Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.12.2013, Blaðsíða 20

20The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 18 — 2013
tel. 578 8555www.gamlasmidjan.is Lækjargata 8
Opening hours:
mon-thu 11:30-23
fri 11:30-06
sat 12-06
& sun 12-23
Heavenly pizzas!
Home delivery
See our menu at www.gamlasmidjan.is
Film
A remake wasn’t immediately on writer/
director David Gordon Green’s mind.
In fact, he worked his way backwards:
Before anything else, he came up with
the title ‘Prince Avalanche.’ Then, after
shooting a Chrysler commercial with a
small crew—featuring Clint Eastwood—
he began searching for a project he
could shoot run-and-gun. The drum-
mer from Explosions in the Sky—who
would eventually write the film score—
suggested a location, the burnt-down
state park of Bastrop, in Texas. Finally,
in conversation with another friend, an
art director, David explained he had all
these things in place—title, small crew,
location—but that he needed an idea.
And that’s when it all fell into place with
the art director’s suggestion that he
simply remake a recently released Ice-
landic film called ‘Either Way.’
In anticipation of the film’s release,
we met up with Hafsteinn and made
a Skype call to David in Austin to talk
about adapting and directing the film,
remakes and growing up.
Óskar: David, could you tell us how
the project came about?
David: Well, Hafsteinn and I didn’t
know each other until the movie was
done, which is weird. What I was look-
ing to do was a character piece about
a place, and the place is kind of a third
character in the movie. I thought it
would be a fun experiment, something
I'd never done before.
Óskar: So, Hafsteinn, could you tell
us about ‘Either Way’ and how it
translated into a remake.
Hafsteinn: Well, I think it translated re-
ally well. The story is really universal. It
could take place anywhere in the world.
When I first learned of the idea to re-
make it, I thought it was a joke. But then
I was just really excited to see what Da-
vid would do with it. I was familiar with
his work and I’m actually really happy
with the outcome.
David: I was scared of meeting you.
Hafsteinn: Yeah? [laughs]
David: Because I was afraid you would
just hate it.
David: I do remember one of our ex-
ecutive producers who was communi-
cating between the two parties saying,
“They want to know if you want to make
it uh, a commercial movie or a little
strange art house film,” and I said, “Nei-
ther. I just want to start making some-
thing that feels like its own distinctive
universe and not have the expectations
of what it would be.”
And I thought that that was an inter-
esting question because I think in my
career there’s two extremes. There’s
either the broad, commercial comedies
or uh, or … you know, very small inti-
mate dramatic works, and I think one of
the beauties of this project is it landed
in a place that had an appreciation for
both of the worlds that I've worked in,
but didn’t feel necessarily aligned with
any of them.
Hafsteinn: When I did ‘Either Way,’ I
showed it to one of my friends, and he
said, “Yeah, that’s great. It’s like, you
know, ‘Dumb and Dumber’ meets Ab-
bas Kiarostami [director].
David: [laughs]
Hafsteinn: And I thought that was a
big compliment.
David: That’s a great compliment. Per-
fect. Do you consider your film a com-
edy?
Hafsteinn: Um, not really, you know, I
just consider the story, which is funny
and sad, at the same time.
David: People get confused, I think,
with ‘Prince Avalanche,’ and they ask
me like what it’s supposed to be. I was
really inspired by your movie, because
movies are all too frequently defined by
a genre and it’s nice when you can kind
of exist in your own weird little world.
Óskar: These two guys are working
in a road crew and they’re painting
lines on the streets, and they’re sort
of constantly stepping over social
lines with each other. Was that any-
thing that you thought about when
you wrote the film originally, Hafs-
teinn?
Hafsteinn: Not really, no. [laughs] Did
you?
David: No, but you know, one of the
beauties of both films, I think, is people
read into them, and the mere simplic-
ity of the fabric gives people’s minds
a chance to look into symbolism and
metaphor and interpret it in different
ways as opposed to if you’re watching
the sequel to ‘Thor,’ which I’m sure is
great, but probably doesn’t give you a
lot of room to breathe intellectually. Not
that it’s not intelligent, but you know
what I mean?
A lot of movies are so aggressive,
with plot and story and cutting, and
effects and music and noise. You can
sometimes be overburdened with that
and have a great experience, but not
really let your interpretations thrive. So
I love people talking about the movie.
Two guys that are in the middle of the
road and don’t know which side to get
on, and you know, people are reading
into them constantly.
Hafsteinn: Exactly.
Óskar: Have you guys learned any-
thing new about male-relationships
while making these films?
Hafsteinn: I don’t know if I learned
anything new, but it’s a big homage to
masculinity and vulnerability, and allow-
ing yourself to be emotional, as a man.
David: I had the experience writing it,
which was very... I was sitting exactly
where I’m sitting right now, and I had
two computers up. One was playing
your movie [Either Way], and I would
start it and stop. And on the other, I was
transcribing it.
Hafsteinn: Uh-huh.
David: I found myself writing about
both of these characters from my own
perspective. I found that they both
resonated with me. It was a time when
I was a new father. I'd had twin boys
that are now, you know, running around
being crazy, but they were new on the
scene then. And I started to relate to the
life that I've had. I love to rage and stay
out all night, there’s that side of me, and
then there’s the other side of me that
wants to disappear into the woods, and
I really found myself personalising them
both.
Óskar: Hafsteinn, was it an out-of-
body experience seeing the remake
to your film?
Hafsteinn: Was it an out-of-body ex-
perience? No, I had read the script, and
then I went to see the film. I didn’t really
know what to expect, so it was defi-
nitely a weird experience, but a good
experience, you know? It was kind of
like seeing an ex-girlfriend with a new
boyfriend or something like that, you
know?
David: [laughs]
Hafsteinn:[laughs] But then when I
saw it again in Berlin, at the Internation-
al Film Festival, I knew what I was com-
ing to, and then I really, really enjoyed
it a lot, you know? But it was definitely
a good experience. It was just, yeah, I
guess it was weird a little bit, yeah.
David: [laughs] I think we should write
movies for each other. Like you should
write one, and I’ll do it in Iceland. I’ll
write for you, and you can do it down
here.
‘Prince Avalanche’ is the story of two highway road workers—Alvin (starring Paul Rudd)
and Lance (Emile Hirsch)—who spend the summer of 1988 working together in rural
Texas. The film, which comes out this month, is a remake of the Hafsteinn Gunnar’s 2011
film ‘Á annan veg’ (“Either Way”), which stars similar protagonists working on Icelandic
mountain roads.
Words
Óskar Bragi Stefánsson
Nowhere Men
David Gordon Green remakes
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s 'Either Way'
Prince Avalanche, film still
In November and December alone last year, Icelanders purchased
156,000 boxes, or 405 tons, of clementines.
Either Way, film still