Acting Is About Making Smart Choices Robert De Niro’S Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Gets Recognition at KVIFF
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ENGLISH SECTION Festival Daily SPECIAL EDITION OF THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 43RD KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Friday, 29 June 2007 free • strana / page 7 Friday, July 4, 2008 free • strana / page 7 Guide to Documentary day Official Selection Tomorrow’s program Festival map Films in Competition overview strana / page 6, 11, 12 strana / page 8 1 strana / page 9 strana / page 10 Acting is about making smart choices Robert De Niro’s outstanding contribution to world cinema gets recognition at KVIFF Veronika Bednářová tival this year. What do you recall about making this musi- cal, besides the fact that it Legendary actor and director prompted you to learn how to Robert De Niro hardly needs play the saxophone? any introduction. The Academy That was a movie we did in Award winning star of classic 1976-77. Marty wanted to do that films such as Taxi Driver and kind of musical-type movie. I Raging Bull is at KVIFF today always knew that the song New to receive the Crystal Globe for York, New York would be famous Outstanding Contribution to because it was covered by Frank World Cinema. While he is here Sinatra. I always knew it would he will also present his new be popular. Then I remember I comedy What Just Happened, was sitting on an airplane and which will open this year’s festi- they were playing a “muzak” ver- val. sion. I wasn’t surprised, but it was almost too catchy. I In What Just Happened you play an aging movie producer I In terms of method acting, trying to save his career. Is do you see any younger Hollywood really as ruthless as Hollywood stars following in it’s portrayed in the film? your footsteps, like you followed It’s just like any other business. the path of Marlon Brando or The rules are no different in that Montgomery Clift? Are you world. But it’s more visible happy with the development of because it’s Hollywood. People the American style of acting? do what they have to do. And if Ultimately, acting is what you you can’t get something done make of it and how smart you are because it boils down to econom- in your choices. An actor like ics, you have to do something Matt Damon is very conscien- else: Somebody falls by the way- tious and works very, very hard. I side in that situation. don’t know what his formal train- ing was. Whatever works for I After becoming firmly you... Everybody emanates some- established as an actor, why did thing different. you decide to get into directing films? I Several films that are play- I like directing. With The Good Táborský Lukáš Photo: ing here also screened at the Shepherd it took me years to get Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro takes in Prague on his way to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. TriBeCa Film Festival, which things going. I would have done it you co-founded in 2002 not long earlier. I started 9 or 10 years ago. he wants to make a movie, he’s Matt Damon. I had another actor works with an actor they have a particular that we want to do. after 9/11. Did the impact of It took that long to get it going. going to make a movie? who was wonderful but I couldn’t built-in understanding with each We’ve done eight movies togeth- that terrible event on New I’d like to do a couple of other It was complicated because it get the movie made with just him other about what it is. So an actor er and I’d like to do another cou- York’s TriBeCa district inspire films. A “next episode” of The was owned by certain people and in it, because it’s an ambitious that is being directed by another ple with Marty. We’re going to do you to do this? Good Shepherd, which goes from it had to be reworked. Then I had project. I needed someone like actor will feel more comfortable. this project in a year or two. I’m We were thinking about what it 1961 with the Berlin Wall going to get the actors, and I was think- Leo or Matt just to get the financ- Just inherently knowing he’s superstitious about talking about would be like to do a festival. Just up to 1989, with the wall coming ing of Leonardo DiCaprio, but ing. being spoken to by someone who it, but it’s supposed to be happen- as something entertaining at first. down. when I started he was too young knows what he does. ing. But then when 9/11 happened, we to approach. Then years later he I When you directed Matt thought it was something we I You said it took a long time was going off to do The Departed Damon did you think about I Do you plan to make anoth- I New York New York, which should do now, and try it, and to get financing for The Good with Marty [Scorsese] and I your own acting work years er movie with Martin Scorsese was directed by Martin start it. It wasn’t easy to get going Shepherd. So is it not true then couldn’t stop the momentum at ago? sometime? Scorsese, is the second film of and I’m proud of it. It’s a great that when Robert De Niro says that point. So then I approached Yes, I think when an actor Yes, we have one project in yours being screened at the fes- thing. I £ ± THERE ± KNOWLEDGE Na shledanou naskledanoh Goodbye Karel Och Fear not the Czech tongue... Kde je... gday yeh Where is... KVIFF Programmer Though it can be intimidating at first, speaking a Restaurace restowratseh Restaurant bit of Czech (or čeština, as the locals proudly know Hospoda hospoda Pub it) will help you make big points in these parts. Kino keeno Cinema I’d like to draw attention to a couple of What’s more, the ancient Slavic language is some- Toalety towahletee Bathroom movies from the retrospective, “New thing of a national cultural treasure in this country, Hollywood II,” specifically, Night Moves, in part because it has often been pushed aside as for- On the town by Arthur Penn, and McCabe and Mrs. eign tongues of oppressors were made the official Kolik to stojí? kohleek to stoyee What’s the price? Miller. I’d recommend Night Moves to lingua franca. Some good news, too: If you are Pivo, prosím. peevo proseem Beer, please anyone who likes Gene Hackman, arrested after a great KVIFF party, you are legally Ještě jednou, jeshtyeh jednoh One more, Raymond Chandler or the 1970s. As for entitled to a Czech interpreter. The following will prosím. proseem please McCabe and Mrs. Miller, I think this is help in more common situations: Máte... mahtay Do you have... a unique occasion to see wonderful per- Basic phrases jídelní lístek jeedelnee leestek a menu formances by Warren Beatty and Julie v angličtině? v anglichtinyeh in English? Christie and amazing cinematography by Mluvíte mlooveetay Do you speak Vilmos Zsigmond, all of this accompa- anglicky? anglitskee English? Film-going phrases nied by splendid music by Leonard dobrý den dobree den Hello/Good day Lístek, prosím. leestek proseem Ticket please Cohen. Ahoj ahoy Hello (informal) V kolik hodin v koleek hodeen What time Dobrý večer dobree vecher Good evening začíná zacheenah is the Night Moves screens today at 12.30pm Děkuji jaykwee Thank you promítání? promeetanee screening? in the Small Hall. McCabe and Mrs. Promiňte promintay Excuse me Má film ma film Are there Miller screens today at 7.30pm in the Prosím proseem Please anglické anglitskay subtitles Karlovy Vary Theater. Jak se máte? yak se mahte How are you? titulky? titulkee in English? Mám se dobře. mahm se dobzhe I’m fine Vyprodáno veeprohdanoh Sold out £ [email protected] FESTIVAL DAILY THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 43RD KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL STRANA / PAGE 8 FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2008 ± Getting to grips with reality DOING HERE? Milan Gagnon Documentaries in competition take a resolute look at the contemporary world New York, USA Filip Šebek brates the life of painter Jamshid Aminfar, who fearlessly exhibits and sells his darkly expressionistic A record 695 documentaries paintings on the streets of Teheran. were entered for this year’s The star of the Spanish documen- KVIFF. As is often typical of the tary Heroes, Wings Are Not genre, many of these films took an Necessary to Fly is a well-known unflinching look at topical issues. trance DJ and caring father, who The 16 movies that were finally was born without arms. selected for the Documentary Some of the shorter documen- Films in Competition section also taries on display are also imbued pull no punches in terms of their with a specific sense of place. subject matter. German director Bettina Timm’s Helena Třeštíková helps fly the Cosmic Station explores the lives I What are you doing here? flag for the Czech Republic’s of six people, who have been I’m working in the press center. proud documentary-making tradi- studying cosmic rays for decades I guess the title is English editor, tion with René. Spanning two on a remote Armenian mountain or assistant. It involves editing, decades, this searingly authentic in complete isolation from the translations and writing stuff to be film looks at the tumultuous life translated. It goes onto a website. Photo: KVIFF archive outside world.