Fllel PREVIEW
Love And Sex
Jon Favreau swings back into action
’In the wake of Swingers,’ the beefy, good-humoured Jon Favreau explains matter-of-factly, ‘the aspect of my career that benefited the most was my writing. I'm on the list of every studio, I’m “approvable”. As an actor I’m not. As an actor, for independent films like Love And Sex or Very Bad Things, I’m very bankable. But for big studio pictures, I’m not on the list.’ Not that the multi-talented 34-year-old need worry; he's just written, produced and starred in Made, a gangster comedy that also marks his debut as a director. Before that, he earned critical plaudits for his TV-movie portrayal of boxer Rocky Marciano, played alongside Keanu Reeves in the American football movie The Replacements, and seduced ex-‘Bond girl’ Famke Janssen in Valerie Breiman's aforementioned romantic comedy, Love And Sex.
In writer/director Breiman’s semi-autobiographical movie, Favreau's confident, funny painter whisks Janssen's beautiful, neurotic magazine journalist off her size ten feet. Yes, the nebbish guy from Swingers charms the pants off Xenia Onatop, the lethal assassin from GoldenEye (or Jean Grey, the psychic from X-Men, if you prefer). And we believe it because, as with Favreau's portrayal of male friendship in Swingers, this whirlwind romance was based on real life. So, having played himself in Swingers, how did Favreau cope with playing Breiman's ex-boyfriend, in a story closely modelled on her own life?
'Not only was Valerie there, but the guy I was playing was there too,’ says Favreau. 'He hung around a lot. But they understand the responsibility you have when you're making your own life story is the same as when you‘re making somebody else's, which is, it'd better be entertaining. Otherwise, why are people going to pay
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’In this film, I could do what Vince Vaughn did in Swingers' Jon Favreau
ten bucks to see the story of your life? So, much as I did with Swingers, Valerie just used her own life as a starting point, an inspiration. She would never say, "Oh, no, no, no, it was nothing like that." It was always about what was the funniest thing for the scene.‘
As the lead actor in Swingers and Very Bad Things, Favreau played ’the flawed guy who’s really struggling hard', but as a supporting actor in Love And Sex, he enjoyed getting back to his character actor roots: ’lt's a whole different ball game when you're supporting. In this film, I could do what Vince did in Swingers, I could knock over the fruit cart, because it was Famke’s job to hold it together. That allowed me to be the jokester, the trickster. When you’re the leading guy, you have to have the weight of the world on your shoulders and you have to show a lot of restraint; as a character actor, you can try to steal every scene and just get as many laughs as you want.’ (Nigel Floyd)
For details, see Hitlist, right.
credit, Kar-Wai has established himself as the most eXCiting auteur in Asia.
With just seven films, Kar-Wai has established himself as the most exciting auteur in Asia
In The Mood For Lovel Wong Kar-Wai Reel Life
Filmmaker gives master-class on his smouldering erotic drama
Wong Kai-Wai, the king of the cool school of filmmaking, gives us a tale of unreQuited love and smouldering pasSion in 60s Hong Kong. Two married people have an affair, but we never see them Instead, the focus is on the cuckolded pair. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung The realisation that their respective spouses are cheating on them ignites desires they have trouble controlling, which makes for gorgeously erotic drama. The fashion is sharp, Nat King Cole's Latin signature tune smooth, and Kar- Wai’s regular Cinematographer, Chris Doyle, dazzles with a palate of hot colours and stylish camera moves
With just seven feature films to his
When you watch one of his films — As Tears Go By, Days Of Being Wild, Ashes Of Time, Chungking Express, Fallen Ange/s, Happy Together »— it feels as though it’s the first time y0u've experienced Cinema, time and again His invention and re-invention leaves you breathless But he career didn’t begin with 1988's As Tears Go By; Kar-Wai has a background in Hong Kong telewsion, which is where he started to write film scripts comedies, whodunits, melodramas the genre conventions of which have fed into his films Kar-Wai is coming Edinburgh to close the Film Festival with In The Mood For Love, he'll also be sharing a few of his filmmaktng secrets in a Reel Life masterclass And maybe he'll tell us something about his next prolect, a science fiction film called 2046. ilvliles Fielderl
53': For details, see Hitlist, right
Hitlifl *
The best of world cinema in a week
Carter Burwell
The man who composed the scores for the Coen brothers" films gives a masterclass on what makes a great soundtrack Carter Burwe/l Reel Life, Fi/mhouse I, 24 Aug, 7.30pm, £70 (£4.50).
Benjamin Smoke
Unmissable tribute to a remarkable musman, the late Robert Dickerson, aka Benjamin, frontman of the Atlanta, Georgia alt.c0untry group Smoke, Benjamin Smoke, Fi/mhouse I, 24 Aug, 70pm, Fi/mhouse 2, 26 Aug, 3.30pm, [7 (£4.50).
George Washington
Spellbinding rural drama set in a small rural town in South Carolina about a group of kids coming to terms With the acodental death of a friend. George Washington, Cameo 7, 25 Aug, 5.30pm, 26 Aug, 3pm, [7 (£4.50).
In The Mood For Love
See prevrew /eft.
Love And Sex
See Hitlist, left. Love And Sex, ABC 7, 25 Aug, 9pm, [7 (£4.50).
The Hollow Man
Hollywood maverick Paul Verhoeven’s blockbuster hi-tech sfx take on The Invisible Man. Verhoeven is also givmg a Reel Life masterclass. See feature The Hollow Man, ABC 7, 25 Aug, 77pm, [7 ([450) Paul Verhoeven Reel Life, ABC 7, 25 Aug, 6pm, [70 @450).
Zamani Baraye Masti Ashba (A Time For Drunken Horses)
Devastatineg powerful tale of childhood hardship set in the treacherous border region between Iran and Iraq. Zamani Baraye Mast/ Ashaba, Fi/mhouse 7, 20 Aug, 5pm, 24 Aug,
4 30pm, [7 ([4 50,)
Best Of The Fest
A selection of the most popular films of the Festival, playing throughout the closing day. Cameo & Fi/mhouse, 2/ Aug, various times, and prices.
24 Aug -2 Sep 2000 THE lIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 59