SXSW: Brent Moore Interviews Jean Pierre Jeunet
South By Southwest has had a lot of exciting moments for me but perhaps the highlight of the festival was getting the opportunity to sit down with one of my favorite filmmakers, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, to discuss his new film Micmacs. I sat in with two other reporters and what followed was a lengthy but interesting discussion that I am including in its entirety. I encourage you to read the whole thing but if you want to skip directly to my questions I have those highlighted. Enjoy.
Don Simpson (Smells Like Screen Spirit): Tell us about the thought process of picking Micmacs as your next project and putting the film together.
Jean Pierre Jeunet: Maybe you don’t know, but I spent two years working on Life of Pi for 20th Century Fox. It was a very beautiful project. I wrote the script and worked on the storyboards. We went location scouting in India. We worked to make wave machines. It was a beautiful project but it was a huge budget for a kid, a tiger, and the sea. You know? We didn’t understand, we had the worst elements. A kid, a tiger, and the sea in the same thing. So I had to renounce after a while and I was so starving to shoot that I wrote Micmacs very quickly. I opened my box of ideas and there were three feelings inside the thing. To make a story of revenge because I am a big fan of Once Upon A Time In The West. A story of original peoples, I would say like the seven dwarfs in Snow White. And the first feeling was to speak about weapons dealers because it was on my mind for a long time. I was concerned to mix the slapstick and the cartoon with such a serious issue. I tried, and I hope it works pretty well.
Simpson: Do you consider Micmacs to be a political film?
Jeunet: No. Because I think it’s not a stretch to say it’s not good to sell weapons, and everything we say in the film is true. We made real research. Even if it’s for a comedy or a slapstick, you have to know what you are talking about. We made an interview in a Belgium weapons factory, and they were very nice guys with a passion for technology. We visited the factory and it was like a chocolate factory. They were very nice guys with very open mind “But we work for the right side, we work for the minister of defense.” Very interesting.
Brent Moore (Geekscape): I noticed that the film, after A Very Long Engagement which seemed to be your most restrained as far as your visual style, this seemed to go back to the style of Delicatessen. That’s what it reminded me of the most. Was that a conscious decision? Did you want to go back to where you started?
Jeunet: Because I was starving to shoot and it was a kind of frustration after the two years. I put everything I loved into this film. No limits. Everything. I even put the poster of the film inside the film.
Moore: I saw that. That was a really great touch.
Jeunet: Yeah, it was a joke. You are forbidden to do that. I put humor. I put references about Sergio Leone and Mission Impossible. About so many things. Buster Keaton. Charlie Chaplin. It just was a pleasure to make. And A Very Long Engagement, I think it’s still my style. It’s just different, it’s about the first World War. For the next one I would like to find the same spirit.
Devin Pike (Red Carpet Crash): There is a real balance between the world of the weapons dealers and the world of the trash collectors. You danced a fine line with it and you did very well. Was that a conscious effort where you had to deal with the two worlds separately?
Jeunet: I was very concerned about that. The only way to fix it was with comedy, especially with the two weapons dealers. Martin Scorsese used to say that improvisations comes before, on the set it’s too late. You have the time in rehearsal to try and do different things. Of course I couldn’t have the whole people in the same town because I am not Francis Coppola. You know, on Dracula he had the whole crew and that just wasn’t my case. So I realized what I want, and you have to imagine whole orchestra together. You rehearse with the strings and then afterwards with the trumpets. Then one day you have the whole symphony and you are very relieved that it works.
Simpson: You had mentioned just a few moments ago your use of references, what role to do you see the history of cinema playing in your creations?
Jeunet: Maybe I am stealing from Tarantino but I would say that the real subject of my films is the cinema. It’s just a pleasure to make film. To make is very important. I started when I was eight to make kind of small movies. At this time I didn’t see any movies. The first big movie I saw was Once Upon A Time In The West, and I was seventeen. But before, I had a view master and I would set the frame and change the order of the frame and record my frame. It was a kind of movie. That’s the best advice that I could give to young people, just do it. Especially now because you just need a video camera and a computer.
Moore: You got your start in animation and you still keep that visual style and charm and innocence that you generally find in animated films. Have you ever thought about doing a feature length animated movie?
Jeunet: I think about that for years and years but I don’t do that because I know animation. A lot of people do that because they don’t know what is animation. When I read about Anderson, the director of Mr. Fox, and how he directed the film by e-mail. That’s not my way. I like to be very close to every technician and very close to the editor. And I know I’m going to spend three or four years, it’s a long process. I am a big fan of animation. If I were to make a film in animation I would make a stop motion. Have you seen Mary and Max? It’s a masterpiece. I met the guys last week in Australia. I love it. I started with, like, puppets but with less talent.
Moore: I noticed in Micmacs you had the toymaker character and I kind of get that feeling about you that you have this fascination with that. You have this one scene that lingers on the dress that’s dancing towards the end. That’s a beautiful scene and I think you would do well in stop motion animation and that toymaker style.
Jeunet: Ah yes! And we didn’t build that for the film, you know? We called up a guy because I discovered him in a museum, an art museum in Paris. Everything was done. Nobody could imagine it wasn’t built for the film.
Pike: You work with several actors that you work with throughout your career. Were you able to approach Audrey Tautou to be a part of the project as well?
Jeunet: No, but I just made another film with her, maybe you don’t know. It was Chanel 5, and we finished the trilogy. But no, because I couldn’t offer a second character for her.
Pike: Not limber enough to be the contortionist?
Jeunet: I thought about that, but I was too shy to offer it to her, you know? It’s a funny story because we were shooting in front of the Moulin Rouge, the real one, and we had a devil with fake flames and there was a fire on the set. A real fire, and Audrey was there. So I said “You’re right, it’s your fault. You put the fire everywhere.” It was a real fire but everybody laughed and the fireman arrived. And now we’re shooting but they cut the electricity and we couldn’t put back the electricity without an electrician. But luckily we had the time to shoot two or three takes before.
Simpson: You’ve worked with multiple directors of photography over the years but every time I watch a film that’s yours I automatically identify it as you. How do you work with them to achieve your personal visual stamp?
Jeunet: In fact, I love a director with a real strong style. When you recognize the style like David Lynch or the Coen Brothers or so many directors. A long time ago it was Kubrick or Fellini. I prefer this kind of director. I have no disdain for a director like Roman Polanski that changes the style for each film, I have a great respect for them, but I love when you love a director and you recognize it. Like Sergio Leone, you always know it’s a Sergio Leone movie. So that’s the way I try to get. As for the DP, ideally I would like to work with the same but after a while they are too expensive or they have other projects. I made three movies with Darius Khonji because he is so very good, but it isn’t easy to work with him so I am the only one. With David Fincher he tried to make two movies but he got fired. It was Panic Room. Bruno Delbonnel for me is perfect, he’s my best friend, but he was hired for Harry Potter because I passed on Harry Potter. But I told him “Make this film for you because it is amazing for your career.” Now I work with Tetsuo Nagata, he made La Vie En Rose. I made a connection a long time ago with him, but this time I rehearse with him a long time. Of course I give him some pictures, some photographs. We saw something together, like La Vie En Rose, and I say “I love that” or “I don’t like that. Don’t do that. Never.” I forgot the Japanese are so stubborn, you know? It was very difficult to get what I wanted. During the color timing, luckily he was busy with another Japanese/American movie so I was alone with the technician and did everything I wanted. We spent seven weeks color timing. Strip by strip with masks. I love that. I was scared, but I love that. In France they love when it is realistic, when it’s aesthetic. If it’s too modern, no problem. For me, it would kill me.
Moore: You mentioned passing on Harry Potter. Your only big franchise film was the Alien film. Was there anything about that project that led to your aversion to take on other franchise projects?
Jeunet: With Harry Potter I think it’s very… well, you have to follow the way. The casting, the costume design, the production… everything is on the table. You are just to point the camera the right way and shoot. Alien Resurrection was different. They hired me to change it. I put some humor inside. I don’t know if it was good or not but I can’t avoid to put humor. They were very open to bring in some new ideas. I changed a lot of the script. But for Harry Potter, forget it.
Moore: I actually liked the Alien film, even though it was such a big departure. I think it was neat to see a new director really put their unique stamp on it.
Jeunet: I read Ridley Scott would like to make a prequel.
Moore: Yeah, he’s working on it.
Jeunet: I would like to see that!
Moore: He’s actually doing that in 3D, do you have any thoughts on using 3D?
Jeunet: Yes, I would have wanted to make Micmacs in 3D but it was too early. We didn’t think about 3D at this time. But when I saw Avatar I thought “Oh man, I would want to make this kind of movie.” It changes completely the perception of the cinema.
Pike: When you are coming up to a new project, and you have such a phenomenal body of work, what gets you excited about a new project?
Jeunet: I need to love everything I shoot. I couldn’t make a film about the 70’s because I didn’t like the cars, I didn’t like the color. I couldn’t make film like Martin Scorsese. The Paris I show is my Paris. I make a lot of location scouting myself with my scooter. I need to love everything. The story, the character, everything. That’s the reason it is very difficult for me to find a subject. When you get older it is more difficult of course. I’ve made six films now, and what else do I have to say?
Simpson: As for writing for your lead characters, do you find that you like writing for male or female leads better? Does one seem more natural or easier for you to approach?
Jeunet: No, it was easy. In fact, Amelie was me. There were so many personal things inside that. I used to say “I am Amelie.” So female of male, I don’t care. This time I wanted to change after two films with a woman. We could say three with her. I wanted to change. I wanted to have a boy.
Moore: Speaking of that, Danny Boon feels like one of your characters. He feels like a guy that could have been a regular in a Juenet film. Did you know about him prior to the movie? What brought you to cast him as your lead?
Jeunet: In fact I did not write the script for him. It was the exact same story for Amelie. It was for another actor who was exactly the opposite. He was very thin with a handicap and Danny is pretty tall and pretty fit. But of the mind they are pretty similar. They come from a suburb. They have imagination. So I make some tests. It is very important to make some tests, because when Danny Boon read the script he said “Oh, it’s a beautiful script and I would love to work with you but I feel it’s wrong with the guy, so I won’t take the movie.” So I said, “You’re right, don’t do it. If you don’t feel it, don’t do it.” Then it’s “On the other hand, I would like so much to work with you. Maybe we could play together just for one hour for pleasure.” It was a trap.
Pike: I wanted to go back to something you had said earlier about not having an affinity for the seventies, because Micmacs almost had the feel of a 70’s caper movie where it’s a small band of misfits going up against the big government, or in this case the weapons manufacturers. Did you have that sense when you were putting the script together?
Jeunet: When I speak of the seventies it is more for the visual aspect. The cars, the clothes, the hair…
Pike: The Vespa scooters…
Jeunet: Yeah.
Simpson: Going back to Danny Boon and his performance. Did the two of you purposefully set out to mimic Keaton and Chaplin?
Jeunet: It wasn’t on purpose. It’s strange because when we shot the scene when he’s starving in front of the restaurant, I saw Charlie Chaplin and I told him, “You make me think of Chaplin” and he said, “Oh yeah? You think so?” It wasn’t on purpose but I think he thought about that and continued to do it. And Buster Keaton, I think it’s more in concept. Like in the cannon scene is completely slapstick.
Moore: I was wondering if you were aware of the ratings of your films, as far as R rated or PG-13, because most of your films in America are R rated but they have this charm and innocence that you don’t associate with R rated films. Are you conscious of ratings at all when you make your films?
Jeunet: (Sighs and slaps hands on the table) Each time, I don’t understand. I pay attention a lot, thinking about USA. I try to avoid showing nipples. I don’t understand. Even for The City Of Lost Children it was the case because of the girl who is a slut… is it slut? It surprises me all the time. It is a difference of culture. I understand because my wife is American. She is from the Bay Area in San Francisco so every day we have some clash, you know? You have a big problem with sex, guys. I have to tell you.
Moore: I agree with you.
Pike: As incomprehensible as it is for you, it’s more incomprehensible to us that deal with the ratings board on a day to day basis.
Jeunet: You don’t have any problem with the violence. I remember on Alien, I asked the studio “This is not too much is it?” and they go, “No no no, go ahead.” But about sex it’s immediately… remember the time with the football, about Janet Jackson? It’s worse in Italy. There is comedy of prostitutes on the airplane. Even for us it’s a little too much but they don’t care in Italy.
Pike: There is a puritanical aspect at play in America where it’s okay to show violence but no sexual contact of any kind.
Jeunet: It’s a pity because after eight, the kids love the film. I thought about kids when I wrote the film.
Moore: That’s what I mean. You have this innocence and charm that I associate with animation and you don’t think of your movies as R rated movies.
Pike: They just wanted people over seventeen that can read subtitles I guess. I gave up long ago trying to suss out the ratings boards. I know you are focused on Micmacs now but are there in other projects on the fire that you are interested in working on?
Jeunet: I read some books now. As I said, I would like to make an adaptation. I’m looking for a good book like The Lovely Bones. Too late! I have a book on my mind but they gave the rights to the author of Harry Potter. I would like to do this book but too late, again. It’s not difficult to fall in love with a book. I read one book a day, I’m a fast reader. Not thick books. On the airplane I read two books.
Simpson: Did you use a different directing approach with Danny Boon since he has directing experience?
Jeunet: I love to work with directors. I did the same thing with Mathieu Kassovitz on Amelie, and Jodie Foster on A Very Long Engagement. She is a director. It’s easy because you can say “I need to make a track.” And they understand. It’s very easy.
Moore: Going back to your style. I notice you have a very common color palette in all of your movies. That green hue with strong golds and reds. Is there anything particular about that that draws you to that style?
Jeunet: Ideally I would want to change for this film, but the weather was gray every day, no shiny. There is just one way to save a picture when it’s ugly, and that’s a warm color. And on the other hand I needed something warm because to have warm characters you need a warm film. But in terms of technique I would have wanted to change because now I’m ready to shoot faster with a lighter camera. We are waiting to have the perfect camera with 4K like the Red but it’s a little bit too early now. The timer is Ivan Lucas and he made the last Martin Scorsese movie and he made the last David Fincher movie. He’s a star now. A big star. He told me, “It’s too early for digital. I would spend all my time fixing the defects.” But I think I made a mistake because when I saw Slumdog Millionaire I thought, “You know, on a huge screen it is not beautiful but on the small screen it is perfect.” They work very fast and the spirit is different and I appreciate that and I said, “Wow, I would have wanted to shoot digital with a lighter camera.” So that will be for the next one. Oh, and in 3D!
And that’s it. Micmacs opens in the states in May and we will have more coverage then, including video from this interview.
