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Of Micmacs and Moviemaking
Jean-Pierre Jeunet enjoys the simple pleasures of cinema
(Page 2)
JPJ: I would say—and maybe it’s a quality, maybe it’s a defect—but I have a style. You can recognize a film from me, like with Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam or Emir Kusturica. But maybe it’s a defect, because people can get tired of your style. Roman Polanski, for example, you can say he has a style, but every film is very different. Maybe it’s better, I don’t know, but I can’t avoid [having] the same style.
MM: Do you have an urge to do something different? To make a film that is not like what you have done before?
JPJ: I would like to change now, because I am a little bit tired of the heavy technique. I don’t want to take so much time. When I see a film like Slumdog Millionaire, I want to shoot a picture that way: To shoot with a handheld, digital camera; to go faster; to change; to make something more agile… To find the next story.
JPJ: No, always. Now, after six films, maybe I’ve lost a little bit of my passion for cinema. I ask myself if it is because I am getting older or because cinema is getting older? I have more passion for American television series like “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under,” “The West Wing” or “The Wire.” It’s the case for a lot of people now, because cinema is not so interesting. On the other hand, I was president of the jury for the last Deauville American Film Festival, and I was very happy to see how there is passion for films like The Messenger or Precious. I was very touched by a lot of American films, and I was very happy to see that.
MM: Did you feel, after making Alien: Resurrection, that you would continue to work in Hollywood, or was it always your intention to stay in Paris?
JPJ: I didn’t have a plan, but I always felt that if my American agent proposed something very interesting to me, why not? But on the other hand, I learned something: The freedom I have in France is so good—I have complete freedom, [there’s] nobody to tell me anything. It’s like I’m making a short film, you know? And for my five French films, I had complete, complete freedom. When I made Alien: Resurrection, at the end I got a kind of freedom. But for that I had to struggle and fight every day. Though it was friendly, because I stayed friends with the studio, it was like a fight. You had to explain, to convince them; it was tiring. In France it’s not the case. It’s very precious to have your freedom.
MM: Does this freedom come from the tradition of the auteur?
JPJ: Exactly. It’s a tradition, and it’s the law; you have final cut by law. But I learned a lot of things in the U.S. also. I used to do test screenings in France, but the big difference is, if some people say critical things, I don’t care… (laughs) But it’s very useful to understand if people don’t understand certain scenes in the film, and to correct it in editing. That can be helpful. But it was very useful for me to understand, when Fox asked me to try some different things, that sometimes their suggestions were good; it was good for the ego to learn that—to learn to listen to people. But the bad thing is when they say, “People don’t like this scene, you must cut it.” Of course sometimes, you want to say, ‘I know they don’t like it, but I love it, and I want to keep it.’ In France, I can do that.
MM: If you were teaching cinema, what would your curriculum be?
JPJ: I would say, ‘Just do it!’ Take up your camera and you will be happy. And if you have some talent, if you have some imagination, maybe you will win some award in a festival and maybe, little by little, you will be known, and you will be lucky. But just have the pleasure of making something. That’s the best advice.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by gerwinters on 6/07/10 at 7:32 am
I beleive in bridging high art and scholarly concept with translation into simple human storylines...that is how I approach my work as a filmmaker/writer.
- Comment by mbt lami on 7/01/10 at 2:18 am
I like this so much.
Thanks for posting.- Comment by facebook layouts on 7/09/10 at 11:50 pm
Micmacs à tire-larigot is the latest film from the director of Amélie and City of Lost Children, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The film excels in all the areas he’s best known for. From his use of colors to his original take on an “action film” he makes the film both artistically stunning and exciting to watch
- Comment by Alex on 11/18/10 at 9:42 am
Amelie is the best movie ever. recently went to paris and looked up some of the locations like: rue mouffetard. yum!
This story was published in the Spring 2010 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Of Micmacs and Moviemaking / Jean-Pierre Jeunet enjoys the simple pleasures of cinema
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