Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi

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By Roxanna Bina

IFQ’s Roxanna Bina sits down with Cannes Film Festival favorite Steve Buscemi and “Indie It Girl” Sienna Miller as they promote their latest independent film Interview. Buscemi discusses the challenges of directing Interview, while Sienna Miller talks about her latest roles in Interview and Factory Girl. Miller received positive acclaim for her diverse acting range while playing the real-life Dutch actress Katja Schuurman in Interview and Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol’s muse and Silver Sixties Icon, in Factory Girl.

In 2006, Paris, je’taime (starring Buscemi) screened in Un Certain Regard in Cannes. 1996 was the “Year of Buscemi” in Cannes. Buscemi’s feature directorial debut Trees Lounge made its world premiere in Directors’ Fortnight (1996). Robert Altman’s Kansas City (Buscemi played Johnny Flynn) screened in Cannes and was nominated for the Golden Palm in 1996. Also in 1996, the Coen Brothers’ Fargo (Buscemi played Carl Showalter) screened in Cannes and won Best Director and Best Cinematography and was nominated for the Golden Palm. In 1994, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (Buscemi played Buddy Holly) won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.

Although, Sienna Miller has never had a film in competition in Cannes, she does have a record slate of films at the Marche du Film 2007. Miller’s Cannes market line-up includes: Mysteries of Pittsburgh (distributed by Arclight Films); Camille (distributed by Kathy Morgan International and screening 05/17 @ 4pm Star 1 and 05/21 @ 10am Star 2), Factory Girl (Myriad Pictures) and Interview (Cinemavault Releasing International, Inc.).

Sony Pictures Classics acquired the US rights to Interview based on the late director, Theo van Gogh’s (four-time Dutch Academy Award winner) film of the same name. Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs, Fargo and “The Sopranos”) returns to the director helm after the award nominated success of Trees Lounge (1996), Animal Factory (2000), and the 2005 Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee Lonesome Jim. Buscemi, who also wrote the screenplay for Interview stars opposite Sienna Miller (Alfie, Casanova and Factory Girl) in this passionate drama about two polar opposite characters and their unforeseen encounter. Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Dylan Leiner from Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film from Cinemavault Releasing in Canada.

Sony Pictures Classics released the following statement: “We have always wanted to work with Steve Buscemi, and we’ve admired Sienna Miller’s work over the last several years. We’re thrilled to bring this movie out in July as we think it’s a perfect summer film.”

Cinemavault is proud to announce that they have sold Interview to the following foreign territories who have all committed to theatrical releases: Germany: Kinowelt, France: Diaphana, Italy: Fandango, Spain: Golem, Scandinavia: CCV, Switzerland: Rialto Film, Benelux: A-Film, Austria: Polyfilm, Poland: Solopan, CIS: Maywin Media, Greece: Spentzos Films, Iceland: Samfilm, Former Yugoslavia: Karantanija, Middle East: Front Row, Czech Republic: CinemArt, Turkey: Mars. Cinemavault is also in active negotiation with distributors in the UK, Japan and Latin America, which they hope to close imminently.

IFQ: Steve, how did Interview find you or how did you find the movie?

Steve Buscemi: I have known producer Bruce Weiss for a long time and he called me one day and he asked me to look at these three films made by Theo van Gogh. Actually, Theo had wanted to remake them as American films, but as we all know, he was killed before he could do that in 2004. I met with Theo’s producer Gijs van de Westelaken and I chose to direct this one, Interview, because I was really interested in the relationship between these two characters. It’s like a boxing match between this political journalist and this young actress. It’s a fascinating challenge as an actor.

Sienna Miller: I know it’s not that cool to admit it, but I was available and so I got a call from my agent saying that Steve wanted me for this film and I replied “yes” without even reading the script. It was great to then discover the script was good. I found out this character was very complex and fascinating and this was, for me, a great experience.

IFQ: How long did it take to shoot?

Steve Buscemi: I’m quite slow, so it took me nine days! I think Theo shot it in five days! We brought over the Dutch camera crew and Theo’s DP Thomas Kist shot the film for me. We also had Theo’s original assistant on the set and this was a true international team. We shot with three cameras, the same way Theo used to do. This gives you much more freedom for long takes and Theo loved actors. This is a great creative process for actors who can do long takes without any cut for a new set up. With three angles at the same time covered, you come up with good surprises. When you do such long takes as we were able to do, you really forget, as an actor, that the cameras are rolling. We shot this film fast, but I never felt rushed. Also, it was stimulating to have such a great actress like Sienna to play with.

IFQ: What was the main challenge and how was it to shoot a movie with, mainly, only two characters?

Steve Buscemi: It’s a little bit intimidating because you need, obviously, to grab your audience and make them be interested and care about these characters enough to be with them for 90 minutes. On the other hand, it’s great for us to be able to focus and discover things and have the time to explore various situations. Sometimes when you do a film, you’re in there for such a short time that you wish you had more to do, more with this or that other actor. My goal was to make a film that had as much integrity as the original. I didn’t want to make a pale copy. Also I wanted to expose American audiences to the work of Theo van Gogh.

Sienna Miller: For me, it was such a short shoot that I barely realized we shot an entire film!

IFQ: Sienna, how was it to play “Katya” (credited as “Katya” in the new version) in Interview?

Sienna Miller: I met Katja (Dutch actress Katja Schuurman who was in the original Interview), but I never wanted to watch the movie until after we shot the movie. We changed her a lot from the original film. She became more of an American woman and also more psychotic. It was really a pleasure to play her and a surprise when the original Katja showed up one day on the set and I didn’t know who she was. This was truly a unique experience for me, very moving and liberating.

IFQ: What are the other differences between your version and the original film?

Steve Buscemi: We changed little things. Like in the beginning, the scene between Pierre and his brother was between him and his best friend in Theo’s film. Also, in the original, the daughter who died was much younger. The diary was different. Here, it’s a diary made in the computer. I didn’t think I changed the spirit of the film and the relationships. It’s interesting because this film is about hurting each other. I believe you can’t hurt somebody you don’t care about and you can’t be hurt by somebody you don’t care about. It was great to film these two actors showing themselves and revealing themselves in a big confrontation.

IFQ: Do you think relationships are the same here and around the world?

Steve Buscemi: To me, relationships are universal. You can have self destructive and abusive relationships anywhere in the world. It’s a universal thing. We didn’t change the spirit of the film again by Americanizing it.

IFQ: How was it to make a movie that gives some “insides” about the celebrity status and what’s going on in politics?

Steve Buscemi: I know we can talk about that and I’m happy that people see in this movie what they want to see, but for me it really was about the relationship between these two characters, the path they take to meet and face each other. The purpose was not to make a comment on “celebrity” or “politics.” Even so we talk about politics, I didn’t want to be too specific. The reason is that at the time we were shooting, there was a strong case about this politician having an improper conduct with a minor. I knew that by the time the film would be finished and even released that this case would have been gone. It’s always tricky when you deal with such content. I didn’t even want to make it about the Bush administration, but in this case we are at war and live through difficult times. I hope people won’t miss a comment made in the film that there are more journalists that have been killed in Iraq than in the Vietnam War. I wanted to make sure it was going to be in the film.

IFQ: Sienna, how do you see yourself in Edie Sedgwick, the muse of Andy Warhol?

Sienna Miller: Well, like me, she is hungry for life and she wants it all in a way. I’m also a little bit rushing through life at times. But you know, I’m being more focused these days and I’m not into all the crazy things she did at the time of The Factory. It was really hard to play her because she was so fragile and she had no support system. Also, being here in Santa Barbara, at this film festival (Santa Barbara International Film Festival), is very moving for me because Edie Sedgwick was from here and she died in Santa Barbara. So this is an emotional moment for me and for all of us who worked on the film. I really try to pay justice to her; I worked for over a year trying to do research about her and I hope it pays homage to Edie.

IFQ: How was it to play with Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol?

Sienna Miller: Very inspiring. You’ll see on the screen. He totally became Andy and had such a huge depth in his approach of the character. At times, we really felt we were back at the time of The Factory. We totally immerged ourselves in this surrealistic environment. Guy is a wonderful actor and I had great chemistry with him, which was very important to show the intense relationship that existed between them. We really brought back The Factory to life without the destructive aspect to it, of course. I have always been a fan of Andy Warhol and I hope this film will interest his fans as well, and anybody who loves art and films. Also, the film is about trying to be loved for who you are, trying to fit in. This is really a strong movie about life in general and how you have to fight to survive.