Work in Retrospect & in Progress
Gus Van Sant
December 27, 2021
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Dear Gus,
Ouverture of Something That Never Ended – the mini-series that you directed last year was a truly original idea presenting a Gucci collection like never before. It is a pleasurable dreamscape of colors, tones, sounds and vibes separating us from the nightmarish reality of a world in turmoil. Tell us a bit more about the process, from the initial idea to the final stage. How different was your work style given that it came to fruition under a set of extraordinary circumstances? |
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It was during Covid, and Gucci had had a lot of success with a previous video posting on their website with a way to show fashion without having a show, and this was an idea for the next installment or the next season. It was at one time a seven-hour presentation, following Sylvia Calderoni, our main character through a day… which stayed the same, except it became shorter as it was worked on.
When I was first notified about the project, it was October 1st of 2020, and the idea was to shoot something that could be released by November 10th - and seven hours long. I had done a few things like ELEPHANT that were done in a short amount of time and involved long camera shots, so I felt excited to be able to do it with Gucci and their design team and advertising team. By the time I got to Rome, which was October 6th, the idea had already been modified to something that would be only about two and a half hours, seven twenty-minute segments - but then got shorter even when we worked on it, so it is now 80 minutes about.
The script they sent to me was very specific but short, there were about six pages, and the descriptions of each segment were a paragraph, however it was accompanied by an edit of sequences taken from other movies, I supposed from different sources, the internet, or DVDs, so that the paragraph had a five-minute film that accompanied it, which was very amusing because it jumped from film to film to show action like a moving “storyboard” and dialogue was dubbed over the segment by the advertising company. So, for instance you may see a shot from a David Lynch film of a character speaking dialogue from an Antonioni film leaving a building, but when that character went outside and walked through the park it was a different character from a different film, say, from “The Godfather” voices dubbed in from Oliver Stone’s JFK, but it was to illustrate what the intentions or storyboard was… which was kind of ingenious. Even with such specific a storyboard there was a lot of room for filling it out and interpreting it and adding things or improvising. I chose most of the music, edited and mixed it in a hotel room, and after a month we had a finished piece.
What can you share about your collaboration with Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director and your main collaborator for this series?
Alessandro was amazing, very funny and well informed and intelligent. He had come up with the scenario or storyboard with his Michele Tafuri and Chris Simmons’s media team. The cast was mostly all from Alessandro’s group of models and brand sponsors, that were fit into all the parts along with the fashion Alessandro wanted them to wear. He was at the shoot, in a motorhome so he could work as we shot, and would come on the set at the end of a scene when I would shoot stills of all the actor/models with a polaroid. Alessandro specifically wanted to shoot the stills with an old polaroid, which he said he was obsessed with.
Shot in Rome, the episodes can also be interpreted as a love letter to Rome. Do you have a special connection with Rome?
My main connection with Rome was as part of a student group in 1975, when I was there for 6 weeks visiting all of the Roman film productions. We managed to visit Fellini shooting CASSANOVA, Pasolini finishing SALO, Lina Vertmuler shooting SEVEN BEAUTIES, Tinto Brass shooting SALON KITTY. So, I knew the city fairly well.
How about that Gucci suit - just perfect. Was that your pick?
That suit was something that Alessandro was working on and I said I liked it, so he had me wear it.
When I was first notified about the project, it was October 1st of 2020, and the idea was to shoot something that could be released by November 10th - and seven hours long. I had done a few things like ELEPHANT that were done in a short amount of time and involved long camera shots, so I felt excited to be able to do it with Gucci and their design team and advertising team. By the time I got to Rome, which was October 6th, the idea had already been modified to something that would be only about two and a half hours, seven twenty-minute segments - but then got shorter even when we worked on it, so it is now 80 minutes about.
The script they sent to me was very specific but short, there were about six pages, and the descriptions of each segment were a paragraph, however it was accompanied by an edit of sequences taken from other movies, I supposed from different sources, the internet, or DVDs, so that the paragraph had a five-minute film that accompanied it, which was very amusing because it jumped from film to film to show action like a moving “storyboard” and dialogue was dubbed over the segment by the advertising company. So, for instance you may see a shot from a David Lynch film of a character speaking dialogue from an Antonioni film leaving a building, but when that character went outside and walked through the park it was a different character from a different film, say, from “The Godfather” voices dubbed in from Oliver Stone’s JFK, but it was to illustrate what the intentions or storyboard was… which was kind of ingenious. Even with such specific a storyboard there was a lot of room for filling it out and interpreting it and adding things or improvising. I chose most of the music, edited and mixed it in a hotel room, and after a month we had a finished piece.
What can you share about your collaboration with Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director and your main collaborator for this series?
Alessandro was amazing, very funny and well informed and intelligent. He had come up with the scenario or storyboard with his Michele Tafuri and Chris Simmons’s media team. The cast was mostly all from Alessandro’s group of models and brand sponsors, that were fit into all the parts along with the fashion Alessandro wanted them to wear. He was at the shoot, in a motorhome so he could work as we shot, and would come on the set at the end of a scene when I would shoot stills of all the actor/models with a polaroid. Alessandro specifically wanted to shoot the stills with an old polaroid, which he said he was obsessed with.
Shot in Rome, the episodes can also be interpreted as a love letter to Rome. Do you have a special connection with Rome?
My main connection with Rome was as part of a student group in 1975, when I was there for 6 weeks visiting all of the Roman film productions. We managed to visit Fellini shooting CASSANOVA, Pasolini finishing SALO, Lina Vertmuler shooting SEVEN BEAUTIES, Tinto Brass shooting SALON KITTY. So, I knew the city fairly well.
How about that Gucci suit - just perfect. Was that your pick?
That suit was something that Alessandro was working on and I said I liked it, so he had me wear it.
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From Gucci to Andy - your new musical theatre piece. You are the writer, director, composer and stage director for it. How do you feel now after the world premiere in Lisbon and the national premieres in Italy and Belgium? Did this major undertaking keep you busy during the worst months of lockdown rules?
Yes, this kept me busy during that time, but also the Gucci project was all during the lockdowns, depending where you were. Working in theatre is very amazing. I will do it again, I hope. It’s an amazing world that I have spent most of my life apart from, even though some actors that I’ve worked with are primarily stage actors. I only knew the theatre by going to see shows every now and then. Most of the things that I loved were small devoted productions in Portland, Oregon, of Sam Shepard, Beckett or Tennessee Williams. Our production is a little larger than that.
From what we know, your original idea was to make a film about Andy Warhol. Is the essence of that initial idea part of the final product presented as musical theater adaptation?
The film was something that I worked on a long time ago, in 1990, so this is something new. The idea of the play isn’t really what we were working on in 1990, but it was in meeting some of the people in Andy’s world back in 1990 that continued through the years, some of those relationships, and informed the play.
There is a clip of Robin Williams talking about his experience in Good Will Hunting and how much you helped him achieve a level of acting that felt completely natural and not like acting at all. What characterizes your interactions with actors? How different was working with a new group of young, talented although not as experienced Portuguese actors for Andy?
Yes, Robin is pretty perceptive, and that’s a good way to put it, like it’s not like acting at all. I think I’m usually going for something that is as realistic as I can get, so acting can be an unwelcome thing in something that I make.
Theatre is harder to work that way, because it is more artificial to begin with, and its live, so a lot of my directing style was lost on the stage actors, although they were very young they were professionals, so when I would ask them to tone it down, and not be overly expressive, it didn’t make as much sense to them. They were at their best when they did their exercises, like just reciting the script as fast as they can which is called “an Italian” which is to make sure they know all their lines, but because they weren’t thinking about the acting it usually came out better when they were doing an Italian. And I didn’t have specific stage directions for them which they were used to. So, I had to figure that out. Usually I like to see how the actors want to move in a scene, before I start telling them what to do.
What did you use as reference or inspiration for the music you wrote for Andy?
It was a little influenced by the Velvet Underground, but by the time we redid the music in the play it sounds a lot different.
On another note, we have an ongoing campaign titled #BeatTheBlues on ways to prioritize mental health. What does Gus Van Sant do to #BeatTheBlues?
Hmm, usually the blues, or boredom is something that I wait for because when I have them it gets me to work.
What are your plans, hopes and wishes for 2022?
Not sure. I am painting at the moment, so probably hope to have a show.
Yes, this kept me busy during that time, but also the Gucci project was all during the lockdowns, depending where you were. Working in theatre is very amazing. I will do it again, I hope. It’s an amazing world that I have spent most of my life apart from, even though some actors that I’ve worked with are primarily stage actors. I only knew the theatre by going to see shows every now and then. Most of the things that I loved were small devoted productions in Portland, Oregon, of Sam Shepard, Beckett or Tennessee Williams. Our production is a little larger than that.
From what we know, your original idea was to make a film about Andy Warhol. Is the essence of that initial idea part of the final product presented as musical theater adaptation?
The film was something that I worked on a long time ago, in 1990, so this is something new. The idea of the play isn’t really what we were working on in 1990, but it was in meeting some of the people in Andy’s world back in 1990 that continued through the years, some of those relationships, and informed the play.
There is a clip of Robin Williams talking about his experience in Good Will Hunting and how much you helped him achieve a level of acting that felt completely natural and not like acting at all. What characterizes your interactions with actors? How different was working with a new group of young, talented although not as experienced Portuguese actors for Andy?
Yes, Robin is pretty perceptive, and that’s a good way to put it, like it’s not like acting at all. I think I’m usually going for something that is as realistic as I can get, so acting can be an unwelcome thing in something that I make.
Theatre is harder to work that way, because it is more artificial to begin with, and its live, so a lot of my directing style was lost on the stage actors, although they were very young they were professionals, so when I would ask them to tone it down, and not be overly expressive, it didn’t make as much sense to them. They were at their best when they did their exercises, like just reciting the script as fast as they can which is called “an Italian” which is to make sure they know all their lines, but because they weren’t thinking about the acting it usually came out better when they were doing an Italian. And I didn’t have specific stage directions for them which they were used to. So, I had to figure that out. Usually I like to see how the actors want to move in a scene, before I start telling them what to do.
What did you use as reference or inspiration for the music you wrote for Andy?
It was a little influenced by the Velvet Underground, but by the time we redid the music in the play it sounds a lot different.
On another note, we have an ongoing campaign titled #BeatTheBlues on ways to prioritize mental health. What does Gus Van Sant do to #BeatTheBlues?
Hmm, usually the blues, or boredom is something that I wait for because when I have them it gets me to work.
What are your plans, hopes and wishes for 2022?
Not sure. I am painting at the moment, so probably hope to have a show.
