The_Hollywood_Reporter__February_07_2018

BERLIN
PRE VIEW
hen it comes to making
a European debut,
director Gus Van Sant
has experienced the
highs, taking home the
Palme d’Or at Cannes
for the Columbineesque
school massacre drama Elephant in
2003. And then there were the lows, like 2015’s
Sea of Trees unveiling at Cannes, where it
was savaged by critics. Based on the Sundance
reaction to his latest, the Joaquin Phoenix
starrer Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,
the 65-year-old filmmaker should receive
a warm reception when the movie screens in
competition at the Berlin Film Festival. The
Amazon Studios title, which centers on a
paraplegic cartoonist struggling with sobriety,
is based on John Callahan’s memoir. The
two-time Oscar nominee spoke to THR from
his home in Palm Springs about his film
and his relationship with the Phoenix family,
which began when he directed the late River
Phoenix in 1991’s My Own Private Idaho.
W
You directed Joaquin early in his career in
To Die For and now in Don’t Worry. How would
you describe his evolution as an actor?
It’s very similar, but he’s 20-something years
older, so he had has so much more experience
in creating a role, all the experiences from
the past. But otherwise, he seemed to do it in
a similar way. He just gets very involved in
the role — to the point where he’s kind of living
the role — and then he shoots it.
“It’s hard to read
bad reviews, but it’s
also hard to read
really good reviews,”
says Van Sant,
photographed
Jan. 19 at Sky Strada
in Park City, Utah.
‘IT’S A
REALLY
POLARIZING
MOMENT’
Gus Van Sant on his Berlin entry Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,
the #MeToo movement and why working with Weinstein was ‘great’
BY TATIANA SIEGEL
What was the Phoenix family’s reaction to
your documentary My Own Private River
[which recontextualized footage from My Own
Private Idaho]?
Well, it was James Franco’s creation. I gave
him permission. They were very upset by it. It
was something that I probably should never
have done because I love the family so much. I
wasn’t intending on a bad reaction, and I just
handled it incorrectly.
You co-directed that film with Franco. Do you
think he’s being unfairly treated as he has been
swept up in the #MeToo movement?
I didn’t really co-direct. I allowed him to use
the footage. I think that he gave me that codirector
distinction. ... I don’t necessarily have
a way to differentiate James’ situation with
anyone else’s. There’s been accusations, and I
don’t know. I’m not close enough to him.
In general, what do you think of the avalanche
of accusations hitting Hollywood?
It’s a really polarizing moment in especially
Hollywood but [also] in many
different communities. And the relationship
between men and women and power
and influence extends to so many things.
It’s a very interesting moment, and it can
be very difficult as well.
A 9/11 Drama and 3 More Fest Standouts
ISLE OF DOGS ►
Eight years after bringing
his idiosyncratic wit
to stop-motion animation
with Fantastic
Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson
returns to the form
with this original story
set in a dystopian
future Japan, where
a boy must venture
into a canine quarantine
area to rescue his
beloved pet.
THE LOOMING TOWER
Dan Futterman and
Alex Gibney are among
the creators of this Hulu
limited series based
on Lawrence Wright’s
Pulitzer Prize-winning
book about the escalating
threat of Osama
bin Laden during the late
1990s and the events
that led to 9/11.
MUSEO
Mexican director
Alonso Ruizpalacios
follows his distinctive
look at restless
youth, Gueros, with
this true-crime thriller
based on the 1985
robbery of 140 priceless
Photographed by Austin Hargrave
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
62
FEBRUARY 7, 2018