I'll be interviewing the two of them this afternoon.

I've interviewed Kaufman before, so I know what I'm getting into. But Gondry's new to me, and I'm only familiar with his new film and a handful of music videos. Any ideas for good questions?

If I were interviewing Michel Gondry, this would be my first question:

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh Michel Gondry you are just so awesome I just oh wow I just love all your music videos and commercials oh you just just my hero oh man can I will they just let me through so I can shake your hand no okay maybe later then?"

Dale

Ditto.

Ask Kaufman what he has against third acts...



Seriously though, maybe ask him how he feels about giving up his work to other people to direct (particularly Clooney, who I thought did a great job on Confessions, but I've heard that Charlie was unhappy), and does he see himself directing his own stuff in the future?

I hate to be serious for a moment, but:

a) Michel, is it easier or harder for you to work with someone else's concept, as in your two feature films, or to use your own initial concept, as in your music videos?

Michel, based what you've said about your David Cross short film and what you and others have said about your videos -- for example, the giant hands in "Everlong" -- it seems as though most of your works are based partially on some autobiographical event or emotion. Were there any autobiographical additions you made to Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine script?

c) Michel, now that you've made a second feature-length film, how do you view your less-acclaimed first film, Human Nature?

d) Charlie, now that you've made two films with each, can you compare working with Michel and working with Spike?

e) Michel, how does it feel to be the greatest music video director of all time, because you are, you know, and don't even talk to me about Jonze or Romanek, okay, because you're so much better than them, so how does it? Feel, that is?

Dale

How was it JO? Anything of interest come out of these interviews?

I had only 20 minutes, and I had to share it with another reporter. Painful.

But Kaufman was much more talkative this time around. I mentioned that his film made me think of something Walker Percy had written about how "pictures steal our memories."

He lit up like a lamp. "Walker Percy? Are you talking about 'Message in a Bottle'?" He actually smiled! "And that great chapter about the Grand Canyon?!"

I nodded.

"No," he said. "I wasn't thinking about that. But, what a GREAT BOOK!"

That was worth the visit for me.

Michel Gondry speaks with such a strong accent, it's a little hard to follow what he is saying. But he's a lively, squirmy guy with a lot of interest in happenstance, chance, and arbitrary moments.

I asked them if their work was a reaction against Hollywood or was it more of a reflection of influences that are not recognized by the American moviegoing public. Kaufman had no problem admitting that it's a reaciton to "the Hollywood frothy romance... which is something I've certainly never experienced in my life." Kaufman, as in his Adaptation interview, was again insisting that he works to present something that is really TRUE.

I think, with this film, he'd done that. But once again he wrestled with me on my interpretation of the film. He doesn't see it as optimistic, and he certainly doesn't see that it has a promising conclusion. Me, I think that the main character has learned a hard lesson through the course of the story, even if he ends up too damaged to do much about it. And I think the audience learns something too about the value of love. It show us how divorce and "breaking up" is a cowardly and damaging act, an attempt to deny the fact that we need each other in spite of our differences.

Is that last statement akin to Secret Lives of Dentists?

That Percy reference is great. I have to go to the library and pick that one up again.