Over here, the movie was synonymous with the Video Nasty flap in the early 80s.
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Sure, sure.
Obviously, that generated some laughter.
Im still being sued, man.
I did read about that, yeah.
Didnt it seem rather strange thatDriller Killergot lumped in with a bunch of horror films?
Because it isnt a slasher film.
Its not a conventional horror film at all.
Well, when you call your filmDriller Killer,you cant be shocked when that happens!
It was one of several horror films in the 70s and 80s that involved power tools.
Do you know where that came from?
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
So was it your response to that film?
It was a world we were trying to be a part of, you know?
Some say its an exploitation film, some say its an art movie.
The media here briefly said it was a video nasty.
How do you categorise it, if at all?
A documentary, I think, of the life we were living at the time.
So its autobiographical, then other than the drilling bits, obviously.
Even the drilling bit is, like, dreams and fantasies.
I mean, New York is now the international banking headquarters.
[Raucous laugh] Not for the better!
Is it psychologically safer?
Is it culturally safer?
Is it spiritually safer?
I dont think so.
Giving a free-fly zone to every fuckin thieving, fuckin, banking muthafucker in the world?
You think thats safer?
Whats so safe about that, you know?
To be fair, a similar things happened in London.
Its all over the world its not just in New York.
Listen, cities are constantly changing.
Londons been changing forever, right?
Its never the same.
In New York, whats there now could be gone tomorrow, so… And the writer moaned about the strawberries given out at the screening.
It just goes to show.
Do you think youre perceived differently by critics in different countries?
Yeah, sounds like me!
Theres snobbery in Europe.
I think its a reverse snobbery.
In America, nobody knows who the director is, really.
What makes you say that?
Because it just is, man.
The role of directors… if you have final cut, youre an auteur, and thats it.
If you dont have that, youre not a director.
Anybody can make a film making films is easy.
Making a good film thats something else.
There were so many filmmakers that he influenced, and I was one of them.
So what do you think the solution is for young filmmakers?
Is that a route you might have taken had that technology been available in the 70s?
Its a big help, man.
The tools you need are right in front of you.
So how do you find a project that interests you?
Were working from our imagination.
We dont really adapt books or adapt novels or buy music or whatever.
Its just what we do.
Its our lives, basically.
Its our dreams, our fantasies, who we are.
Its our expression, our way of living.
Thats Nicholas St John, you know.
He writes the scripts.
Its a learning process; Im just funding my education through my work, through the tools of film.
Im expressing myself, and Im also trying to understand myself.
Im doing it to connect.
Thats the process, right?
You do something like a film, and a film doesnt exist unless somebody goes to watch it.
Are you surprised by which of your films have endured and connected more than others.
For example, King Of New Yorkis one that has a huge, huge cult following.
WhenKing Of New Yorkcame out, no one went to see that film.
That was nowhere near as successful asDriller Killer,okay?
A thousand years from now, theyll perceive something else.
What was it like to work with Christopher Walken so many times?
What was the working relationship like between you guys?
We worked with him because we loved working with him, you know?
Id work with him now, but its just the way things go.
Hes giving, intelligent, hes committed to his work, committed to his craft.
Hes committed to what hes committed to.
He brings himself to everything he does, and that gives things a whole new life.
He was supposed to doBad Lieutenantwith you, wasnt he?
So what made him change his mind?
It was something he was sensing I wanted.
That was a script that I wrote, and we did rehearsals…
I actually did a lot of writing for that script based on his rehearsals.
But I think in the end he felt I wanted something that he didnt perceive in that character.
And that was it!
[Chuckles] With those guys, you dont argue.
And of course it worked out so well, because Harvey Keitels performance is incredible.
Yeah, Harvey was right in that moment.
There was a lot he needed to express; he was going through a lot of personal stuff.
You cant separate the body from the soul.
Do you think your philosophy has changed in the process of making your films?
Well, Im a Buddhist now, but I hope it has.
I hope Im learning something… Im trying, put it that way.
Im focused on being a better person.
What are your memories of makingBody Snatchers?
Jack… what was the name of the guy who wrote the original story?
That original storys a masterpiece.
[Don] Siegels movie was a pretty impressive movie, and he was impressive as a movie director.
But it was very true to the book.
Then Warner Bros, they switched it around.
You know, Id like to do another remake [ofBody Snatchers].
But when he sees the librarian, he realises that she isnt the same woman.
Its a great, great moment.
You couldnt come up with a worse place or a worse starting point for that film.
So if you were to remake it, you would take it back to the small town.
The doctor in the small town somewhere.
Why would you change that?
If youve got a great reason for changing it, then yeah.
But if youve got an arbitrary reason?
Thats it in a nutshell.
What happened while it was being made?
Was it a difficult film to make because of Warner Bros?
I mean, I butted heads, because I dont like anybody telling me what to do.
Yeah, I really liked it.
Im glad you like it I like it too.
But could it have been better?
Would I like to do a remake of that?
Do I think I could do a better one than these clowns did with [Invasion]?
Spirituality of the writer.
Him trying to come to terms with the possibility that the world could possibly blow up in his face.
Its just a beautiful work of fiction, man.
He was a talented guy at the top of his game.
Thats why it resonates.
They gave [Jack Finney] 500 bucks, and that was it.
Thats all he got.
They made four studio films based on that idea, and the guy got 500 bucks.
So you spoke to Jack Finney?
Thats one of the perks of being who I am!
You get to talk to Jack Finney, you get to talk to William Gibson.
But then youve got to work with the Warner Bros guys!
So that ended that conversation.
That seems to be a common theme with writers of these stories.
[Roars with laughter] That was the going rate for masterpieces back then!
Five hundred, and yeah, be happy you got that!
What are you doing next, because I really want to see yourJekyll And Hydemovie.
Yeah well, I dont know if youre gonna see that one next.
But were doingSiberia, with Willem Defoe, Nic Cage and Isabelle Beart.
Its likeThe Odyssey,like a journey that Willem makes by dog sled, of all things.
Dealing with animals, dealing with nature, but basically dealing with Willems dreams of the unconscious.
We havent started filming yet, but were close.
Well, I really look forward to seeing that.
Abel Ferrara, thank you very much.
The Driller Killeris out on disc on the 28th November from Arrow Films.
