Exclusive Interview:
JULIET LANDAU TAKES ON GODHEAD AND GARY OLDMAN
The actress gets behind the camera to document Gary Oldman in TAKE FLIGHT and also makes a music video for the hard rock band
by ABBIE BERNSTEIN. Contributing writer
Published 9/8/2008
Back in November, actress Juliet Landau (beloved of fans for her portrayal of the psychic/psychotic vampire Drusilla on multiple seasons of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL) talked to iF Magazine about TAKE FLIGHT, her documentary about Gary Oldman's filmmaking process, shot while he made a music video on the hip-hop band Chutzpah. TAKE FLIGHT will be screened for the public Sat. Sept 13 at 4:30 PM at Cinespace on Hollywood Blvd., followed by a Q&A with Landau and cinematographer Deverill Weekes. Meanwhile, Landau is now working on directing a music video for the band Godhead.
Prior to her appearnace in Michigan - her first trip to the Great Lakes State - Juliet took the time our of her busy schedule to talk about her career, Drusilla, and what's next for the daughter of award-winning thespians Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Juliet has acted alongside her parents; she appeared in 1994's Ed Wood with her father - who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, the Hungarian-born actor who made Dracula famous - and appeared onstage with her mother several years ago in the play, Failure of Nerve.
iF: Tell us a little more about TAKE FLIGHT>
JULIET LANDAU: TAKE FLIGHT was my directorial debut. Gary Oldman directed a music video for the Jewish Hop Hop band Chutzpah, shot entirely on Nokia cell phones.
Gary asked me to direct the making of. What started out solely as a behind-the-scenes making of bloomed into a documentary film about Gary's creative process. I had three cameras on set chronicling the action. Gary operated one of the "cell-cams." Much of the film is told from Gary's p.o.v. It's literally like being inside his brain, seeing the genesis of his ideas and then his precision in carrying those ideas out. The cell phone footage affords us a truly unique and rare view.
The music video is fantastic and it's very "cutty." I wanted to use longer more expansive peices of the Nokia footage and Gary's framing. Also, I wanted the progression to start with glimpses, build to longer pieces and then fianlly to be completely in Gary's flow and view.
I had a very specific idea and vision for the film. I sat side by side with my editor for months and months making it happen. I chose all of the music for the [documentary]. I used classical pieces for Gary's internal creative world, and the outside world is represented with the hip-hop music of Chutzpah.
I had fifty hours of footage, which I condensed into the twenty-five minute movie, which includes the music video at the end.
Although it's unconventioanl, I wanted to keep the Nokia footage in the [standard television format] four-by-three aspect ratio and everything else in [widescreen] sixteen-by-nine. I wanted to keep Gary's framing intact. I wanted everything to be fluid and, simultaneously, I liked it being clear when we are in Gary's perspective.
iF: How do you like working with digital video?
LANDAU: The new technology is exciting. It affords a wider range of people to make films and create, with little to no budget. In TAKE FLIGHT, we witness Gary's ingenious ways of filming, which opens up a world of possibilities with this technology.
iF: How did the public screening come about?
LANDAU: The Advance screening of TAKE FLIGHT is the centerpiece of Hollywood Hill's mobile summit on Saturday, September 13. Hollywood Hill is this fantastic organization my mentor Mike Medavoy told me about. It is all about making change in the world.
iF: Can people who aren't able to make the screening see any of this material?
LANDAU: The TAKE FLIGHT webiste is julietlandaustakeflight.com. It has the trailer, on camera interviews, photos, the synopsis and a lovely quote from Gary about the film.
iF: What did Oldman say?
LANDAU: [Oldman wrote] "Juliet Landau is an exceptional talent. I entrusted Juliet to make a documentary film about me and I am thrilled with the results. TAKE FLIGHT is a special film that shows me in a very different light. I will work with Juliet again without hesitation."
iF: Wow. How did the Godhead video come about?
LANDAU: the band saw TAKE FLIGHT and asked me to direct their next video. I love the song, which is called 'Stay Back.' The lead singer Jason Miller has an incredible voice. We have started acting rehearsals and his voice acappella blows me away. As soon as I heard the song, I got ideas for what I'd like to do with the video.
I pitched them to the band, and they loved them. The release date is October 7. It will be played on MTV, VH1 and the Internet.
if: And what's happening acting-wise?
LANDAU: I recently worked on a reading of THE THREE SISTERS that Al Pacino put together. We read it for Al at the Actors Studio. I have been doing a lot of animation work. I have been doing the GREEN LANTERN film and more episodes of BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE. I am shooting a short film/spec commercial called THE SCENT OF DANGER that Ingela Ogard wrote specifically for me. It was inpsired by Ingela seeing the 'action hero' photo in my Geek magazine layout. I am also in negotiation for a film, which could begin in October.
I am continuing to raise funds for IT'S RAINING CATS AND CATS and CISSY by selling merchandise in the store of my official website [julietlandau.com].
I am following the same model BUFFY alum Amber Benson did in selling merchandise on the Internet to make her two feature films. I wrote IT'S RAINING CATS AND CATS and will play seven different charcters in the film. I adapted CISSY from a play written by Andrew Prine, which I read at the Actors Studio.
