The Batman film franchise, Wes Anderson and the way politics has become more and more like entertainment were among the topics of debate as U.S. actor Jeffrey Wright met the press at the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Friday.
In a roundtable chat with members of the press, one reporter asked Wright how and when he knew that he wanted to be an actor after graduating with a degree in political science, noting that the two fields appeared to be quite different. “So, you think politics and theater are completely different things,” Wright responded. “I’m not so sure. I think our politics has gotten increasingly like show business – to the detriment of everyone who’s involved.”
Asked about why he joined The Batman as Commissioner James Gordon and how such a blockbuster fit into his other work, Wright shared: “I try to stay open to whatever is interesting to me – for example, the Batmans, and I say plural because I’m in the middle of filming the second one now.”
He continued: “I think [director] Matt Reeves’ interpretation of the franchise is really fresh, and rich in terms of the narrative, but also rich cinematically. I don’t think he views this as frivolous comic book stuff, but he views it as an opportunity to explore contemporary themes through a really dynamic medium that is the Batman franchise. He’s also a massive fan of the franchise, hugely enthusiastic about it, and it’s deeply meaningful for him.”
Wright also suggested: “These films, the first one and now working on this one, are films from an era that he and I, because we’re of a certain age, just revere, and those are films of the American cinema of the ’70s – Sidney Lumet films and films that Dustin Hoffman would have been a part of, [Francis Ford] Coppola and [Martin] Scorsese. He’s trying to use all of those as touchstones in these films that might, in other hands, not have anything to do, cinematically, with that type of filmmaking.”
He added, ”I wouldn’t want to be a part of a big franchise just to be a part of a big franchise. But if it resonates with me in terms of the themes and the process and the narrative, then I’m in. It could be a big franchise. It could be an independent film. Doesn’t matter to me!”
How about his collaboration with Wes Anderson in his films The Phoenician Scheme, Asteroid City and The French Dispatch? Wright was clearly excited to dive into the topic. “I love working with Wes. I love his films. I love his aesthetic. I love the parameters that he works within,” he shared. “All films work within a certain set of parameters, but his are very specific to his mind and his vision, and I love that he works in complete disregard of anyone else’s opinion. He is authentically himself. He’s his own genre. He also has a sense of theatricality about him, and surrealism to an extent, that I appreciate, and irony that I just get.”
Wright also lauded Anderson as “a wonderful writer,” recalling how the two creatives had lunch, with the writer-director then sending him his script sections for The French Dispatch a couple of weeks later. “From the first time I read it, it just seared into my brain – like grill marks on a steak. I was like, ‘Wow!’ And I just heard the music immediately, and I heard the intent, and I loved it,” he said. “It’s just wonderful to find collaborators that you know you sympathize with. And that he’s invited me back to work with him again on a couple of films subsequent to that one is just really gratifying. It always feels really, really fulfilling creatively and intellectually to work with him.”
Earlier in the day, Wright had celebrated the importance of “genuine freedom” in the U.S. and beyond during a brief and very warmly received public appearance to introduce a screening of the film Basquiat (1996) about U.S. artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The star had also personally introduced it at the 32nd edition of Karlovy Vary. At Saturday’s closing ceremony of the Czech fest, Wright will receive KVIFF‘s President’s Award.
This year’s double anniversary edition of KVIFF has brought a parade of stars to the picturesque spa town, including Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, A Real Pain), Juliette Binoche (The English Patient, Three Colors: Blue, In-I in Motion), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Bride!, The Lost Daughter), Harvey Keitel (Mean Streets, Reservoir Dogs), legendary cinematographer Robert Richardson and Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate, Rain Man).
It was Hoffman who came up repeatedly in the conversation with Wright, who shared that the legendary star was a key influence on his life and career. “When I saw Midnight Cowboy, I said, ‘Wow, that’s a crazy place, that New York. I want to go there.’ When I saw him in Papillon or Marathon Man, and I saw the way he worked, the craft that was so evident, the thoughtfulness, the theatricality that resonated through his work, I said, ‘If I’m going to be an actor, that’s a model for how to go about it’ because it seemed meaningful and it was just compelling to me. I’ve been influenced by many performances and many actors, but I don’t think there’s anyone whose way of working impacted me more than Dustin Hoffman.”
