Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.09.2009, Síða 27

is so bad, why did Madame de Volanges give
her the daughter to take care of? Why was she
loved in society? The same with Valmont. Why
did everyone fall in love with him? So that’s what
interested me. What’s not in the letters?”
So the story itself is a fabrication by the
characters in it, you seem to suggest?
“Yes.”
Hair came out in ’79 but it was about events
in ’68. How was it to relive the changes,
coming from communist Prague to hippie
California?
“The timing is one of the reasons the film did
not become a big success. In the late ‘70s, it
was not recent and not yet nostalgia. I wanted
to do it when I came to the US in ’69, for non-
political reasons, but the rights to the film were
so complicated that I wasn’t able to make it until
the late ‘70s. Now the film is playing repeatedly
on American television. It’s nostalgia now, it’s
not dangerous anymore.”
No famous actors
Forman didn’t get to make a film with Bobby
Fischer, sadly, but he has worked with some
of the biggest names in cinema. However, for
Amadeus, he decided on largely unknown
actors.
You didn’t want to have famous actors in
the roles?
“No, if you had Tom Cruise playing Mozart,
people wouldn’t see Mozart, just a famous face.”
Is it different to work with big stars rather
than unknown actors?
“Good actors who become stars are usually
very nice people to work with. Ed Norton is a
wonderful guy to work with. So’s Jack Nicholson.
Carrey, the same. Annette Bening is wonderful,
perfect.”
Why did you cast Jim Carrey as Andy
Kaufman?
“Every comedian wanted to play the part. Andy
Kaufman is an idol to them. But I couldn’t ask
Jim Carrey or some other people to do a screen
test. So what I did was that I sent the word out
that whoever was interested in playing Andy
Kaufman should tape themselves at home
as they would see themselves playing Andy
Kaufman. They all did. Jim Carrey sent me a
tape, Kevin Spacey, Ed Norton. Ten to twelve
big names sent a tape. The final decision was
between Jim Carrey and Ed Norton. Ed Norton
was wonderful, but Jim Carrey was more
experienced in stand up comedy. For People vs.
Larry Flynt, I did screen tests with various actors
for the role of Larry’s lawyer, and Ed Norton was
the best.”
The next film you made about an artist after
Amadeus was Man on the Moon. It seems
to suggest that Andy Kaufman sacrificed a
part of his personality, his humanity even,
to become a great comedian. There is a
movie called The Life and Death of Peter
Sellers which seems to suggest the same
about its subject matter.
“I never met Peter Sellers, but there is a
similarity. I talked to a lot of people who knew
Peter Sellers and nobody could say who the real
Peter Sellers was. Andy Kaufman was exactly
the same. I talked to his parents, his brother and
sister and his girlfriend, and I asked them who
the real Andy Kaufman was, and his parents tell
me they don’t know. It’s not easy.”
“I (almost) shot BoBBy fIscher”
Do you think that to become really good at
something, you have to concentrate on that
exclusively and don’t manage to become a
full rounded person? Bobby Fischer could
be another example.
“Absolutely. But Bobby Fischer was certifiably...
his genius as a chess player affected something
else in his brain. I met him many times. I
wanted to make a film about the match. He lived
then with some nuns in some kind of a cult. I
talked to a nun about making a film with Bobby
Fisher. The nun said ‘alright, Mr. Fischer will
meet you at three o clock in the afternoon.’ I
said ‘where?’ and she said: ‘We will call you half
an hour before and tell you where.’ She called
at 14.30 and told me to come to a motel at the
outskirts of Los Angeles. I drove to be there at
three o’ clock and came to this little, dingy hotel.
Bobby Fischer came in the room. I tried to say
hello and he put a transistor radio on the table
and put it on full blast. Then he started talking.
He was paranoid and thought they might be
listening on hidden microphones somewhere.
Very strange character. This was before he went
to Belgrade to have the match with Spassky
during the embargo.”
So was it after Bobby Fischer came to the
set that you decided not to make a movie
with him?
“No, I was shooting and invited him to come to
see the dailies in Los Angeles. He would only
come after dark. Afterward, I met him in his
hotel room and the only thing he said was: ‘That
actress is fat.’”
It seems that Bobby Fischer sacrificed
a part of his humanity to become a great
chess player. Andy Kaufman may have
done the same. So did Salieri in the film,
but then he can’t even make music.
“I was not aware of these connections, but
there they are. Being a genius, they have to pay
something for it. Bobby was a genius. I think it’s
wonderful that Iceland took care of him and gave
him the citizenship. I’ve heard he’s buried here.
Is it far? I want to see his grave.”
“We can arrange that,” interjects his handler.
“Is there any other special Icelandic drink?”
Forman asks, pointing to his empty bottle
of Maltöl. I suggest Appelsín, but he’s not
interested and praises the virtues of Czech beer
instead. Milos Forman heads off, perhaps in
search of Bobby Fischer. Despite his portrayals
of other artists, he seems a contented man who
enjoys his cigars, his Maltöl and the movies.
Whatever sacrifices he has made for his art, he
made them long ago. He once said that “in my
relatively short life I have lived through six or
seven different social and cultural systems. First
the Democratic Republic of Czechoslovakia,
then the limited democracy before World War
II, then the Nazi regime. After the Nazi regime
there was a kind of democracy again for three
years, then came the Stalinist regime, then the
reformed Communist regime, and now I am
living in a free country.”
So whatever the f laws of democracy, Milos
Forman seems to be enjoying it.
feature | Interview with Milos Forman
the reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2009
15
This is an innovative new addition to the Grapevine - sprinkling our features with fun historical facts! This way, you not only get the
excellent entertainment value of a long ol' Valur Gunnarsson article, you also enrich your brain with facts-a-plenty!
Here's an idea: you can use your newfound historical knowledge to impress friends at bars - everyone loves a know-it-all!
1910s
As part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Czechs go
to war with Russia, Britain, France and Serbia in 1914.
The Czech experience is brilliantly satirized in Hasek’s
The Good Soldier Svejk. A group of Czech POWs in
Russia take over the Trans-Siberian Express in one of
the more surreal chapters of the Russian Revolution.
For a while, they control a large part of Russia, before
marching back home through Siberia and Canada.
Edvard Benes forms an independence movement
in Paris in 1915 called The Maffia. Czechoslovakia
becomes an independent country after World War I.
Benes is the first foreign minister of the new country.
1920s
Unbeknownst to virtually everyone, Franz Kafka is
buried in Prague in 1924. He is later acclaimed as one
of the greatest writers of Western Civilisation. Skoda,
formerly the largest arms manufacturer in the Austro-
Hungarian Empire, starts making civilian products such
as cars and trains.
1930s
Benes becomes President in 1935. He opposes
German claims to the Sudetenland border areas. At a
meeting in Munich in 1938 between Hitler, Mussolini,
Daladier of France and Chamberlain of Great Britain,
Hitler is allowed to annex the Sudetenland in return of
guarantees for Czech independence. Benes is forced to
resign under German pressure and Slovakia becomes
a German puppet state. In March 1939, the Nazis
march in and take over the rest of the Czech lands in
spite of the Munich treaty. Benes goes into exile for the
second time.
1940s
The Prague rising against the occupying Germans
starts on May 5th. Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Frank
makes good on his promise to drown any rebellion
in a sea of blood. Around 2000 Czechs are killed
before the resistance surrenders on May 8th. The
day after, the Red Army enters the city. The area
of Ruthenia is annexed by the Soviet Union. Benes
becomes President again after independence is
restored. Remaining Germans are deported from the
Sudetenland. The communists take over after a coup
in 1948 and join Comecon the following year. Benes
resigns and dies six months later. Gottwald becomes
President.
1950s
Stalin purges many, including members of the
communist party. Czechoslovakia, though rich
compared to other Eastern bloc countries, falls farther
behind Western Europe. The country becomes a
founding member of the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Novotny
becomes President in 1957.
1960s
In early 1968, Alexander Dubcek becomes head of the
Communist Party. He attempts to introduce freedom
of speech, economic reforms and limited elections. In
August, Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops enter Prague.
Student Jan Palach sets himself on fire in protest. The
reforms are brought to an end. Dubcek is forced to
resign in April 1969 after Czechoslovakia beats the
Soviet Union in The World Ice Hockey Championships.
Gustav Husak becomes head of the communist party.
Many artists emigrate, Milos Forman in 1968 and Milan
Kundera in 1975.
1970s
Living standards briefly increase but stagnate after the
1973 oil crisis. Playwright Václav Havel become leader
of the opposition in 1977 and is frequently imprisoned.
Czechoslovak cartoons become popular in Iceland.
1980s
In 1985, Gorbachev becomes the new Premier of the
Soviet Union. The Czech communists reluctantly follow
his lead in reforms. The country does not suffer the
same economic problems as the USSR. Nevertheless,
the first mass protest, the “Candle Demonstration,” is
held in 1988. This escalates into full-blown revolution,
the Velvet Revolution, in November 1989. Half a million
people protest in Prague and a two-hour general strike
is called. By the end of the month, the communists
have relinquished power and dismantled barbed wire
at the German and Austrian border. Dubcek become
speaker of Parliament and Havel becomes President.
1990s
In 1993, Slovakia and the Czech Republic become
separate countries. Prague becomes a World Heritage
site and is called “The Coolest Capital in the World,”
with up to 40.000 American expats living there. Most
claim to be working on a novel. The country joins
NATO in 1999. Few novels materialise
2000s
In 2000, 15.000 anti-globalisation protesters take
to the streets in Prague. In 2002, the city is ravaged
by floods. In 2003, Havel leaves office as his second
term ends. Concurrently, he is occasionally spotted
around Reykjavik. Meanwhile, two young Icelanders
spend a few months in Prague, pick up a copy of the
street paper The Prague Pill, think that’s rather a good
idea and head back home to found The Reykjavik
Grapevine. In 2004, the Czech Republic joins the
European Union.
1930s
Born on 18th February, 1932 in Cáslav in
Czechoslovakia. His father, Rudolf, is a professor and
his mother runs a summer hotel. Both are Protestants.
1940s
Rudolf is arrested for distributing banned books during
the Nazi occupation and dies in Buchenwald in 1944.
His mother dies in Auschwitz in 1943. Milos goes
into hiding with relatives. He later discovers that his
biological father is a Jewish architect who escaped the
Holocaust. At age 13, Forman is expelled from school
for making fun of a party official. Vaclav Havel is one of
his schoolmates.
1950s
Because of his expulsion, the only university that will
admit Forman is the Prague film academy. In 1953,
former school mates the Masín Brothers escape
to West Germany after being chased by 20.000
policemen, becoming Czech folk heroes.
1960s
Makes his first film, Audition, in 1963 and Black Peter a
year later. Along with classmates Passer and Ondricek,
Forman becomes one of the major Czech directors,
but his critical style is seen as troublesome by the
regime. In 1965, he makes Loves of a Blonde, which
is nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign
film. His last Czech movie is The Fireman’s Ball in 1967,
written by Ivan Passer. When the Soviets enter Prague
in 1968, Forman is in France. While there, he is fired
from the Czech studio he works for and decides to
emigrate to the US. He becomes a professor of film at
Columbia University.
1970s
Makes his first American film, Taking Off, in 1971.
Partly set at a Tina Turner concert, it wins the Grand
Prix at Cannes. In 1975, he makes One Flew over the
Cuckoo’s Nest, which became the first movie in 40
years to win all five major Academy Awards. The movie
is produced by Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz,
who later produces Amadeus and Goya’s Ghosts. Kirk
Douglas is supposedly pissed at his son for giving the
leading role to Jack Nicholson rather than himself.
In 1977, Forman becomes a naturalised American
citizen. In 1979, he makes a film version of the 1968
musical Hair. The movie gathers largely positive
reviews, but is disowned by the original writers of the
musical. Ondricek does the cinematography, as he will
continue to do on Forman’s next films.
1980s
In 1981, Forman makes Ragtime about racism in early
20th Century America. He takes over the project after
Robert Altman leaves. It is the last film to star James
Cagney, and is nominated for eight Academy Awards,
but does not win.
Forman returns to Prague to make Amadeus, which
comes out in 1984. It wins eight Academy Awards,
including best picture. Both Tom Hulce and F. Murray
Abraham are nominated as best actor, with Murray
winning. Forman wins his second Oscar as director.
In 1989, Forman makes Valmont, based on the novel
Dangerous Liaisons. Meg Tilly stars along with
Annette Bening and Colin Firth. It is nominated for
an Oscar for best production design. The year before,
Stephen Frears had made a version of the novel
starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close and Michelle
Pfeiffer that was nominated for seven Academy
Awards and won three.
1990s
The now Czech Republic abandons communism in
favour of capitalism after the Velvet Revolution. The
phrase zhasnout, from Firemen’s Ball, meaning “lights
out” and used there to describe petty theft, is often
invoked to describe the privatisation process.
Forman abandons at least two projects, sumo film Hell
Camp and Disclosure, later directed by Barry Levinson.
In 1994, Forman publishes his autobiography,
Turnaround. In 1996, he gets his own asteroid, 11333
Forman. That same year, he makes People vs. Larry
Flynt with Ed Norton and Woody Harrelson. The film
received rave reviews and won Forman his third Oscar
nomination, although this time he does not win.
In 1999, Forman makes Andy Kaufman biopic Man
on the Moon starring Jim Carrey. The film receives
mixed reviews but is hailed by some, as is Carrey’s
performance. Forman’s two sons, Andrew and James,
are named after Andy Kaufman and Jim Carrey.
2000s
Milos Forman plays a priest in Ed Norton’s directorial
debut, Keeping the Faith.
In 2006, he makes Goya’s Ghosts with Natalie Portman,
Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgård. The film is
a Spanish production but shot in English. The film
receives mixed to negative reviews.
In 2009, Forman attends the Reykjavik film festival in
2009, while still trying to finance his next film, Ghosts
of Munich.
The Czech Republic Milos FormanA Brief History of...