I wish I had some dirt on Danny DeVito, but he is honestly the nicest, sweetest man I’ve ever met in my life. I love him, I love being around him. He’s become like a part of our family. His wife and kids are amazing. Like, he’s the happiest man I’ve ever known. He doesn’t really have much to be sad about.
I’m just a giant fan of Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen. They make me laugh so hard, I make hideous noises and that’s a good sign. I also love Michael Cera, I think that kid is hilarious. And Annette Bening. She’s one of my heroes. I think she’s amazing because she’s hysterically funny without trying too hard.
I feel happy to be the only girl on the show. We get along really well, we’re all really good friends now, I don’t feel left out. I think that they were surprised that a girl could hang out and have fun with them, and I was like, “Really? You guys don’t know any funny women? That’s too bad.
I wasn’t in a hurry to take everything that came along. It’s pretty important to me to be proud of the work I do. I didn’t want to just be cute and on TV. I wanted to be funny.
I’m an actor and, each time out, I’m trying to convince the audience that I’m this character. Every little thing that people know about you as a person impedes your ability to achieve that kind of terrific suspension of disbelief that happens when an audience goes with an actor and character [he’s] playing.
The more you can create that magic bubble, that suspension of disbelief, for a while, the better.
It’s a nice position to be in; I’m lucky. At the same time, all the excitement of that has been put into stark perspective … In some ways, the highs of it have been blunted, which in a way, is a gift.
First of all, you never make all things for all people and can’t always pander to the broadest denominator. I keep an eye toward doing the themes that interest me. Do they move me? Interest me? Make me think? When I run across something that is provocative in an unsettling way, it appeals to me.
People wrestle sometimes making movies, and I think that conflict is a very essential thing. I think a lot of very happy productions have produced a lot of very banal movies.
I’m not interested in making movies for everybody. I like making movies for myself and my friends and people with my sensibility.
I always felt that acting was an escape, like having the secret key to every door and permission to go into any realm and soak it up. I enjoy that free pass.
I learned early that you’d better know what you’re talking about. You’d better realize that certain issues are going to be so hot – no matter what reason, what logic you apply to it – you’re going to be met with an opposition just because their viewpoint is different, and there’s no way they’re going to accept your reasoning. Furthermore, they’re going to attack you because you will be portrayed as not being credible: “You’re an actor. What do you know?”
You should prepare when you go to a public event to be public. That’s when I will sign autographs. But not when you’re going about your normal business.
I have to be human, of course, to be flattered by attention from the public. How could you not be? But it gets pretty intense when people are going after your clothes, and mobbing you in the streets, and you have to hide. That’s kind of amusing, and kind of mind-boggling when it happens – you kind of go with it and have fun with it. Then it gets tiring, and then it gets worse when you realize you’re being robbed of a vital part of your life, which is your privacy. And you also know what’s coming your way is artificial, because those people are reacting to something they saw on the screen, not you as a person.
[on his relationship with Paul Newman] When we made the movies nobody used the word “chemistry”. Nobody used the word “bonding”. It was just: “Get up there and do your job!”
It still amazes me when I look at some of the films I’ve been a part of, and some of the people I’ve gotten to meet and work with. I also look back sometimes and realize that I was lucky to have lived through them and even to have survived them, at times.
[Interview, August 2007] We (Winona Ryder) don’t speak on a regular basis, but I love her. I’ve never gotten over the crush I had on her then. She is still the woman of my dreams.
(1994 quote on fame) There’s no question that I love it. There’re so many perks to it, it’s unreal. I thought I’d get over being insecure if I became famous, but it hasn’t happened. It just gets worse, really. You get more and more on edge, more nervous. These are all the things I’m dealing with. You think if you get famous, fear will go away and problems will go away. But they don’t.
I’m not a religious person by any means. But I certainly believe in some kind of a higher power and something looking out for me. I’ve definitely had angels that have either guided me or helped me through moments in my life, without a doubt.
If you can help guide somebody through a challenging moment because you’ve been there, that ends up becoming a great gift. I’ve been taking my time now between projects looking for stuff that has a little bit more substance, that isn’t surface. Some of the films that I’ve done in the past really were surface.
This festival has a guaranteed 4-tier set up for each accepted script. (No matter what, all screenplays submitted receive FULL FEEDBACK on their work.) 1) Full Feedback on your script 2) Actors performance video reading of your script 3) Blog interview promotion. 4) Podcast interview on the Film Festival ITunes show.
MAGICAL REALISM Short Story Festival (everyone wins):
Submit your MAGICAL REALISM Short Story to the Festival and we will automatically have it performed by a professional actor and turned into a promotional video for yourself.
Accept only stories that fit into the MAGICAL REALISM genre. Magical realism stories feature fantastical elements that seem ordinary and blend into the story.The focus is on what the magical elements mean for the characters, rather than the elements themselves.
Literary fiction isa category of novels that prioritize style, character, and theme over plot.It’s often considered to be more serious than genre fiction, which is commercial fiction written for entertainment.
3 ways to submit: 1st chapter. full novel. performance reading.
ACTION/FANTASY/SCI-FI/THRILLER Festival:
Bookshelves with books for children. Educational library with literature for preschoolers and kids. Reading and studying. Fairy Tales, Encyclopedias and Dictionary. Cartoon flat vector illustration
Asake’s SIn, 15min,. Nigeria Directed by Olumide Kuti When Asake’s breaks a generational warning, nothing prepares her for the waterloo of curse that will come her way, jeopardising all she has.
LOVE AND LIGHTERS, 94min., Russia Directed by Mikhail Medalin Senya asks Gufi to lend him money to pay back a debt, and convinces him to go meet with local crime boss Dandelion. But trying to help a friend turns into a nightmare: Dandelion gets wounded, his men and the police start surveillance, and then the criminal boss escapes. Now, Gufi, Senya, and Kristina have to choose — run or try to cut a deal. But things get worse: Kristina’s in danger, Senya won’t help save her, and Gufi has to go it alone. In the final showdown with armed Dandelion, everyone’s fate hangs in the balance.
Ekorts, 6min., Austria Directed by John Whitehand, Julia Hulle, Alexander Bachmayer Daniel finds himself locked in a deserted buliding, no way out. Something is going on, but he can’t explain it.
Liquid Love, 15min., USA Directed by Dave McGrath It’s New Year’s Eve, Jillian is about to make a monumental resolution. She is giving up one of her two favorite things: Wine or Coffee. As she struggles to make up her mind, Wine and Coffee try to convince her that the other should be the one to go. When Jillian is ready to leave for the party, she announces her decision.
Sauvetage, 5min., Australia Directed by Jackson Bentley, John Stokes When a special forces operative is held captive by a sadistic crime boss is interrogated, the only way to save him is through the element of surprise.
John – We were motivated to make this film as we were given the opportunity to work with the legendary Richard Norton. It was originally supposed to just be a short scene to be used as a pitch but Jackson and I wanted to go all out and produce a short film in a very short amount of time.
Jackson – Originally it was meant as a sizzler reel to show some producers, Richard Damien and I were pushing quite hard to have a feature film made starring Richard, however John is a very quick writer and everything just started aligning for us to turn this into a short.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
John – I believe it was a Thursday where the producer Damien told us that he had somehow convinced Richard Norton to join us for a shoot the following Sunday. I quickly wrote together the script which never went past version 1. We organised the location, crew and cast – all entirely for free as everyone wanted to work with Richard Norton. We filmed in 6 hours on the Sunday and I edited the film within a day after the shoot.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
John – Bitter Sweet. Bitter due to the lead actor Richard Norton recently passing away, but sweet since we now have an award to honor his memory. We are forever in debt to Richard for being involved in this film and he has been a great mentor and friend to us.
Jackson – I think John nailed it, it still feels very surreal that Richard has passed, I think we are still in a little bit of shock and grief but I’m so grateful for receiving his knowledge and just being able to call someone I admired so much a friend plus being able to direct him was even cooler.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
John – The only obstacle was time, as we only had 6 hours to film. If we were being honest, there are some things we’d do differently if we had more time but we are proud of what we did with what we had! Other than that I remember Jackson became ill and went to hospital the day before! Luckily he was still able to make the shoot to co-direct with me.
Jackson – Haha yes directing a script you read only 12 hours before and on the back end of strong pain killers was definitely interesting. Having only 6 hours booked to shoot the short was definitely stressful, but I am so proud and honestly cannot believe our whole crew pulled that off.
What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
John – I actually didn’t realise that we would get audience reactions so it was a great surprise! It’s such an honour to hear feedback like this from half way across the world!
Jackson – I thought it was really cool! I’m just a guy from a very small town in Australia who 8 years ago was a drug addict with no direction in life, so this was very special to me.
I made the film “Trans” knowing it would probably not be well accepted but it HAD to be made. Thank you so much for including our film. What you do is amazing and tireless. Everyone should support your efforts.
