Copyright CINE LIVE, issue 31, January 2000
By Gregory Alexandre and Philippe Paumier
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LEONARDO DICAPRIO
Under the wreck, The Beach.
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Two years have come through under the decks of Titanic : A period of time for Leonardo DiCaprio to accept his deification and find, with Danny Boyle, the person who will take the risk to turn him to maturity. In Thailand, the shooting of « The Beach » sounds like a healthy exile : DiCaprio has grown and, as old french wines, the 2000 vintage promise moments of rapture.

INTERVIEW

Los Angeles, Tuesday november 23 1999, 2.30 PM. In the lounge of the Four Seasons palace hotel, we are killing time by making comments on the unusual calm that reigns on the City of Angels. And this is exactly, one of these angels, that we’re about to lay, on the cou ch… of the journalist, of course ! A one hour private conversation with the King Leo, helped in this « hardship » by Danny Boile, here’s what the half of the planet dreams to do. We’re feeling feverishness, we’re in the same time fearing and hoping silly things : is he gonna play with us The Little Prince of Hollywood, or just the Little Prince, behave like a wild animal, just answer us by his usual and famous « cool » expression or, is he going to wreck the room at the slightest tricky question ?

DiCaprio, in the flesh, it’s obviously a mixture of all those things (except that nothing was broken) : slightly streetwear style, that obsessive tuft of hair getting out from a cap jammed hard on a face that time has excessively favored. The beautiful young and boisterous man has turned to a frank and level-headed good-looker, even if his reserve, due to the mass hysteria, put a damper on a disposition that you imagine very playful. Happily, excited by Danny Boyle, who is in top form and very respectful to the consecretation of his actor, and by the memory of their backpackers trip, Leonardo goes along with the interview game like a good boy, smiles to the whims of autographs and shakes vigorously everybody’s hand. Looking us straight in the eye, this moment has as much to do with collective hallucination (we’re just two, but you know!) than expected thrill, but our memory, will keep it in our mind for decades, what do I say....for MILLENIUMS to come !

CINE LIVE : WHAT KIND OF IMAGE DID YOU HAVE FROM EACH OTHER BEFORE FILMING THE BEACH ?
- Leonardo DiCaprio : When I saw « Trainspotting », it was at the Cannes Film Festival, and I remember I was completely flabbergasted. It was one of the most extraordinary movies that I’d ever seen in my life, and today, my point of view hasn’t changed. It’s so new to me the way Danny goes from hyperrealism to surrealism to emphazise the psychology of the characters. Right away I was completely behind his plan, this film.

CL : DID YOU SEE HIS OTHER FILMS ?
- LDC : Yes, but later. « Trainspotting » was really the film that appeared to me like a highly influencial film, a new way of filming.

CL : AND YOU DANNY, HOW DID YOU COME TO KNOW OF LEO ?
Danny Boyle : Actually, we met in Cannes the year Trainspotting was presented, during the party organized after the screening. About Leo, I knew that at that time, « Gilbert Grape » and « Romeo & Juliet », were just realeased and obviously, I understood quickly that he was a terrific actor. But what suprised me particularly, were his choices as an actor : international and risky films, with interesting directors! What made me think that Leo could be the ideal collaborator on the adaptation I was thinking of doing of Alex Garland's novel « The Beach ». So, we decided that Richard would be a young American, and no more an englisman, as it was written in the book. The idea was certainly not to do an English film, but rather an internationally ranged film that could work throughout the world. The problem came when « Titanic » was released : the incredible success that the James Cameron’s film had, hadn't been in my plans! Suddenly, Leo had the opportunity to make every other film in the world! Despite everything, we sent him the script. What I’d like people to understand is that we didn’t choose Leo because of his success in « Titanic », but because he’s one of the very rare young American actors who is so extremely sensitive.

CL : HOW DID YOU MANAGE THE PRESSURE PUT ON YOUR SHOULDERS AFTER THE TRIUMPH OF CAMERON’S MOVIE ? WERE YOU WORRIED ?
- DB : Not on a personal way, no. Actually we tried to see things from a positive point : that meant we were going to have enough money to make the kind of film we wanted to make, that we could make things according to the rule book, and that we could pay very decently all the Thai who would work with us! It was out of the question to arrive there with an imperialistic arrogance, because, from an environmental level, we wanted to minimize as much as possible the tumult we were going to cause to the natural equilibrium of the environment. The irony, in all this stuff, is that we were very much criticized on that point, while in reality, we spent incredible amounts of money to leave the setting in a good state, indeed in better condition than when we arrived! But of course, when you’re shooting a scene in the streets with Leo, the crowd can become hysterical. The advantage with the Thai people is that, when you ask them for silence, or to refrain from taking pictures using a flash during a scene, they’re very obedient. On the other hand, as soon as I said « Cut ! », a million flashes went off around the poor Leo !

CL : IS IT EASY TO CONSIDER LEO AS A NORMAL ACTOR AND TO FORGET THE MADNESS WHICH SURROUNDS HIM SINCE « TITANIC » ?
- DB : But you know, I don’t consider Leo an ordinary actor! Seriously, our deep collaboration on the script, all the rehearsals, or just the fact that Leo is almost in every shot in the movie, all these things made me forget this question. And finally, Leo is the one who is under that huge pressure, and without a day off!

CL : THE FILM ITSELF, BEYOND THE PLOT, WAS A REAL EXPERIENCE OF LIVING IN A COMMUNITY. HOW DID YOU LIVE IT ?
- LDC : It’s interesting because it reminds me a conversation Danny and I had, where he told me that he was afraid that I couldn’t integrate well into this community, he was afraid that the other actors, the technicians wouldn't see me as a simple, normal human being, and that they would be biased against me. So Danny encouraged me to make a kind of grand eloquent speech to introduce myself. But actually, I’m a very shy person and I didn’t feel I could do that, trying to break the ice like that! (Danny Boyle bursts out laughing) So what I did was greet people one by one, in a simple way, to show them who I really am. But you’re right : during the film, I really felt that community spirit, with all those cultures living together, separated from the rest of the world. And besides what we did on the set, what me accomplished during the shots: we hung around together, we took the time to discuss things, to get to know each other, something we probably wouldn’t have done if we had not been in that isolation context.
- DB : And at the end, there were even colossal parties! (Laughs)

CL : DO YOU SHARE PERSONALLY WITH RICHARD, IN GARLAND’S NOVEL, THE SAME IDEALS OF LIBERTY ?
- LDC : After « Titanic », I really wanted to do something I felt very strongly about, to play a character that I would have a natural affinity with. And I’m not talking about a generational point of view, but rather a real community of spirit and views on the present world. Richard is a person whose senses are complety rotted by the representation of the world. Computers, television, movies : he has no longer has the sense of reality; his whole world stands on an electronic chip, he feels like he’s lobotomized. That made him decide to act, to get out of his cocoon, to face the reality of the world, feel things by themselves and no more through a computer program. His trip will give him the opportunity to test himself, to push away constantly the barriers of reality, to go to the extremes in order to experience things, at last, in a sensual way. But the paradise, the existentialist utopia that the beach represents, begins to annoy him and he wants to go farther once more to realize, after a while, that what he is looking for is already inside him. It’s like if he took a train and spent his time thinking that the next stop is the more exciting, to realize afterwards that it is the journey itself which is the real trip.

CL : WHAT STRIKES FIRST WHEN YOU SEE « THE BEACH » , DANNY, IS THAT YOU COMPLETELY REAPPROPRIATE THE NOVEL THE FILM COMES FROM. IT’S AT THE SAME TIME AWKWARD AND FASCINATING!
- DB : You must be able to make it different. The novel is very long, very discursive, despite short chapters which make you think of a very kinematics narration. It’s not the case. Because Richard, played by Leo, is rather a passive character in the novel, and so, in the adaptation we made, we tried to reverse the situation : it’s no more the events which happen to Richard, but Richard who causes them. Reading a book is an intellectual experience, whereas watching a film is more related to a sensory thing : you must be transported, during this two-hour screening, into the world of the character.

CL : ONCE AGAIN, THE SCRIPT IS BY JOHN HODGE AND THE PRODUCTION BY ANDREW McDONALD. YOU DEFINITELY DON’T CHANGE A WINNING TEAM ?
- DB : We work together as much as possible, and that means everybody, from the cinematographer to the actors and all levels of production.

CL : LEO, WAS YOUR VISION OF THE WORLD INFLUENCED BY YOUR EDUCATION, YOUR PARENTS HAVING LIVED FOR A WHILE IN A HIPPY WAY ? - LDC : My parents have never been that kind of backpackers you see in « The Beach ». That’s why, in some ways, this way of life I found out during shooting, deeply fascinated me. Backpackers often go to Far East, looking for something they can’t find at home, in Europe or in the United States. They don’t spend 20 hours on a plane to get back to the comfort of a luxury hotel: this need to be confronted with poor populations comes from an unconscious desire to have different relationships with people, relationships not based on money. They run away from a world which, gradually, looks like a Disney World, where tourists are content with a predigested reassuring universe, without ever facing the realities of the places they’re visiting.

CL : DO YOU THINK THAT THE PREDOMINANCE OF THE AMERICAN CULTURE IN THE WORLD REACHES WORRYING PROPORTIONS ?
- LDC : This is mainly due to the American economic system and our trend to be established anywhere we can make a lot of money. But I don’t think that it’s just about the American culture. And besides, with all the means of communication we have now, we also have the feeling that we’ve reached the saturation point. « The Beach » takes place in a very particular moment, this end of the millenium when you realize that there’s nothing more to discover, that you have practically no chances to find a paradise in a community cleaned from any exterior stain, from any social restriction. Everything has been discovered, everything is understood and everything merges actually, in a single and only culture.

CL : DON’T YOU FEEL A KIND OF FRUSTRATION ?
- LDC : No, the important thing is that each one find his own way among that.
- DB : We can actually regret it, from a purely theoretical point of view, but you must say to yourself that this is how the world works today, that is how we are living. Wherever men go, they organize, they build, they grow. This is exactly, in the film, the reasons why this paradise will be destroyed : they may look for the absolute, but they will always need batteries, soaps and disposable razors for their little comforts. It’s one of the big contradictions of human beings: we are in an everlasting quest for a lost paradise, the Garden of Eden, but we are completely immersed in modernity, in the evolution, so that it becomes impossible to free ourselves from it.
- LDC : The story sounds to me like a perfect symbol of the conflicting relationships between man and nature. This island proves to us, finally, that we are not made for paradise, that we don’t conform with it anymore, as we don’t conform with this planet anymore. And the whole irony of the film is that, at the end, all these young people who see themselves free from the material stuff, far from any human laws, have actually built their own society in a place which belongs to others!
- DB : And besides, they landed on this lost island to build those f---ing giant huts ! It’s real madness but it’s so significant of human nature!

CL : AT LEAST, THEY BUILD, THEY DON’T DESTROY ?
- DB : It’s a long debate! But the notion of paradise is interesting because, to me, even if it comes from the sacred, paradise is, even so, something restrictive : everybody can’t fit in. Religion says that the bad ones are those who are excluded from the paradise, but in « real life », like in the film, it’s rather the weakest ones.
- LDC : And all that for the little comfort of others. Richard is the enlightener of the problem, like the snake is for Adam and Eve. He shows to each one their lowness and asks a very simple question : will you do absolutely anything to keep secret your little personal paradise?
- DB : In some ways, those young people « use » this paradise but have no exchange with the outside world, even the closest. What struck me in the book is that there were no Thai in this community! It’s a totally western experience. It’s one of the reasons I wanted, in the film, one of the Thais cultivate marijuana in the area surrounding the beach, to express himself. It’s not of course someone to admire, it’s someone who can easily kill to protect his field, but he has at least the opportunity to explain that it is his job, and the best way he found to provide for his family decently.

CL : WHAT IS SURPRISING IS THE RESTRAINT OF YOUR DIRECTING. REFERRING TO YOUR WORK ON « TRAINSPOTTING » AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DRUGS AND VIOLENCE IN « THE BEACH », WE COULD HAVE EXPECTED SOMETHING WILDER, MORE DELIRIOUS.
- DB : You need to find the rhythm suitable for a story. With regard to « Trainspotting », it was a very particular urban world, whereas « The Beach » is a completely rural film. We had to adapt ourselves to the environment, from a rhythmic point of view, that was very important to me. Paradoxically, I wanted Darius Khondji as cinematographer on the film, whereas he’s extraordinarily talented for ultra-dreary urban universes. It was a challenge to him to fit in with a natural environment, with this quasi-pastoral story. And besides, we wanted to tell a story without necessarily overloading it with stylistic effects. Here, it’s more a question of senses, of sensuality coming from the heat, from the colors of the beach. And this is exactly what Richard and the others are looking for. At the end of the film, you have almost the feeling that you suffocate under the sensations!

CL : LEO, WORKING ON A FILM LIKE « THE BEACH », IS IT A VOLUNTARY WAY TO FLEE FROM HOLLYWOOD PRESSURES ?
- LDC : No. (rather embarrassed silence). No, this film is what I was expecting for a year and a half, something I really wanted to do. I don’t see « The Beach » as a way out, and I didn’t want to make a movie just for doing a movie.

CL : YOU ARE FOR, THE MOMENT, IN AN AMAZING POSITION OF STRENGTH. DOES THAT SITUATION INFLUENCE YOUR CAREER? ARE THE SCRIPTS PILING UP OR DO YOU THINK THAT IT’S MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR A DIRECTOR TO WORK WITH YOU ?
- LDC : Actually, after « Titanic » I received tons of scripts, but nothing appealed to me. It depends probably on the directors, but I’m looking for doing good films above all. It’s quite simple actually.

CL : BUT YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO MAKE EVERYTHING YOU WANT, WHICH IS PRETTY RARE FOR SOMEONE OF YOUR AGE. DO YOU USE THAT PRIVILEGE ?
- LDC : Yes, absolutely, I’m developing personal projects, if you want to know. And as you said, one of the advantages of « Titanic » is that now I’m a catalyst of projects. I am aware of this extraordinary chance, I know I’m an exception.

CL : NOW, YOU HARDLY MAKE A FILM A YEAR, IS IT BECAUSE YOU DON’T WANT TO « PROSTITUTE » YOURSELF OR RATHER TO PLAY HARD-TO-GET?
(Danny Boyle begins to laugh)
- LDC : Honestly, it’s absolutely not to play hard-to-get, I don’t believe in that kind of game! Now that I’m more mature, well it doesn’t mean that at my age I have an answer for everything, but I’d rather make less films and completely concentrate on those I’m doing, by giving them all of my energy. I don’t like the feeling of urgency, having to begin a film without taking the time to discuss every aspect of it, without feeling involved in each part of the process. And that’s precisely what was great working with Danny: for the first time I was really involved in every stage of the film. It was very pleasant, we were both very bound and that’s the way I like working. You know, many people thought that I was twiddling my thumbs after « Titanic », that I was a shirker, that I spent my time partying and spending my cash and taking advantage of my celebrity. But, to tell you the truth, not doing anything is not so much fun: when you choose this work, it’s not a nine to five job, you’re left to yourself a lot. You must be responsible for yourself, perfect your culture, pay attention to others, make the most of life and multiply the sensations. At the same time, we all know how profitable work is, but I didn’t want to hurry and accept anything just to do a movie, I needed to take some personal time, for once!

CL: DO YOU THINK THAT YOU WORKED AT A FURIOUS PACE AT THAT TIME ?
LDC: Before « Titanic », the pressure was different, I had this idea that I shouldn’t let anyone steal from me the slightest role: It was like I had to play absolutely all the teenage parts that were offered to me, whereas, now, I need to have a real affinity with the character.

CL : YOU’RE ALSO VERY RESERVED WITH THE MEDIA. IS IT A DELIBERATE WILL ?
LDC: There’s something I unfortunately realized about the media year after year: I think that I was like any of us at the beginning, I mean, absolutely not prepared for what was going to happen. It’s a really amazing situation to feel like you are being put under a microscope for each detail: every film you make is dissected, and even if you act with good intentions, what you say is altered, reinterpreted, just to make headlines, because it allows those people to make money. 95% of what has been said about me was bullshit, totally manipulated facts to make juicy stories. I didn’t want to be forced, every week, to clarify all that ridiculous gossip that they peddled on me, instead of paying attention to the way I was leading my career. I don’t want to have to justify myself constantly, and in any case, people believe what they want to believe, so there is no reason to play that game! One thing I learned is that you can’t do anything to fight the rumors. For instance, the polemic about the preservation of the environment during the filming of « The Beach ». There were a lot of lies about the production’s attitude, the risk of wrecking the entire island, while, in fact, it’s a public place where people left their rubbish: they removed three tons of garbage, the site was already badly damaged, but the fact that the film was a big Hollywood production was used as propaganda against the right of the local authorities to rent out this place. Finally, the damage was already done before our arrival: we helped, on the contrary, to the rebirthing of this place, it never was so well, but the weak points of the island don’t obviously make a spicy story, unless DiCaprio and Hollywood show up! To me, everything that is related to the environment is essential and respectable, but what is pathetic is that all the positive things we tried to carry out there backfired immediatly on us. So, with full knowledge of the facts, I chose not to talk to the media!

CL : DANNY, MANY DIRECTORS WHO WORKED WITH LEONARDO LAY STRESS ON HIS TASTE, SOMETIMES ANNOYING, FOR IMPROVISATION. WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT HIS WAY OF WORKING ON «THE BEACH»?
DB : (a little embarrassed) Well, we used improvisation from time to time, particularly for the scenes with the Americans. Otherwise, we remained close to the script, by working on dialogue, especially during the rehearsals, to make them work at their very best. It allowed us to be in perfect harmony with the characters and the situations when we made the takes: there was then an immediate reaction, it was phenomenal. As a director, I didn’t have to fight to have lively scenes, it only depended on me to take the best part of the atmosphere, so I was confident and it worked! And besides, there was a fantastic community dynamics between all the actors: each one was at a different stage of his career, some of them were debutant actors, and it was splendid to let them watch, absorb Leo’s work. Same thing for Virginie and Guillaume; it was fascinating to see how they got along with Leo: they are both of the same age as he, but you have to remind yourself that they weren't speaking in their language. To me, the best reward was to see how well the cast worked, to see what they brought to the film by mixing their talents. It was reassuring, for I think it’s very difficult to find the symbiosis between actors from different cultures. All three have really done a great job.

CL : BUT, EVEN SO, YOU CHOSE TWO OF THE MOST FASHIONABLE FRENCH ACTORS?
- DB : I didn’t know that at that time, but I gladly believe it! If I chose them, it’s because I thought, watching the auditions, that they were the best : I admire them very much, once again because of this language barrier they had to get over. For instance, when we began long discussions with all the persons who spoke English, Guillaume and Virginie’s ideas came out spontaneously in French, and they needed a real adaptability! I’m proud of what they brought to me, of the way they worked together, because integrating foreign actors, the Germans among others, in an English speaking production, is very often a source, let’s say, of problems! (Laughs).

CL : LEONARDO, DO YOU HAVE A FEELING THAT NOW, YOUR TALENT AS AN ACTOR, IS CONSIDERED OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE IN COMPARISON WITH YOUR MOVIE STAR STATUS ? WE’RE THINKING OF THE CONTEMPT DISPLAYED BY THE ACADEMY AWARDS WHICH IGNORED YOU FOR «ROMEO & JULIET» AND «TITANIC»
LDC : I don’t really think of it. It’s not that I make fun of that, but I see that, in fact, people make this difference now, but I can’t do anything to avoid it, I can just protect myself and protest. And besides, I don’t like the way people talk about the money I earn and compared it to the films I choose to do, or all those headlines about my next film, but finally it’s no use getting excited by those stuff. As I said, I’d rather think « No matter what they tell, the truth is at the end of the road ». You understand, what is important is the result, you must believe in my performance on the screen.

CL : ARE YOU BOTH ADDICTED TO INTERNET AND VIDEO GAMES, AS RICHARD IN THE FILM ?
LDC : It’s true, I love videogames, I really belong to this generation fascinated by the virtual , digital world : everything become so easily accessible. I want to watch that movie, I want to buy that stuff and hup, it’s a miracle, I get it! But I’m not yet in this... e-mail trip! Actually I have one but, I never use it - but in the same time, when you dive in this world, at the end of the day you have a feeling of absolute emptiness. You’re so glued to the computer, engrossed by what is scrolling on the screen, that you completely forget yourself, and then you realize that you haven’t done anything important in your life, it’s crazy! It’s actually, the motivation of most people of «The Beach», especially Richard: setting out to look for a real experience of life.
DB : This is exactly what I feel when I get up at 3am to finish a game and that I go back to bed thinking that I’m a crackpot. (laughs) Actually, I also use Internet, I even keep a kind of diary by e-mail, that kind of stuff!

CL : A RATHER SLY QUESTION NOW… DOES THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN A CULT DIRECTOR AND A CULT ACTOR MAKE DEFINITELY A CULT FILM ?
DB : What you learn very quickly as a director, is the gap between the happiness of making a film and the reaction it arouses on the audience.Althought we are all immersed in the little world of motion pictures, we can’t help being fascinated by some personalities : for instance, I see Scorsese as a genius! I’m besides jealous of Leo, who’s going to work with him ! (laughs) Finally, the majority of the audience, let’s say 90%, go to the theatres to see an actor, and I think that this is the reason why the cinema won’t be replaced by the digital world. If the story is not good, there’s nothing to do, it doesn’t work. People are first touched by the narration.. it has to be strong to let them identify with the actor - and not by the director’s work. I know that the French, in their love for cinema, fight for directors’ cause, contrary to other countries. It’s great but I think you must stay modest, for everything is linked to the actor’s credibility, and our responsibility, as directors, is just limited to highlight this credibility, it has nothing to do with the style or a fashionable « cult ». I can’t believe a second that you could see yourself as a « cult-director »
- LDC : Being a cult-actor ? It’s difficult.. I try my best to look cool in front of the media ! (laughs) I try to remain honnest with myself. You must have some « personality » to describe yourself as « cult » to the audience, but some actors can do it. Personaly, I don’t care about managing, adapting my life to my public image. I just want to make films, be satisfied of what I’ve created, be able to grab my chances..

CL: IS YOUR LOVE OF ACTING YOUR ONLY MOTIVATION ?
- LDC: Absolutely, and it has always been the mainspring of my life as far as I remember. This fascination, this excitement to have an artistic work is one of the only real things I can talk about... it’s not that I told you fibs till now! (laughs) I remember my first artistic performance, I was 3 or 4 years old: and I can still see me climbing up on an improvised stage and tap-dancing as if it was a real show! It was not a question of ambition: when you’re a kid, you behave spontaneously, no explanation for it! I couldn’t dance but something inexplicable pushed me. I often think of my parents when I look at my career: they have done everything in their power to go with that dream I had in me, but it had nothing to do with a desire to be famous, rich or even to become an actor... cult. (laughs) I was made for that, it’s the only thing about me that I’m deeply convinced of.

CL: YOU NEVER TOOK DRAMA CLASSES BUT YOU PLAYED OPPOSITE TO PRODIGIOUS ACTORS LIKE DENIRO OR MERYL STREEP. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THEM?
- LDC : I think the most important thing I learned by working with them, is that you must know deeply your job to be really on top. Technique is fundamental. It’s never innate but comes from a continuous learning process. When you work with such actors, you understand that their skill is not improvised, that their performance doesn’t come by waving a magic wand: people don’t realize the necessary amount of work to let those emotions arise. Meryl Streep, for instance, is able to play a scene on four or five different levels, by introducing each time some very subtle nuances. I think that Meryl, like Bob has this incredible knowledge of the relationship between a director and his editor: they gave them this opportunity to influence the tone of the scene according to the take they choose. They’re in the business for so long that they anticipate but also make easier, lower down, the director’s work, giving, in this way, to the movie all the chances to work out. Good piece of work.

CL: THERE ARE RUMORS ON YOUR PARTICIPATION TO THE NEXT «STAR WARS» IN THE PART OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER. DO YOU HAVE A SCOOP FOR US ?
- LDC: Hey no! Honestly, I haven’t seen even the shadow of a script!
- DB: I have a scoop for you! They didn’t ask me to direct Episode 2 (laughs)

CL: ON THE OTHER HAND LEO, YOUR’RE GOING TO SHOOT «GANGS OF NEW YORK» WITH MARTIN SCORSESE
LDC: That’s a very exciting opportunity! It’s an epic, coming from a true story. We begin to film next March or April. Scorsese is one of the masters of contemporary American cinema, in any case, one of the last giants. The action takes place in New York in the year 1850: America is at that time completely confused, torn by the Civil War, corrupted by the influence of gangs. It’s the reign of barbarism, a period that few people know. I play a young man who arrives in New York to revive his father’s celtic gang, called Dead Rabbits, and beat his hereditary enemy, Bill the Butcher, and in background there are the political conflicts of that time.

CL: HOW DO YOU PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE PART?
LDC : Top secret, of course ! (laughs)

CL: AND YOUR PROJECT WITH MICHAEL MANN ON A FILM ABOUT THE YOUTH OF HOWARD HIGHES, TRUE OR NOT?
LDC: It’s concrete. To me, Howard Hughes is one of the most incredible personalities of this century. Someone mad and of genious in the same time, and so obsessed by a feeling of insecurity and guilty that he became a man of power eaten away at his madness. All he did, this continuous headlong pursuit, this craving for challenges despite the desequilibrium coming from his childhood and the conflicts with his parents, it’s fascinating. I brought this project to Michael Mann, because I think he’s able to take up the challenge.

CL: AND YOU DANNY, WHAT ARE YOUR PROJECTS ? WHAT ABOUT «ALIEN LOVE TRIANGLE», A FANTASTIC FILM WITH KENNETH BRANAGH ?
- DB: Alien Love Triangle is finished but it’s a 30-minutes-sketch! Actually, it’s supposed to be part of a trilogy: At the beginning I had to direct the whole, but finally, Miramax decided to find two other directors. The one I directed is, let’s say, weird: you were talking about reserve for «The Beach», well, in this one, there’re no stylistic effects, its strangeness comes from somewhere else, of its apparent banality. For the next movie, I’m not sure yet.
- LDC : I know, he’s going to make Mission:Impossible 3! (laughs)
- DB : All I know is that it will be an urban movie. I’m a city guy, I was born in Manchester, and I’m not made for the countryside. Well, Thailand was great and splendid but I want to get back to the hell of big cities!

CL: TO END ON THE MAJOR THEME OF THE BEACH, WHAT WOULD BE FOR YOU THE ABSOLUTE IDEAL OF FREEDOM ?
- LDC: Woaah, big question! After you, Danny!
- DB: I can explain it like that: I hate people who handle roughly those who are below them. Behaving respectfully towards others, I think it’s what we tried to do in Thailand. When I see examples of contemptuous behaviors, it’s the most painful thing that could be: I’d rather work as a taxi-driver than collaborate with this kind of person. In fact, my freedom exists through the freedom of others.
- LDC : For me, freedom is being able to live my life to the fullest, no matter what led me to be what I am today. I’m very happy about what is happening to me but the ideal of absolute freedom is somewhere else. I often think of my father saying, «Find a place where you can wake up every morning, at ease with yourself. What’s left, chuck it!» When you find that little spot of paradise, you’re a free man, happy as a clam. I can’t say that I did it, for I think that when you’re 25, nobody is able to control his life, whatever his life choices may be. In any case, it’s the aim I want to reach for: when I see my father getting up everyday with this joy of life, I say to myself «It’s great!».