First of all, could
you give a short summary of your film, so that those reading the blog will
have context?
At the beginning of THIEF, we meet an
Iraqi man named Mehdi living in isolation outside Tikrit, Iraq. The time is
December 2003, eight months into the American occupation, and Mehdi is
struggling to survive without electricity or much food. When an armed stranger
arrives at his hut looking for something to eat, Mehdi has no choice but to let
him in. But he soon realizes he’s met this stranger before, and as dark
memories from his childhood come flooding back to him, Mehdi finds himself
caught between his desire for revenge and his need to make peace with the past.
What got you started
in the filmmaking process?
My projects often start when I’m
catalyzed by something in the news, by an event or issue or person that fires
up my curiosity. I start wondering what the experience was like for the human
beings involved, what it would be like if I was that person. In the case of
THIEF, I was fascinated by a specific story from the aftermath of the American
invasion of Iraq in 2003 -- but telling you more than that would spoil the
movie, now wouldn’t it?
What would you say
is your greatest inspiration?
What draws me to material, and what I
care about most in the filmmaking process, is character. And specifically, the
transformation of character. That is what stories are made of. We grow and
change as human beings, we shed our skins and transform ourselves, the world
remakes us and we remake the world, and we often don’t even know what’s
happening until it’s over. I think that process is endlessly fascinating. THIEF
is about a man who, because of his past experiences and his overwhelming
feelings of guilt, withdraws from the world and stops participating in it
entirely. He feels that he can only have a negative impact, so he just
surrenders and bows out. And then, because of this chance meeting he has with a
man he once knew, he is able to understand that he still has a role to play,
that no matter how marginalized and insignificant he feels, his actions and his
choices can mean something and make a difference. I didn’t know that was going
to be the subject of the movie when I started working on it. That theme evolved
very organically as we all thought and talked about the character.
What is the hardest
part about making a film?
For me, it’s writing. It’s the most
important part of the process and also the hardest. I am a firm believer that
the script is paramount, and also that you can’t force the script to go where
you want it to go. It has to lead you, to a certain extent. I think if you just
decide what you want to do and execute it, the results usually aren’t very
interesting. Writing is not an intellectual process -- you have to figure out
what your subconscious is trying to express. For me, that takes a lot of time,
and it can be pretty frustrating and depressing, but it’s incredibly satisfying
when it works out.
What was the hardest
part about making this film (THIEF)?
As you’d expect from my previous answer,
the hardest part of making THIEF, without question, was writing the script.
There are so many competing interests to reconcile. You want to tell a
compelling emotional story that also engages people’s minds. You want to make
the film as personal as possible, because that’s where the emotion comes from,
but you also want it to reach a wide audience. You want your film to be about
something big, to bite into something important and primal, but you certainly
don’t want to be preachy about it. With a film like THIEF, there’s a lot of
research and cultural elements that play into the script, but you don’t want
those things to dictate the story. And I made the film as part of the grad
directing program at AFI, with feedback coming in from all sides at all times,
so there’s the added challenge of trying to stay focused and stay true to what
made you want to do the film in the first place. It’s a real marathon.
Do you have any
filmmakers, directors, writers etc. that you look up to, or take inspiration
from?
I think Akira Kurosawa probably had the
most profound impact on me as a filmmaker. His movies are the perfect package
of emotion, theme, style, design, craft, and yet they have such an enviable
sense of simplicity… RAN and THRONE OF BLOOD are my favorites of
his. I also love Sidney Lumet, because he consistently told character-driven,
emotionally compelling stories that also engaged with real events and urgent
issues in the world. But there are so many other filmmakers that have inspired
me and changed my life with their work – like Fincher, Malick, and P.T.
Anderson… I really credit my parents with introducing me to great films at a
young age.
If you could cast
any actors in your film, who would they be and why?
There are so many incredible performers.
I’d love to work with some of the all-time greats – like Meryl Streep, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, or my favorite actor ever, Al Pacino. Their careers are
awe-inspiring. You just can’t get any better. As far as young actors go, I
think Ryan Gosling is the first actor of my generation that feels like he has
that kind of magnitude. I really believe he could be the next Pacino or Brando.
He has that gift of commanding the screen while seeming to do nothing – he can
stand there perfectly still and make you feel a full range of emotion and
complexity. And he makes great choices about what roles he takes, which is
serving him really well. I thought his performance in DRIVE was sensational.
Are you currently
working on any projects right now? If so, would you like to share a little bit
about the projects?
I am developing several feature projects
that have got me really excited -- they're like THIEF in that I'm trying to
tell small, emotional, human stories within a bigger context. I’m trying to
develop several projects simultaneously so I have a sort of mini-slate for
myself. Also, in January I directed an episode of HOUSE – it just aired on
April 2nd. That was an absolutely incredible experience. With a cast and crew
at that level of expertise and talent, anything’s possible. I’m new to the
world of television, but there’s so much great drama on TV these days, it’s a
rich place for a director to work. I’d love to be a part of that world as well.
Read all about Julian's HOUSE episode!
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/house-college-television-awards-hugh-laurie-julian-higgins-307354
For more information about Julian you can visit his website: www.julianh.com or follow him on Twitter: @filmjulian.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/house-college-television-awards-hugh-laurie-julian-higgins-307354
For more information about Julian you can visit his website: www.julianh.com or follow him on Twitter: @filmjulian.
