Theres a certain world-weariness about Harmony Korine as he presses firmly against the urinal. I introduce myself and tell him well have the interview out in the garden since the Soho Grands lounge feels like a proofing oven. He straightens himself up, says, Fine, man, whatever. The fact that I just caught Americas most imaginative filmmaker in the lavatory carries with it sobering implications, which I might come back to later. Life for Korine had been a kind of giant toilet after Julien Donkey-boy came out in 1999. He had a slow-motion meltdown, spiritually moved away from filmmaking and traveled around Europe before ending up in Paris. And now hes back big time. His new film Mister Lonely, which he wrote with his brother Avi, is pure bliss: Fellini, Wim Wenders and Matthew Barney all come to mind. Yes, American cinema hasnt looked this strongly in a long time. Diego Luna plays a Michael Jackson for-hire impersonator who ekes out a living in Paris--a foreigner in a strange town who impersonates Michael Jackson, how ironic. In a strangely predictable way Michael meets a Marilyn impersonator (Samantha Morton) who takes him to a commune where folks of the same ilk are putting together their own variety show.
Korines early opus (Kids, Gummo, Julien Donkey-boy) about folks living on the rivers edge (the wrong one) were his cri de guerre. With Mister Lonely, Korine turns antitheticalrepression is out. Although Diego Lunas character suffers from bouts of melancholy, the commune of impersonators he joins has a definite lust for life and a jones for showbiz. Michael Jackson (Luna) was the missing link; once he shows up, everyone works on putting a nightly show on for the town with a renewed sense of purpose. Korine talked with SG about his tribulations, his faith and his corruptible younger brother Avi
Cedric Waslow: You totally disappeared after Julien Donkey-boy. What happened to you?
Harmony Korine: I went traveling and ended up in France after I burnt out all my other countries. I started falling apart, I wanted to live a life that was separate, I didnt want to have anything to do with movies, anymore. I ran out of money, I ran out of friends, and I ran out of hope.
CW: How long did you spend in France? Do you even speak French?
HK: [Smiles] No. I wasnt listening. I spent just under a year there. During that time I only left my apartment four times, I think.
CW: So the inspiration for Mister Lonely came in part from your experience there? How did you enlist your brother Avis help in writing the screenplay?
HK: Yes, partly. Avi was living in Philadelphia in someones attic. He was only eating chicken McNuggets and watching boxing matches. Itd been long since I had written anything and I figured I liked the stuff that he had written, especially the less pornographic stuff. So I asked him if he wanted to come down and do this with me. His only special condition was that I find him the special honey that had been discontinued from McDonalds. So I tracked down this farm and got a bunch, and he came down and we just sat in a room for three months and came up with the concept.
CW: Are you very close to your brother?
HK: We hadnt been so close physically because hes so much younger and I was out of the house a lot when he was growing up. But we have a lot in common--we share the same kind of humor, find the same characters interesting.
CW: So what was the dynamic like between you two?
HK: I had images and ideas and specific characters, and we started riffing, talking about different things, what about this idea, etc. Usually, if wed both laugh at it, then its good to keep. It took about a month of talking about it and writing our little notes, and then another month of actual writing.
CW: Are you very picky when it comes to the finished screenplay?
HK: I usually write just one draft. As soon as the script is finished, Ill reread it and clean up the dialogue a little. I dont know what a perfect script is. I dont ever spend too much time to get a script perfect, I just dont really care if it seems OK.
CW: There are two plots in Mister Lonely. The impersonators and the flying nuns. And although everything made sense to me, somehow, some people might have a hard time connecting the nuns to the others. What can you say to them?
HK: Theyre not there just randomly. The nuns represent a different way of saying, Look at this estranged group of people. I felt like that even though the stories didnt intersect in a concrete way they spoke to the same idea, it was allegory showing how the characters paralleled each other. They were both groups of marginalized, displaced dreamers that were living outside of the system. And in a way the nuns have this hope that if you believe strongly enough in something you can survive. You can ride bicycles in the clouds and do tricks and land and survive.
CW: A little like these impersonators believed they could become the greatest stars the world has ever known!
HK: Right, just like that, just like these impersonators believed that you could be someone else. Theres an emotional sense in there, but I never really cared about making perfect sense, Ive always wanted to make movies that were nonsense.
CW: Could Diego Luna and Samantha Mortons characters (Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe, respectively) thrive in the real world?
HK: Well, all the characters are show people and they really come alive when they perform. Performance is everything. And dreamers that they are, they hope that the whole world will come to see the show.
CW: But theyre in for a tough surprise
HK: Right, reality always has a way of intruding on dreams and the truth of their situation becomes obvious. There they are, living in a remote commune in the Scottish Highlands. They are delusional but I think they had a beautiful dream, a pure dream and sometimes the purest dreams are the ones that get hurt the most.
CW: Upon seeing Werner Herzog in priest habit admonishing the laborer who cheats on his wife, I thought what an astonishing scene. You and Herzog have been friends for a while?
HK: Yes, right after Gummo came out I got a phone call from him. We have a good relationship.
CW: Do you believe in God?
HK: Belief is an important part of my life. I wont say too much about this, but I need to believe in something to get through the day. But thats my own thing.
CW: Do you believe in Agnes B, then?
HK: [Laughs] Well, I have a production company with Agnes B. She had been waiting for me to get my act together. When I was ready, I called her up and told her I had a script, lets go. Thats where it came together.
CW: Agnes B. is the unofficial matriarch of the New York arts.
HK: Yes, shes great.
CW: Now that you live in Nashville, do you miss New York City?
HK: Not really, no. Thats part of the past. My life in Nashville is great. Moving there was my saving grace. That and meeting my wife Rachel [she plays Little Red Riding Hood in the movie]. Its been terrific. When I get off the airplane my heartrate goes down, you know youre in the right place. I can just drive around in my car and dream up scenarios.
CW: Youre not a prolific filmmaker. Are we going to have to wait a decade for your next movie?
HK: I hope to God it wont take me a decade until the next film. Ive already written another one. My mind is in a better place. I wont be so precious about things. Id like to make a movie by the end of the year.
Mister Lonely is in select theaters now
Korines early opus (Kids, Gummo, Julien Donkey-boy) about folks living on the rivers edge (the wrong one) were his cri de guerre. With Mister Lonely, Korine turns antitheticalrepression is out. Although Diego Lunas character suffers from bouts of melancholy, the commune of impersonators he joins has a definite lust for life and a jones for showbiz. Michael Jackson (Luna) was the missing link; once he shows up, everyone works on putting a nightly show on for the town with a renewed sense of purpose. Korine talked with SG about his tribulations, his faith and his corruptible younger brother Avi
Cedric Waslow: You totally disappeared after Julien Donkey-boy. What happened to you?
Harmony Korine: I went traveling and ended up in France after I burnt out all my other countries. I started falling apart, I wanted to live a life that was separate, I didnt want to have anything to do with movies, anymore. I ran out of money, I ran out of friends, and I ran out of hope.
CW: How long did you spend in France? Do you even speak French?
HK: [Smiles] No. I wasnt listening. I spent just under a year there. During that time I only left my apartment four times, I think.
CW: So the inspiration for Mister Lonely came in part from your experience there? How did you enlist your brother Avis help in writing the screenplay?
HK: Yes, partly. Avi was living in Philadelphia in someones attic. He was only eating chicken McNuggets and watching boxing matches. Itd been long since I had written anything and I figured I liked the stuff that he had written, especially the less pornographic stuff. So I asked him if he wanted to come down and do this with me. His only special condition was that I find him the special honey that had been discontinued from McDonalds. So I tracked down this farm and got a bunch, and he came down and we just sat in a room for three months and came up with the concept.
CW: Are you very close to your brother?
HK: We hadnt been so close physically because hes so much younger and I was out of the house a lot when he was growing up. But we have a lot in common--we share the same kind of humor, find the same characters interesting.
CW: So what was the dynamic like between you two?
HK: I had images and ideas and specific characters, and we started riffing, talking about different things, what about this idea, etc. Usually, if wed both laugh at it, then its good to keep. It took about a month of talking about it and writing our little notes, and then another month of actual writing.
CW: Are you very picky when it comes to the finished screenplay?
HK: I usually write just one draft. As soon as the script is finished, Ill reread it and clean up the dialogue a little. I dont know what a perfect script is. I dont ever spend too much time to get a script perfect, I just dont really care if it seems OK.
CW: There are two plots in Mister Lonely. The impersonators and the flying nuns. And although everything made sense to me, somehow, some people might have a hard time connecting the nuns to the others. What can you say to them?
HK: Theyre not there just randomly. The nuns represent a different way of saying, Look at this estranged group of people. I felt like that even though the stories didnt intersect in a concrete way they spoke to the same idea, it was allegory showing how the characters paralleled each other. They were both groups of marginalized, displaced dreamers that were living outside of the system. And in a way the nuns have this hope that if you believe strongly enough in something you can survive. You can ride bicycles in the clouds and do tricks and land and survive.
CW: A little like these impersonators believed they could become the greatest stars the world has ever known!
HK: Right, just like that, just like these impersonators believed that you could be someone else. Theres an emotional sense in there, but I never really cared about making perfect sense, Ive always wanted to make movies that were nonsense.
CW: Could Diego Luna and Samantha Mortons characters (Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe, respectively) thrive in the real world?
HK: Well, all the characters are show people and they really come alive when they perform. Performance is everything. And dreamers that they are, they hope that the whole world will come to see the show.
CW: But theyre in for a tough surprise
HK: Right, reality always has a way of intruding on dreams and the truth of their situation becomes obvious. There they are, living in a remote commune in the Scottish Highlands. They are delusional but I think they had a beautiful dream, a pure dream and sometimes the purest dreams are the ones that get hurt the most.
CW: Upon seeing Werner Herzog in priest habit admonishing the laborer who cheats on his wife, I thought what an astonishing scene. You and Herzog have been friends for a while?
HK: Yes, right after Gummo came out I got a phone call from him. We have a good relationship.
CW: Do you believe in God?
HK: Belief is an important part of my life. I wont say too much about this, but I need to believe in something to get through the day. But thats my own thing.
CW: Do you believe in Agnes B, then?
HK: [Laughs] Well, I have a production company with Agnes B. She had been waiting for me to get my act together. When I was ready, I called her up and told her I had a script, lets go. Thats where it came together.
CW: Agnes B. is the unofficial matriarch of the New York arts.
HK: Yes, shes great.
CW: Now that you live in Nashville, do you miss New York City?
HK: Not really, no. Thats part of the past. My life in Nashville is great. Moving there was my saving grace. That and meeting my wife Rachel [she plays Little Red Riding Hood in the movie]. Its been terrific. When I get off the airplane my heartrate goes down, you know youre in the right place. I can just drive around in my car and dream up scenarios.
CW: Youre not a prolific filmmaker. Are we going to have to wait a decade for your next movie?
HK: I hope to God it wont take me a decade until the next film. Ive already written another one. My mind is in a better place. I wont be so precious about things. Id like to make a movie by the end of the year.
Mister Lonely is in select theaters now
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
Gummo is my all time favorite, followed by KIDS. I doubt he'll ever read this, but I want him to know that he rocks!