Although I hadn't previously seen any of Ferrara's films I was aware of his longtime work with Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento, who are two actors I admire. I took notes throughout the Masterclass, and asked a question myself.
Here are some of the notes I wrote down:
Q: What were some constraints you faced when preparing Bad Lieutenant?:
A: I don't deal with constraints, once I receive the money I have no constraints. I've been working since I was 16, but I don't work for anyone, I am free. Stanley Kubrick's movie's are an inverted pyramid of one idea, which inspires my work strategy.
A: I don't deal with constraints, once I receive the money I have no constraints. I've been working since I was 16, but I don't work for anyone, I am free. Stanley Kubrick's movie's are an inverted pyramid of one idea, which inspires my work strategy.
Q: On King Of New York:
A: I was mostly influenced by what I had grown up with. The music was made throughout the movie, and music is always essential in the editing room.
Q: What is your reasoning behind always working with the same actors?
A: I always work with brilliant actors, whom the film revolves around. I want to workout with someone beyond just the movie, and need to find an actor with the magic, or the magic within the actor. You need an intuition for casting, which is 90% of the job. My films have sort of become a family affair, and as a director, I want to give the actors a place to be free.
Q: What film made you want to direct: (my question)
A: The first movie that made me understand cinema, was Bambi that terrified me. The Gibson cinematic art form taught me to understand. I wasn't taught about the movies, but the idea you have will teach you how to make the movie. I grew up going to movie theatres, especially going to the afternoon showings with my mother. A movie I will never forget is 1959's Imitation of Life by Douglas Sirk. The 60s were a time of expectation and progress, and I felt I was expected to do something. I believe in innovation, old keys don't open new doors. For movies I prefer the story over the form, and I don't differ my approach of stories, except for comedies which I don't like.
Q: On acting in China Girl and Tommaso:
A: John Cassavetes is a great teacher and actor, and a founder of American independent cinema. He just gathered his friends and made these crazy movies, inspired by the theatre with long takes and performances, which inspire my movies.
Q. Do you consider China Girl to be a modern Romeo and Juliet?:
A: I just had a basic script and stuck to it, I think it's important to have a good screenwriter.
Q: Does Tommaso relate to your life?
A: It reflects what my life was about, I wanted to go back to my roots. I shot a lot of the scenes in my house, and it was like Siberia, I had to do it no matter the budget. You never give up on a movie.
Q: How much do you stick to the script?:
A: It's a process, it all depends on the actors, but the better the script, the better the improv. It's everyone all in on everything.
Q: Do you reflect on your childhood or follow a pattern in your films?:
A: I'm currently writing a book, even though I'm not a writer, I only write scripts. I'm currently doing a movie on my father in the 50s, and I put a lot of parts of my life in my movies, especially Tommaso.
Q: On Stanley Kubrick:
A: Kubrick didn't fly because he could fly, Kubrick knew how to fly. He was the best at everything; sound, camera work, direction...
Q: On Pier Paolo Pasolini:
A. All his movies are the movie and him, I think he's awesome because he's dead. He just had one movie coming out after the other. I travelled for hours to go see one of his movies, and missed it, so my friend acted the whole thing out for me instead. Movies had a different award then, you had to work to go and see one.
Q: Do you have any ideas for your next films?:
A: I have no clue, it's amazing that I made this one. Movies come out of the movies you make. The title for Snake Eyes came before the film. I share ideas with the actors and the production, and with all the different things, one will stick out. I love documentaries and their shooting process at the moment. I always keep a commitment once I make it.
Q: Introduction to Pasolini:
A: I wanted to be involved in the writing and politics as well as just directing. I've never met him, and I don't want to brig him back to earth. The stupidest thing I've ever done was not filming my research of the film. Not a single person had anything negative to say about him. He famously said that "someone's death puts their life into perspective". Once Willem Dafoe put one of his coats on I knew we had a movie. It's small moments that make it click.
I found his dismissal of budget issues and filmmaking tips a bit annoying, as those were the things I was most interested in hearing about, but overall enjoyed the Masterclass and his perspective.
The Masterclass was followed with the projection of his film Pasolini, 2014, which I didn't enjoy as I found it too graphic and provocative without reason, although he is famously known for his boundary pushing slasher films. This showed me that I don't want to include many gory details in my opening, and prefer using other shots or sound to create the same effect.
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