close up - Monoskop

48 CLOSE UP
punctuation. Anyone who can sit through an hour's projection of a film in which sixty
per cent of the action passes in and out of doorways and in inaudible conversations, is
asked to give twenty minutes of attention to a more or less logical sequence of ideas
without any pretension of revolutionizing the film industry. To those who would still
question 'the reason for this extravagance' one can simply reply by translating the title
Emak Bakia, an old Basque expression which means 'don't bother me'.
Vol. II, no. 4 April 1928
Bryher
AN INTERVIEW:
ANITA LOOS
Many telephone calls, many explanations, an appointment. We felt guilty as we waited
in the hall (the London correspondent of Close Up and myself) knowing well enough
how much we should resent ourselves having our few moments of privacy disturbed at
an hour when work for the day should be over. But one does for the cinema what one
will not do for one's self so we held firmly to our need of seeing Miss Loos if only for
a few moments, partly because we wanted first hand information as to modern
conditions in Hollywood and partly because Miss Loos being on the governing board
of the Film Arts Guild, we hoped she might tell us about its programme and the trend
of progress of the little cinema movement in the States. We wanted to meet Miss Loos
herself but having very firm ideas on the subject of an author's right to be private, we
should not have ventured to insist upon an interview for merely selfish reasons.
The hall of an hotel always suggests some casual sequence in a movie. Boys passed
with trays; people chatted in a half dozen different languages. Outside the light was
turning from dusk grey to deep blue. It was raining and cold gusts of wind broke into
the room every time the door opened. London and Hollywood seemed very widely
separated. I remember the ceaseless shooting of movie scenes under stiff palms and
children playing, only one path off, too accustomed to seeing cameras to be interested
in them any more. And this 'mixed' to the projection room at Neubabelsburg and the
lash of surprise when the two lovers in Jeanne Ney walked through the rain toward
each other. Cinematography taking not a step but a whole aeroplane flight with a single
film. And now London and waiting. 'Miss Loos, you know, was one of the movie
pioneers.'
We tried to sort our questions out into as concise a form as possible. And as we
argued for the necessity of this or that, Miss Loos came suddenly upon us.
Forgetting all text books on 'how to begin an interview' we both began if rather too
quickly, with much eagerness.