| FILTH AND WISDOM | ||||
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| "I've
been thinking about it for years, but I kept trying to find the right
window of time to do it. And I also had to get the courage up to do
it, because I knew everyone would say, "Why!?" Madonna also explained she developed the film's characters based on real people she had met or heard of through friends and that the movie is "partly based on reality and partly based on fantasy." "I liked the duality that exists in all the characters, I like that Eugene is an unconventional narrator/philosopher and he sees life in a very unconventional way yet in a very realistic way. I wanted to explore the paradox of life." Madonna was compelled to cast Eugene Hutz after seeing him in Everything Is Illuminated and also hearing Gogol Bordello's music. "He has a lot of charisma and charm, he's fearless, he's beguiling, he draws you in," she said of her leading man. "He's not afraid to improv or to make a mistake. You could always expect the unexpected with him in front of the camera." The European sensibilities of Filth And Wisdom made Berlin an ideal launch pad, she says, rather than the glitz of Cannes or US indie haven Sundance. Future distribution plans are still being decided. "Ultimately I love watching movies in a cinema, so I'd love for it to be in a cinema, but on the other hand I've always approached everything I do in an unconventional way," she said. "Maybe the best way for people to see it is through the internet, maybe on iTunes. We'll find that out in the next month." Madonna wrote the script with Dan Cadan, who previously collaborated on several films with her husband, Guy Ritchie. The cast and film-makers rehearsed for two weeks ahead of the 16-day London shoot. "As an actor I always appreciated rehearsing," says Madonna. "We had this rehearsal period to get to know each other, to break the ice. More importantly, you can write words down on a piece of paper but you need to hear them out of a person's mouth to know whether they work or not. As a writer that was very helpful." Filth And Wisdom, a Semtex Films project produced by Nicola Doring of London-based promos/commercials company HSI, started as a short but "grew as we were shooting," Madonna says, into the 81-minute version here. The film's budget isn't disclosed but Madonna said it "wasn't very much." She noted that she kept music costs down by working with artists that she knew. "I tried to use music that people would let me use. That was mainly an economical choice," she says. "I had just worked with Pharrell in the studio so I knew I could work with the Ludacris-Pharrell track. I don't need permission to use my own music [the song Erotica plays in a pivotal pole-dancing scene]. And I'd worked with Britney Spears so I thought she'd have no problem with me using her song too." Editing, too, was done on a budget. Madonna said her editor Russell Icke "was doing his commercial work so he could support his four children and then he would come and cut my movie in his off hours," she notes. Madonna, known as something of a perfectionist in her music career, is honest about the flaws in her first outing as a director. "I see the weaknesses in terms of storytelling, fleshing out the characters, strengthening the narrative, those kind of things I would definitely do differently," she says. "But it was my first time and I didn't set out to make The Godfather. I knew it was going to be a learning curve for me." She is already writing the script for a bigger-budget feature to follow Filth And Wisdom. "It's kind of an old-fashioned story that I want to tell in a punk rock way," she revealed. "It's about two historical characters and two fantasy characters whose lives intersect in the past and present. I want to take the time to write and flesh out the story." Madonna has no acting plans in the near future, but she has produced the recently completed Malawi orphan documentary "I Am Because We Are", directed by Nathan Rissman, which will show in the Tribeca and Cannes festivals. Asked if she wanted to co-direct any projects with Ritchie, she quipped: "Oh, God no, that would end our marriage in two seconds. I don't think it's a good idea to work with your spouse." |
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| Source:
Screen Daily by Wendy Mitchell |
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| Source:
Berlinale.de by Deborah Cole Wed Feb 13, 10:10 AM ET |
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| Filming of "Filth and Wisdom" | ||||
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| Source: AFP | ||||
| Back to February 2008 Index | ||||
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Filth
And Wisdom Great Britain, 2008 Lenght: 81 min Format: 35 mm, 1:1:85 |
Premiere
Date February 13, 2008 at 58th Berlin International Film
Festival |
Written
by Madonna and Dan Cadan Director Madonna Studio Exposure/HSI Genre: Comedy / Drama / Music Plot the story features a Russian immigrant, ballet school, lap dancing, cultural revolution, poetry, night club, punk rock band, book writer, dominatrix and gypsy. |
Starring
Stephen Graham ... Harry Beechman Richard E. Grant ... Professor Flynn Eugene Hutz ... A.K. Vicky McClure ... Juliette Ade ... DJ Olegar Fedoro ... A.K.'s Father Gogol Bordello ... Themselves (also archive footage) Elena Buda ... Ballet Student Francesca Kingdon ... Francine Clare Wilkie ... Chloe Shobu Kapoor ... Sardeep's Wife Tim Wallers ... Mr. Frisk Elliot Levey ... Benjamin Goldfarb Holly Weston ... Holly Hannah Walters ... Mrs. Goldfarb Inder Manocha ... Sardeep George Keeler ... Frail Man |
Produced
by Nicola Doring Associate Producer: Angela Becker Cinematography: Tim Maurice-Jones Camera operator: Peter Wignall Edited: Simon Hayes Choreographies: Stephanie Roos, Tiffany Olson Production design: Gideon Ponte Art Director: Max Bellhouse Costumes by B Make up: Sinden Dean First assistant director: Tony Fernandes Casting: Dan Hubbard Production director: Sue Hiller Unit Production manager: Gavin Milligan |
Additional
Details Runtime: UK:81 min (PAL Version) Country: UK Language: English / Russian Color: Color Filming Locations: London, England |
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