Usually the opposite happens. A comedian makes a breakthrough by directing a drama: he desperately wants to be taken seriously and win awards. She did the opposite. “Real. I don’t know exactly why it happened. Probably by accident. Maybe if one day Billy Crystal hadn’t let me read the script Therapy and bullets we won’t be here to talk about I represent our. I love directing these films so much that if there was a fourth or even a fifth in the series, I would be available.”
Why?
“Because there is a creative freedom that is not present in dramatic films. I do whatever I want, I improvise crazy things. Then, perhaps, the director cuts, and in the meantime I have fun. And by the way, I’m not exactly a curmudgeon. I love comedies, and very much. Since I was a child. I loved them to death
especially Abbott and Costello.”
In short, is this New Deal liberating after so many dramatic films?
“Yes: it means entering a brighter world. A world where I care less about work than when I was younger. I let things happen, I’m more spontaneous. And who knows, maybe with a lighter approach you can get even better results.”
Among the crazy things she does in I represent our, she steals an erectile dysfunction drug called “Sostengo” from her brother-in-law. Sexual life with his wife resumes as never before. But then it resumes like never before. But then, since he’s exaggerating, Ben Stiller has to make one
puncture right “there” to restore normal. Was it awkward?
“Hand! And why? It’s funny.”
But have you ever used Viagra in your life?
“Yes. For a certain reason. For a certain reason. I was ill with prostate cancer seven years ago: they gave it to me for a while. Now everything is fine with me, the period of the disease remained in a distant memory, I touch the tree (and does so by noisily sinking onto the table in front of us, ed.). Since then, I have not used it: I do not need it in the “that” sense.
You are known for your meticulous preparation of characters. Anyone who gains or loses weight for a movie role refers to their performance in wild bull. But for I represent ourwhat makes it special?
“Well, Jack Byrnes, for example, was not originally a former CIA agent. This idea arose while working on the script, his personality gradually formed. That’s what I mean by freedom.”
In your opinion, does the famous “Method” of the Actors Studio always work?
“I always tell all actors: do what you want, find a method that suits you. Are you neurotic? Don’t worry. Some of the most interesting actors who ever lived were neurotic cubes: Marlon Brando, James Dean, Geraldine Page.”
Sometimes people talk about someone who “is the next De Niro.” I propose three names, comment on them with an adjective, maybe two?
“Everything is fine”.
Sean Penn.
“Awesome. Even as a director.”
Edward Norton.
“Great. Serious. Dedicated to this work.
Leonardo DiCaprio, the one most often compared to her.
“I like Leo too. He works hard, he’s brave in choosing films and shooting with Marty (Scorseseapprox. ed.) is even better.”
It will be released in February Love Guide 3, a film he shot in Italy last summer, directed by Giovanni Veronesi. Monica Bellucci told me that on set, all the women were in love with the legendary De Niro.
“Oh, yes? I didn’t notice!”
I pretend to believe her. Jessica Alba told me that she was very afraid to work with her. Fear of failing, fear of disappointment. Are you aware that this affects your younger colleagues?
“Yes, but it’s a matter of a minute. People come with their prejudices, but then they get to know me, we start working together without unnecessary stories and problems do not arise.
On the set Love Guide 3 how was it?
“I got along very well with Veronesi, Monica, as well as Carlo Verdone and Michele Placido. A very pleasant experience. Everyone is very nice.”
In Italy, you are considered to be fluent in Italian.
“FALSE. At best, I get along in restaurants, I can only have the most simple conversations. To learn the lines that Veronesi wrote for me, I had to study a lot. It’s never easy to act in a foreign language. I talked a lot about this with Monica, who often speaks in French and English, and I don’t know Italian as well as you do English.”
On January 16, she will be awarded the Golden Globe for Lifetime Achievement.
“Good. The prizes are handy. Better than nothing.”
And she won quite a lot. Do you learn more from successes or failures?
“It depends on what you mean by failure. Just because a movie or something like that got bad doesn’t mean it’s bad. Even wild bull got some really bad reviews and Marty suffered a lot.”
You, who also founded the festival, how do you behave in front of a friend who made a bad film?
“If the film is ready, I will shut up. You can’t say anything, it’s like criticizing a child, telling him that his nose is too big. If, on the other hand, the film is still in the works, you can offer sincere advice.”
And when critics attack her?
“I suffer. Especially if it’s useless, snide remarks like: I don’t like his face. It’s my face.”
Time’s up, no overtime. I wish a bee climbed in the window, if only something happened. Instead, I’m left there like salami, with a thousand other unresolved issues. De Niro, however, is clearly relieved. An invisible inscription flickers on the forehead: “The end of torture.” He shakes my hand, flinches, then takes a step back, “Ah, say hello to Monica if you like.”
Photo by Adolfo Franco