5 Questions for the director and cast of the new film Hysteria

I recently spoke with director Tanya Wexler and actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy who star in Wexler’s new film Hysteria, a romantic comedy about the invention of the vibrator in Victorian England.

Hysteria is Tanya Wexler’s third major motion picture, but she stems from a film family which includes her uncle, the award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler and half-sister Daryl Hannah. Hugh Dancy, who began his career with a role in Black Hawk Down has made a name for himself in films like Confessions of a Shopaholic and Our Idiot Brother and he’ll soon be starring as Will Graham on NBC’s Hannibal. Gyllenhaal is well known to movie goer’s from her role in The Dark Knight, her Golden Globe winning role in Secretary, and her Oscar winning performance in Crazy Heart. In Hysteria she plays suffragette Charlotte Dalrymple.

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal:

Maggie, so many of the roles you play have this sense of sexuality to them. What attracts you to these really sexual roles in different women’s lives?
I don’t know, isn’t everyone attracted and interested in sex and sexuality? I think most people are. Charlotte doesn’t have much sex in this movie, she actually doesn’t have anything to do with the vibrator at all but I do think she’s a sexy woman but she’s not particularly overt about it.

Yeah certainly, but often with your roles the women are very sexually liberated. Were you drawn to them because you were or weren’t that way, do you relate to that in your personal life, is it very different?
Well, like I said, I think everyone is interested in sex and sexuality and I think it’s a part of being human and so and I do think film is an interesting place to explore that, especially because I think sex has been explored in film in a way that’s very unreal and very much based in fantasy. When I see sex scenes in movies that are real and feel like my own experiences of sex, they are so much sexier and I also think it’s very much, I don’t know, like a subtle feminism to be able to express it from a woman’s point of view – what real sex is like and the actresses I see that do that who don’t, you know, where it’s like you’re wearing a black, demi cup Victoria’s Secret bra and it’s lit perfectly and you’re arching your back, where it’s not like that but like actually what it’s like, I kind of feel like, yeah, you’re a sister, I really appreciate that.

I’m a teacher, so I’m particularly interested in your upcoming film Won’t Back Down, about failing inner city schools just because education is becoming more and more of an issue with the elections coming up and different things like that. What did you come away with after working on something like that? Did it change the way you view education?
I guess the major thing I came away with is [that] I don’t see how we can have a democracy that isn’t a total joke unless we educate the people living in this country. You basically need to be able to analyze and assess information in order to choose who you want your leaders to be, if you can’t do that, then you are choosing your president based on his hairdo or based on whatever the radio station that you listen to most often tells you. The thing I came away with was even if you are lucky enough to get through high school, learning how to read and write well and add up a tip on a check, which many, many people aren’t, are you able to get through and make an intelligent personal decision for yourself on who you want your leaders to be and if you’re not, then your leaders can manipulate you to vote however they want. That is what I came away from it with. The point of the movie is, and I do believe this, it’s a commercial movie and in some ways it says it in a simple way but I believe that’s fine, is that if you believe that something is wrong and that something needs to change, you can have a massive effect on changing it, you know, you can. As an individual, this country is set up that way and that is one of the major messages of the movie. I think that there’s a real lethargy in this country, a lot of people kind of don’t believe that and I think it’s difficult and I think you’ll get shot down and I think the story of this movie is a little bit of a fairy tale but the message is try cause you can have an effect.

Actor Hugh Dancy:

This is a comedy, but it’s based on something that actually happened, and it’s kind of crazy. When you were doing research did you look at how prevalent this was and did you have any case studies that you guys looked at specifically?
How prevalent the diagnosis of hysteria was?

Well, I know hysteria was really wide spread, but I’m speaking about the doctors treatment of hysteria (through vaginal stimulation)?
Well, it was the diagnosis for hysteria that it covered, the diagnosis was completely spurious, this is pre-Freud and as it turns out, Freud’s diagnosis was spurious, but as a physical diagnosis the idea [was] that they were shifting the uterus by pelvic manipulation. [Hysteria] covered so many examples of women who were unhappy or frustrated, so, no there was no one case study that we looked at but it baffles me because we know that some men prior to the late 19^th century had figured out that women could enjoy sex, because we all read Byron, we knew these guys sorted it out, but a whole body of men, it wasn’t like they were in denial, they just truly didn’t realize what they were doing, it still astonishes me.

I heard that you were going to star in NBC’s upcoming thriller Hannibal, based on Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon. It’s a brilliant story and it should be interesting seeing the tale of Hannibal Lector broken up episodically, but what do you hope to be the real focus of the series?
I hope that it explores the psychology of both people, the hunters and hunted. In fact, often they are one and the same thing. The character I’m playing Will Graham and Hannibal and some of the other monsters, they share a lot of qualities and that’s what makes the book, to me, quite interesting and dynamic, more than just an array of hideous crimes. If we can get that balance right and that sense of manipulation that Hannibal Lector is so good at, it’ll be real interesting.

Director Tanya Wexler:

You came from this really successful family with Haskell and all these different people, did you feel pressured to make your own way or were you encouraged by your family? What was it like in that environment?
My family’s great. It’s funny, you know my dad was in real estate, he did really well but was not in the film business although he did help finance a film and then asked for his name to be taken off so he could exist in the business world in Chicago afterwards, but wished he hadn’t but kinda had to. I don’t know, there was never any pressure in a kind of ‘you need to be this or that’ kind of way, there was always a kind of positive pressure of you know, kind of- ‘you’re talented, you’re smart so you need to do your best work, you need to live up to who we think you are’. It wasn’t about achieving any kind of specific status or level, it was just purely you know, pressure ultimately. I used to say to my mom, oh my god, like uuuuh, I’m so stressed out and I even remember that feeling as a kid like what would you do if I ever got like a C? She was like- “you won’t so don’t worry about it” oh, that’s not a good answer and then I found out I was like the best student out of most of my siblings! Being the youngest, there are all these myths, I have 6 sisters and a brother right, so I have his and hers and I’m ours so when you’re the youngest, the youngest by far, which is now, at 41, really fun to say, I think for me, there’s always like this family kind of mythos that gets built up that you just believe. I know I did, maybe I was just naive, I don’t know, I think it was great, you know it was kind of lots of exposure, it was really cool, I got to be 13 on the set of Blade Runner, right that’s one of the best things in the entire world ever, the end, right? It’s just f-ing awesome but no one said, okay, now you get to direct this movie, right, it became tangible to me, I was like, people do this because people I know do this. I think there are other people who are born in LA and that’s the business and everyone they know does it and I think that can be easier because once you have some hint of talent or success you can start to kind of build on it much more quickly. I grew up in Chicago, it was great circumstances but I still had to do it all myself and then now that, finally, all these years later it’s starting to groove, that’s actually when having grown up in that environment and knowing people is paying.

It didn’t open a ton of doors but now that I kind of busted the doors open, now people kind of go, “oh my God, you’re Haskell’s niece” or “I remember you when you were 12” or “you’re Darryl’s sister,” you know, but it reinforces the success you make. At least for me, everyone kind of made their own way but it seems like in our family everyone ended up being a shrink or in real estate or movies… it was kind of that was what you got, you know, you could’ve done anything else but everyone else seemed to want to do that so I don’t know, it was cool though, it was awesome.

For: Short&SweetNYC

This American Life Live 5.10.2012

 Thursday night's This American Life live show at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City exceeded all expectations and that's saying something because the expectations were pretty high but host Ira Glass assembled an amazing show featuring guest such as: the amazing Monica Bill Barnes & Company and Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington as well as two of my favorite writers ever David Sedaris, who showed up in a clown mask, and David Rakoff who turned the tragic loss of his arm into a wonderfully brave moment as he broke into a choreographed dance while performing his new piece.

Comic Tig Notaro also had a wonderful moment after telling a great story about meeting singer Taylor Dayne who then stepped out onstage and sang to her.

The band OK Go performed one of the coolest audience participation songs I've ever witnessed after creating an iPhone and Android app that the audience downloaded we played along with them following cues on the screen.

Also comic Mike Birbiglia presented a terrific short film by featuring NPR icon and Fresh Air host Terri Gross which you can watch below, I love the premise!

Interview with Director Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara has made a name for himself directing gritty films about drugs, corruption, and characters on the edge such as King of New York starring Christopher Walken and Laurence Fishburne and Bad Lieutenant starring Harvey Keitel. He began in the late 70’s making grindhouse, slasher films like The Driller Killer and developed into a notable indie filmmaker in the 80’s working with a regular crop of actors such as: Dennis Hopper, Forest Whitaker, and Matthew Modine in addition to those that were previously mentioned. In his new film 4:44 Last Day on Earth he tackles the end of the world from the perspective of a character living on the Lower East Side in Manhattan played by another regular Ferrara actor, Willem Dafoe.

I wanted to ask you first, what attracted you to making a film about the end of the world, what drew you to it in the first place?

You know, we are living in that time of life. It’s 2012, shit is happening: earthquakes, volcanoes are going off, people are stranded, and the whole idea of the Al Gore documentary (An Inconvenient Truth). Then, when it comes out, there’s five other movies about it so I guess I’m not the only one thinking about it.

Well, you come with a very different approach, a lot of your films are about a regular character that has to survive in a rough world and here’s a character who is forced to deal with the toughest world because it’s ending. It’s kind of an interesting bookend to a lot of your films, was there any thought about that or did it just work out that way?

Well you know we’re not into bigger than life characters, maybe Driller Killer, but lately…you know we started off with the vampires, gangsters, King of New York and all that crap, but I think we come back around, you know what I mean?

Absolutely. You mention King of New York, I heard rumors that there might be a sequel, any truth to that?

Yeah, we wrote it but I don’t know, it’s caught up in all that other nonsense.

A lot of your films, especially the early ones, are really gritty and tough and you got a reputation for that, how much of that reflects your life, is that the way you saw the world?

I try to make these films as reflective as possible, you know what I mean, obviously a lot is a metaphor but other wise we try to make it as clear a mirror as we can.

You shot this in New York again, you’re a big New York guy, you started off in Union Square with the first film and you even did the documentary Chelsea on the Rocks about the Chelsea Hotel, I mean how much is NY a character in your films?

It always is. I mean Manhattan especially, but you know Manhattan is a very heavily changed place. It’s grown into being an international financial capital, but the problem is the people that it attracts you know? It drives New Yorkers out, I mean New York is now Brooklyn, you know what I mean? Brooklyn is the new Manhattan.

You started out making low budget slasher films and your style developed a lot as you went on and it became more character focused and then you know you really managed to attract tremendous talent to your films, actors like Willem Dafoe, Keitel, and Walken. What do you think it is that draws them to your films?

You know, I think those guys, they’re hungry to make good movies and they’re willing to put it on the line. They’re not interested in the bullshit and the budgets, they’re just looking to make the films.

One of the things I liked about this movie, it all happens in one location for the most part, it’s almost a play in that way you have all this going on with the character in one small space.

Did you see Go Go Tales? Go Go Tales also took place in real time too. You know, even though this film took place over 12 hours I structured it in 6 segments: midday, late in the day, late afternoon (the magic hour), night, darker night and then the finale, but within those segments it was in real time.

Do you shoot a lot of takes when you are shooting this kind of stuff?

No, we shoot fast man, you know, we shot this film in 15 days

Wow, that’s amazing.

Yeah I know, we shot Bad Lieutenant in 18 days, but you know it took awhile in the beginning, Driller Killer took forever, you know we didn’t know how to make films.

That’s always the story of the first film, yeah.

Yeah, yeah we had to friggin figure out how to put wheels on a dolly.

I’m sure you’ve heard many times about how Martin Scorsese named Bad Lieutenant as one of his favorite films of the 90’s. He has a somewhat similar aesthetic. You are both NY born guys, how much does that mean to you?

Well you know we grew up hero-worshiping him, it meant a lot to us.

What directors are out there now that you appreciate?

I work with lots of young guys so now I’m in a different world. I’m mentoring a bunch of young directors, just working with them you know, I’m not going out, I see a few of my contemporaries, Jim Jarmusch is a favorite friend of mine and I saw a film called Johnny Mad Dog by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, you should check that film out.

And how do you feel about the whole Hollywood thing?

You know, I’ve been there, I’ve done it, they just don’t have the appreciation for the director, you know. The director is the last thing in the world they are interested in and you know fine but I’m a director, so you know, it was better going to Europe. Maybe the films don’t all get seen right away, but they’ll all get seen eventually.

Yeah, there’s a different aesthetic there any how, your style fits them.

You know pre-cutting someone else’s film is against the law.

I wanted to ask you about music. It’s sort of a big part of your films. You wrote a lot of music for your films and performed songs in a few of them too.

I’m not a good player, I know enough to get better players to do the music but I’m active in doing it, you know, I play the music. In this one we used a pure blues track which we never did, that’s the music we play and the music we love. We never really had a film that was like so focused on just the blues, the guitar I mean.

I read you did a video for Ben Folds Five track “Don’t Change Your Plans.” How did that come about?

Yeah, we’re not great with the video, I don’t know what he thought it would be, he was a big fan of ours. The funniest part is Ben Folds Five is one guy playing the piano, it’s not a band.

Yeah, it was 3 guys and then just Ben. They’re actually just coming back now and recording a new album. I wanted to ask you a little bit about your early life in the Bronx, I read you grew up in Peeksville, but how long were you in the Bronx before you moved up there?

I was in like 5th grade.

Oh, so you really grew up there. What was your upbringing like, your childhood?
Very loving family you know, big, extended, Italian family, my father was a truck driver, blue collar guy. When I say extended, I mean my cousins and all. I have 2 sisters. I grew up in Peeksville which at that time was like half country/half suburbia you know.

The Catholic element in the films is certainly evident, do you still consider yourself a practicing Catholic or is it just there, just part of who you are?

It’s just such a part of me you know. I mean, I’m into Buddhism a lot now because my old lady is but you know I try to be as spiritual as I can. I find you really need something, you know what I mean, you really need something in this world.

It’s a lot like your characters, I understand. I wanted to ask you about Nick St. John who you collaborated with so often as a writer. You met him in high school, how did you manage to maintain that relationship?

You know, he stopped writing. At a certain point the business, he couldn’t take it, couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand the people, couldn’t stand the bullshit and you know that’s a drag, you know that really is a drag.

I have to ask you about sex and drugs, you know you certainly seem like you have some experience in the stuff.

Too much. Right now I’m in sobriety because I’m an addict. Maybe for some people it works you know, but for me in the end it don’t work so you know.. sex that’s another thing, I ain’t giving that up!

I understand. Finally, looking back on your career, what are you most happy with as a director?

Just that we are still working, I mean, that we are still doing it, we’re still on it, you know what I’m saying, that we ain’t giving up.

Do you have any big ambitions these days, things you want to do?

I got plenty, jeez, I got plenty, we are doing a film on Pasolini, we are doing a film on Strauss-Kahn, so you know, we are working. We are on our own .com site, you know, our own website, www.abelferrara.com, we are going to make it better, we got a web series coming out called Peace Connection.

In terms of the website, did you just plan putting films out straight to that at some point?

Absolutely.

Seems like the future.

That’s the only way to go man, it’s either going to save the day or forget it.

Published in: Short & Sweet NYC

Beauty is Embarrassing

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming documentary about the incredible artist Wayne White titled Beauty is Embarrassing. It seems like it really captures the creative spirit on film and I love the closing quote "Do what you love, it's going to lead to where you want to go"!

The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys at MSG 3.22.2012

The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys played an amazing show last night at Madison Square Garden to a sold out crowd. The Arctic Monkeys opened up the show with a laid back vibe and some excellent musicianship and even though the crowd was still pouring in throughout their set it was clear the boys from Sheffield had a large loyal audience for their 45 minute set. The Black Keys hit the stage joined by a few backing musicians and some pretty awesome graphic visuals and onstage lighting. After a few intense songs the backing band left the stage and guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney showed off how much sound two musicians can deliver by themselves. The show ramped up and the energy intensified leading up to a great encore featuring a giant disco ball and an exhausted crowd.

Don "Draping" is the new Tebowing (which is the new Planking)

Wednesday I read about the new trend of "Draping" like Mad Men's Don Draper, which, granted sounds more like viral marketing than an oddball social trend but since I'm a big fan of the show and I happen to be eating a the legendary P.J. Clarke's for dinner (which has been regularly mentioned on the show) it seemed like it should join the hysteria sweeping the twitterverse.

Educators Study Tour to Japan

I wanted to let any educators that have an interest in traveling to Japan this summer about the Japan Society's fantastic Educators Tours. In 2009 I traveled to Japan for three weeks thanks to the Japan Society's Educators Study Tour and it was a life changing trip which added a number of lessons to my arsenal that I still teach each year soI highly recommend it. It's open nationwide this year and the deadline is this month so here's the information:

Educators Study Tour to Japan Applications due: March 15
Pre-departure orientation: June 28 – June 30
Tour dates: July 1-July 22

Middle and high school educators will be selected to participate in a three-week study tour to Japan in July of 2012. Study tour highlights include visits to local schools, homestays with Japanese families, and a wide range of site visits in Japan including Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Aichi and Wakayama, as well as a part of the Tohoku region. Open to educators nationwide.

Cost: $1,000 (includes airfare, accommodations, orientation & meals)
For additional information, please email jseducation@japansociety.org or call (212) 715-1275