Manchester's Cornerhouse cinema, where the 7th Viva! Spanish Film Festival, was celebrated in March 2001.
Alex de la Iglesia and Cármen Maura in a promotional shot of La Comunidad.
On Thursday 15th of March Ibercine went to the opening of the Viva! Spanish Film Festival in Machester's Cornerhouse cinema. The festival opened with the most popular film of 2000 in Spain: La Comunidad (Common Wealth). Alex de la Iglesia, director and screenwriter of La Comunidad attended the premiere to present his latest film and attend a Q&A session after the film. Ibercine had the chance to meet the director, ask him a few questions and get a photo taken with him!
Nominated for 15 Goya Film Awards (the most of any film competing at the 2000 awards) and winner of Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Special Effects Goyas, La Comunidad (Common Wealth) is Spain's biggest blockbuster of 2000.
The success of La Comunidad proves that films made on a budget can also be successful if they are made with the right ingredients. De la Iglesia proves this with his genre-bending fusion of black comedy, suspense, action and horror.
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Below is a transcript of the questions the public asked to the director Alex de la Iglesia after the screening of La Comunidad (Common Wealth). Ibercine taped the Q&A session and brings a comprehensive transcript below:
Q- I read somewhere that you received a challenge to make this film. Is it true somebody challenged you to make La Comunidad?
A- When we began to work on the script the idea was to work in a story located in a closed and claustrophobic place. To try to make a movie in only one set- that's the idea. To make the game and the chasing and all of the things in the movie happen in only one place. We couldn't do it because, you know, the end of the movie we destroy all the idea, you know, and made it open and blue and happy ... and that. It all works together. When you work indoors you can work better with the actors, the lighting of the set and you dedicate more time, the actors work better and you feel more relaxed, you laugh more, the technicians are happier and the film ends up better. Therefore the Americans work on sets. This bad habit we have in Spain of always working on location is what makes us bad-tempered... we should imitate the serious people, the Americans, who work on studios and therefore make the best films.... Never imitate the French!
Q- Tell us a bit about the ending. It seems very different to the rest of the story.
A- I feel a certain tone of "I didn't like it" here- it's strange. It wasn't my idea, it's been done before. The idea of opening. You are in a very closed space throughout the film and when you go outside you open the image and gives a sensation of breathing, relief and fastens the rhythm of the ending of the story. It works.
Q- I feel different film influences in La Comunidad. Which films were the biggest influence on you?
A- The best ones! I think there are a lot of movies in my mind. If you live in the years of John Ford or George Cuckor you have no influences because there were no movies before. Now we have a history of movies in mind. My life has no big moments, you know? I didn't fight in Vietnam, I didn't live big sexual moments and I don't have big experiences like George Cuckor or Howard Hox or John Houston. John Houston lived the real Mexican revolution, I only have the movies in my mind and those are my experiences and the best moments in my life. Our generation has to talk about movies out of necessity... You have Polansky, Berlanga, George Lucas, I love George Lucas. The guy who disguises as Darth Vader in the film is me- it's my alter ego! I've seen Star Wars 39 times in cinema and hundreds of time on TV and I think I've gone completely mad. It is a good way of escaping reality- living inside of Star Wars. It probably looks like I am laughing at George Lucas in the film, it is true, but with respect, affection and illusion. For me George is a respectful person. I say all that because we do not have the rights for the image of Star Wars and Darth Vader to appear in the movie and any time any of those people can cut the distribution of our film. I hope there is nobody from Fox here! I love Fox by the way! It's a homage to the people who work in the Fox... in a gigantic company and suffer a lot when they could be here having fun with us... they earn too much and they are destroying themselves. I am lucky to have monetary problems and keeps me humble and awake and have more chances to reflect on life and enjoy... No, La Comunidad is not a homage, it's a copy! I am the cocktail maker of movies!
Q- What was the budget to make the film?
A- The big budget of Spain: 2 million dollars! wow!
Q- What does Cármen Maura feel to be nominated for a Goya Award?
A- Yes, she got it. She is very happy and me too. We are both very moved. The Goyas mean a lot to us. We don't care about big awards like the Oscars because the only thing they do is make you a vain person. The Goyas are such a homely award it is as if you own mum gave you the award. When we got the Goyas we started crying and getting emotional and they had to stop the transmission because all became too much. We later lost the award in a bar but the emotional stuff you carry it inside, what is the statuette for? that is why the next day we sold the statuette on the flea market. No, we are very happy about such recognition, and that.
Q- Have you ever thought about making some other type of films, such as a comedy with some blood and thriller?
A- No, I don't know. Every time I make a movie I try to make it different. All those names of style, genre etc. are nothing but critic's expressions. The people I like are like Michael Curtis, who made Casablanca and then Robin Hood, a very different film. I mean, can you imagine Bogart in green leotards? I am not interested in following a certain style. The idea is to make what you like and even though you cannot avoid your problems and teenage traumas that mark you, you find that in the end there are common issues. I notice that unintentionally I repeat things in my movies. In this film Cármen throws a cigarette on the floor and steps on it with her naked foot and in El Dia de la Bestia (The Day of the Beast) Alex Angulo burns his feet with a cigarette to draw a cross on them and be able to step on Christ's cross every time he walks.
Q- How do you like Manchester?
A- Well, the only thing I know about Manchester at the moment is my hotel and my bed, and this theatre. I would like to go to other places but I have to go to London tomorrow. I want to meet the real Madchester!
Q- Do you have a waterbed in your room? (referring to the water bed in the flat Cármen stays in the film)
A- No, no. I don't have one. I slept on a water bed in a Las Vegas hotel but I do not recommended it. Besides, a person like me on a water bed you know what happens. I don't know if you've ever thrown out a water balloon from your window onto the street, well it's the same problem.
Q- Why do you think that black comedies are so much in fashion these days? Specially in Spain.
A- Maybe it's because of me. I don't know. I don't think there are many films like mine. I don't think there are many black comedies at the moment. Fortunately!
Q- Could you tell us about your new projects? What are you working on these days?
A- Well, I'm thinking about the possibility of becoming a millionaire. I'm thinking about being happy, becoming a millionaire and not have any troubles but I'm having to postpone all this and it's getting quite worrying. No, really, focusing on cinema, I'm trying to make a movie called "Fumanchu". I'm trying to bring back the old character and its adventures: Fumanchu- El Peligro Amarillo (Fumanchu- the Yellow Danger).
Q- Is there any other Spanish director you admire?
A- I would like to be as cheeky as Borges when he said that he didn't read any work by his peers but of course there are a whole bunch of them I like. Normally, in the movie world , we define ourselves not by what we like but by what we don't like. I'm not going to name anybody in particular... I like this boy, Almodóvar, but I liked his first films better than the more recent ones. I liked him better when he made comedy. I really like directors of the 50s and 60s. It is a bit sad that their films have not been shown in the UK and I challenge Viva! to make a festival on them. I'm not really a fan of Spanish cinema, yes, it is a problem, but the Spanish films I really like are the films from those years. There are 4 or 5 films from that period that I can assure you are some of the best films I have seen in my life. It is not passion or pride or anything like that, there are two films by Berlanga you have to watch: Bienvenido Mr Marshall (Welcome, Mr Marshall) and El Verdugo (The Executioner). Then you have the films by Marco Ferreli and Fernando Fernán Gómez. You have to watch: El Pisito (The Little Flat), El Cochecito (The Little Car) and El Extraño Viaje (The Strange Trip). These are a bunch of black comedies but really black, well, it's in black and white but it was dark and cynic. Those were times with a lot of problems with censorship and the guys had to think all the time what was the way to keeping ideas rolling. And please watch Futivos (Poachers) by Borau, it's a superb film. Well, guys I see some bored faces and people yawning I think this is the end. Now we get a photo and we can leave it here. OK, the last question.
Q- It is not exactly a question. I would like to say that I loved watching great figures of the Spanish theatre on film again because I think nowadays it is in fashion in order to attract people to use new people who sometimes cannot act...
A- Yes, making up young absurd kids. I am very much with you in that real experienced actors make a movie to be better. There is no need to make up new beautiful actors to attract people to come to the movies. This is something that happens a lot nowadays in Spain. Many films that could have been good end up a fucking shit, excuse my language, because of ten 15 year old freaks who believe themselves to be actors and who are a disaster. When you work with quality actors you understand what a real actor is worth. Wynona, for example. Who likes her? We should make a committee against Wynona. An international association...
On that note we would like to say thank you very much to Alex de la Iglesia and all of you for coming along.
A- Thank you everybody!
Read on Alex de la Iglesia's self-interview promoting La Comunidad
