Atom Egoyans films are so fascinating, provocative and daring. Apparently his latest Where the Truth Lies is dividing audiences all over the world even in his adopted home country of Canada. But Where the Truth Lies is his most human film since the doubly Oscar nominated The Sweet Hereafter.
Where the Truth Lies is set in 1972 and cub reporter Karen O'Connor [Alison Lohman] has been hired to write a book by entertainer Vince Collins [Colin Firth]. A lifelong fan, she's more interested in finding out why he broke up with his comedy partner Lanny Morris [Kevin Bacon] after a dead housekeeper named Maureen turned up dead in the duo's hotel room bathtub.
Check out the official site for Where the Truth Lies
Daniel Robert Epstein: This is a film that cant be described in one sentence. Did you have trouble raising money for this?
Atom Egoyan: It was difficult because I needed the film to have the richness of the era with a high degree of production values because we were trying to recreate a world that was at the peak of a certain type of glamour. Fortunately I have this team of people Ive been working with for many years, like producer Robert Lantos, so we all were able to rise to the challenge.
Were able to access funds through co-productions and alternate ways. Its been really satisfying. I think you get these films like Where the Truth Lies, Sweet Hereafter and Exotica, which are able to enter into the system, but maybe wouldnt have been able to have been made through a classical studio system.
DRE: How did the book, Where the Truth Lies, come to you?
AE: In galley form through my agency.
DRE: Do they send you a certain kind of book?
AE: This came out of the blue. It was a junior person at the agency who thought I would respond to this material and I certainly did. But it was not the traditional type of book Im presented with.
DRE: There is a lot more music in Where the Truth Lies than your previous films.
AE: Yes, think that its the most heavily scored film Ive ever made. I was dealing with different periods of music that I adore. I adore music from the early 70s like progressive rock, jazz influenced artists like Santana and Funkadelic. All of the Enoesque Roxy Music influences and then going back to the jazz stuff with Mingus and then this Bernard Herrmannesque noir string section. All that was just a thrilling part of the filmmaking process and being able to have access to those different styles and finding a way of amalgamating them and using them was a really exciting part of the project.
DRE: It was interesting for a film like this would be made by someone from Canada who doesnt spend a lot of time in LA. Is this your LA revenge story?
AE: Its revenge, but its also an ode to a certain time because I think popular culture is something that defines everyone to some extent. Our relationship to it and our obsession with it and the way we project ourselves into celebrity and our disillusionment with that are huge themes in any North American life. I remember as a kid waking up Sunday morning and seeing the tail end of a telethon and going, Oh my God. While I was sleeping, they were entertaining. There was something mythological about that. I wanted to create a world where we were transported back to a time when we could idolize our celebrities without this degree of scrutiny, yet deal with that moment where our understanding of our own power as viewers to go further in our curiosity. In the early 70s there was this advent of new journalism where the journalist could really invest themselves into a story. I think that had a huge profound change on the way we view these structures. That was what was exciting about this movie to me. It looked at both celebrity in the 50s, where there was this degree of control that a celebrity had over their life and then it looked at a time when they were losing that as well.
Maybe it isnt so much revenge but an examination of what makes them have such a powerful hold on our imaginations and subconscious. That whole idea of the Alison Lohman character as a young girl adoring these two guys, then later on, wanting to reveal who they really were. Its natural impulse. Im always seeing those stories of cross generational situations where someone who you might have adored as a parent figure suddenly reveals themselves in a different light.
DRE: When were you first disillusioned by celebrity?
AE: I can tell you the precise moment. Its when I convinced my dad to take me to San Francisco to go to Carlos Santanas vegetarian restaurant because I adored Carlos Santana. I fully expected that Carlos Santana would be at the restaurant and that Id meet him when he would serve me some vegetarian dish. I remember just waiting there all day long. It just wasnt going to happen. Then I think it was a year later going to see Led Zeppelin and being in the crowd. At one point, I was sure that Robert Plant was staring right at me then I realized that when youre on the stage and theres all those lights on you, you cant see anyone in the audience at all. We all project a relationship especially when were younger with celebrities that cant really sustain itself. Its just delusional to an extent.
DRE: I saw the film last night and I was very surprised to see that it got rated NC-17.
AE: Its just shocking and totally comprehensible. Isnt it crazy?
DRE: I was a little confused by it.
AE: Yeah, its been kind of the most ridiculous process. I fully expected it to be R-rated.
DRE: Do you think its because of the mnage a trois scene?
AE: The MPAA is not based on any particular code. Its based on the feeling they get as theyre watching the movie. So I think that its a combination of the mnage a trois scene being a master shot combined with it being famous actors in a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable. It seems to be transgressive to them because otherwise it doesnt make any sense. We did appeal it but it didnt get overturned.
DRE: How did you come to cast Alison Lohman?
AE: Shes just fascinating to me because shes 26 years old and she always plays people 10 years younger than her. Alison had to play someone who is both innocent as a child and also play herself as a young adult. She was really the only person I could imagine playing this.
DRE: Obviously Colin and Kevin needed to have some chemistry together. Did you cast one of them first?
AE: I sort of cast them both together and just prayed that they would actually be able to make the act real. That was the greatest sort of surprise and delight of the whole experience to see that act come together.
DRE: You really could see them going on tour together.
AE: Yeah, its kind of interesting. The most audacious aspect of the film was trying to construct two entertainers at the peak of their popularity who didnt actually exist.
DRE: In the book, was Colins character always British?
AE: No, the book is very much based on Martin and Lewis. I wanted to reinvent that because it was very distracting.
DRE: How comfortable are you directing sex scenes at this point?
AE: Once you make it clear to the actor what the parameters of a scene are and you talk about why the scene is necessary, as long as there arent any surprises then theres no reason to be uncomfortable. Its like any dramatic scene. I think where people get flipped out is when an element is introduced at the last moment that they were not expecting.
DRE: I spoke to Francois Ozon earlier for his new movie, 5 x 2. He says he likes to do sex scenes because thats when the real actors comes out.
AE: I think that an erotic or a sexual scene conveys something essential about the characters makeup such as the way they approach intimacy. So the possibilities of what we can learn about that character are fascinating to me. Since Im curious about the people Im depicting, I have to be curious about the way they approach intimacy and sex. I like working with actors who are also curious about that as well. They are really interesting scenes though I dont know if they require any more concentration than any other scene, but they are certainly an incredible way to explore aspects of the character that wouldnt be revealed otherwise.
DRE: How important is the mystery element of the story which you also used in Exotica?
AE: I like mystery. I like being in a space where youre trying to understand and put things together. In a film like Where the Truth Lies, its constructed in a more classical way where you know theres been a death and there are a number of possibilities and explanations and youre trying to figure out which one of them is true. In a film like Exotica, the murder is not as important as the aftermath. Or films like Sweet Hereafter or Ararat, its not as classically constructed. In this particular film, its set up in such a way that you are expecting certain answers and certain points.
DRE: I read that youre putting together some operas.
AE: Oh yeah. Im really involved in that. Im writing the books for them and right now were doing this major production of Wagners Ring of the Nibelung in Toronto. Were also opening up a new opera house next September.
DRE: Do you know what film youre doing next?
AE: No, I dont.
DRE: Do you like not knowing?
AE: I like writing so Im writing right now. It might be an original script but you never know when someones going to present you with a book or a script that completely surprises you, which is what happened with Where the Truth Lies.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Where the Truth Lies is set in 1972 and cub reporter Karen O'Connor [Alison Lohman] has been hired to write a book by entertainer Vince Collins [Colin Firth]. A lifelong fan, she's more interested in finding out why he broke up with his comedy partner Lanny Morris [Kevin Bacon] after a dead housekeeper named Maureen turned up dead in the duo's hotel room bathtub.
Check out the official site for Where the Truth Lies
Daniel Robert Epstein: This is a film that cant be described in one sentence. Did you have trouble raising money for this?
Atom Egoyan: It was difficult because I needed the film to have the richness of the era with a high degree of production values because we were trying to recreate a world that was at the peak of a certain type of glamour. Fortunately I have this team of people Ive been working with for many years, like producer Robert Lantos, so we all were able to rise to the challenge.
Were able to access funds through co-productions and alternate ways. Its been really satisfying. I think you get these films like Where the Truth Lies, Sweet Hereafter and Exotica, which are able to enter into the system, but maybe wouldnt have been able to have been made through a classical studio system.
DRE: How did the book, Where the Truth Lies, come to you?
AE: In galley form through my agency.
DRE: Do they send you a certain kind of book?
AE: This came out of the blue. It was a junior person at the agency who thought I would respond to this material and I certainly did. But it was not the traditional type of book Im presented with.
DRE: There is a lot more music in Where the Truth Lies than your previous films.
AE: Yes, think that its the most heavily scored film Ive ever made. I was dealing with different periods of music that I adore. I adore music from the early 70s like progressive rock, jazz influenced artists like Santana and Funkadelic. All of the Enoesque Roxy Music influences and then going back to the jazz stuff with Mingus and then this Bernard Herrmannesque noir string section. All that was just a thrilling part of the filmmaking process and being able to have access to those different styles and finding a way of amalgamating them and using them was a really exciting part of the project.
DRE: It was interesting for a film like this would be made by someone from Canada who doesnt spend a lot of time in LA. Is this your LA revenge story?
AE: Its revenge, but its also an ode to a certain time because I think popular culture is something that defines everyone to some extent. Our relationship to it and our obsession with it and the way we project ourselves into celebrity and our disillusionment with that are huge themes in any North American life. I remember as a kid waking up Sunday morning and seeing the tail end of a telethon and going, Oh my God. While I was sleeping, they were entertaining. There was something mythological about that. I wanted to create a world where we were transported back to a time when we could idolize our celebrities without this degree of scrutiny, yet deal with that moment where our understanding of our own power as viewers to go further in our curiosity. In the early 70s there was this advent of new journalism where the journalist could really invest themselves into a story. I think that had a huge profound change on the way we view these structures. That was what was exciting about this movie to me. It looked at both celebrity in the 50s, where there was this degree of control that a celebrity had over their life and then it looked at a time when they were losing that as well.
Maybe it isnt so much revenge but an examination of what makes them have such a powerful hold on our imaginations and subconscious. That whole idea of the Alison Lohman character as a young girl adoring these two guys, then later on, wanting to reveal who they really were. Its natural impulse. Im always seeing those stories of cross generational situations where someone who you might have adored as a parent figure suddenly reveals themselves in a different light.
DRE: When were you first disillusioned by celebrity?
AE: I can tell you the precise moment. Its when I convinced my dad to take me to San Francisco to go to Carlos Santanas vegetarian restaurant because I adored Carlos Santana. I fully expected that Carlos Santana would be at the restaurant and that Id meet him when he would serve me some vegetarian dish. I remember just waiting there all day long. It just wasnt going to happen. Then I think it was a year later going to see Led Zeppelin and being in the crowd. At one point, I was sure that Robert Plant was staring right at me then I realized that when youre on the stage and theres all those lights on you, you cant see anyone in the audience at all. We all project a relationship especially when were younger with celebrities that cant really sustain itself. Its just delusional to an extent.
DRE: I saw the film last night and I was very surprised to see that it got rated NC-17.
AE: Its just shocking and totally comprehensible. Isnt it crazy?
DRE: I was a little confused by it.
AE: Yeah, its been kind of the most ridiculous process. I fully expected it to be R-rated.
DRE: Do you think its because of the mnage a trois scene?
AE: The MPAA is not based on any particular code. Its based on the feeling they get as theyre watching the movie. So I think that its a combination of the mnage a trois scene being a master shot combined with it being famous actors in a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable. It seems to be transgressive to them because otherwise it doesnt make any sense. We did appeal it but it didnt get overturned.
DRE: How did you come to cast Alison Lohman?
AE: Shes just fascinating to me because shes 26 years old and she always plays people 10 years younger than her. Alison had to play someone who is both innocent as a child and also play herself as a young adult. She was really the only person I could imagine playing this.
DRE: Obviously Colin and Kevin needed to have some chemistry together. Did you cast one of them first?
AE: I sort of cast them both together and just prayed that they would actually be able to make the act real. That was the greatest sort of surprise and delight of the whole experience to see that act come together.
DRE: You really could see them going on tour together.
AE: Yeah, its kind of interesting. The most audacious aspect of the film was trying to construct two entertainers at the peak of their popularity who didnt actually exist.
DRE: In the book, was Colins character always British?
AE: No, the book is very much based on Martin and Lewis. I wanted to reinvent that because it was very distracting.
DRE: How comfortable are you directing sex scenes at this point?
AE: Once you make it clear to the actor what the parameters of a scene are and you talk about why the scene is necessary, as long as there arent any surprises then theres no reason to be uncomfortable. Its like any dramatic scene. I think where people get flipped out is when an element is introduced at the last moment that they were not expecting.
DRE: I spoke to Francois Ozon earlier for his new movie, 5 x 2. He says he likes to do sex scenes because thats when the real actors comes out.
AE: I think that an erotic or a sexual scene conveys something essential about the characters makeup such as the way they approach intimacy. So the possibilities of what we can learn about that character are fascinating to me. Since Im curious about the people Im depicting, I have to be curious about the way they approach intimacy and sex. I like working with actors who are also curious about that as well. They are really interesting scenes though I dont know if they require any more concentration than any other scene, but they are certainly an incredible way to explore aspects of the character that wouldnt be revealed otherwise.
DRE: How important is the mystery element of the story which you also used in Exotica?
AE: I like mystery. I like being in a space where youre trying to understand and put things together. In a film like Where the Truth Lies, its constructed in a more classical way where you know theres been a death and there are a number of possibilities and explanations and youre trying to figure out which one of them is true. In a film like Exotica, the murder is not as important as the aftermath. Or films like Sweet Hereafter or Ararat, its not as classically constructed. In this particular film, its set up in such a way that you are expecting certain answers and certain points.
DRE: I read that youre putting together some operas.
AE: Oh yeah. Im really involved in that. Im writing the books for them and right now were doing this major production of Wagners Ring of the Nibelung in Toronto. Were also opening up a new opera house next September.
DRE: Do you know what film youre doing next?
AE: No, I dont.
DRE: Do you like not knowing?
AE: I like writing so Im writing right now. It might be an original script but you never know when someones going to present you with a book or a script that completely surprises you, which is what happened with Where the Truth Lies.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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after a dead housekeeper named Maureen turned up dead in the duo's hotel room bathtub.
She must have been really dead.