are more open to reading subtitles than others. In Norway, I learned English from watching American movies and reading subtitles, it's a natural thing. But I know that for a Norwegian film to travel to America - I've had it happen twice - I've been very grateful, but it'll never become a very big film in the American market place, that's just the nature of things at the moment," said Trier.
    "Louder Than Bombs" is one of 19 films competing for the festival's top prize the Palme d'Or.
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