Interview

Amy Steele, Scene 360: When you started writing and directing simultaneously was that intentional or by necessity?

Rian Johnson: I started making films when I was very young, with no knowledge of the process beyond what I assumed from watching movies. So there was no writing or directing, there was just picking up a camera and making a movie. I guess to a certain extent that carried over into making films as an adult, it’s difficult for me to imagine separating the two processes.

Photo of director Rian Johnson. © Summit Entertainment, LLC

How did you come up with the concept behind “The Brothers Bloom?”

I had wanted to do a con man movie for a long while, but it was in 2005 that I sketched out this story of two brothers, one of whom feels as if he has been faking it his whole life, putting on a persona, living in a story. That provided a way into the genre for me that resonated personally.

The two brothers are so different. What are Stephen and Bloom’s strongest and weakest qualities?

Bloom’s best quality is that he is constantly looking for a way forward, for a way out of what he considers his fake life and into a real “unwritten” one. His flaw is his conviction that this duality exists in the world, which is something I think we can all relate too—that feeling that everyone outside your window is having a more authentic experience than you.

Stephen’s love for his brother is his strongest quality. His flaw is his insistence on vodka martinis.

Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) in "The Brothers Bloom." © Summit Entertainment, LLC

Penelope comes in like a ray of sunshine. She nearly threatens the brothers’ relationship. What was her motivation? What made her so eccentric and yet also so magnetic?

Rachel Weisz is the entire reason her character lives with that authentic vitality on the screen. Rachel took what could have easily been a pile of eccentricity and constantly refused to be anything less than real with it, and the result is something magical that I had very little to do with.

What is your favorite aspect of “The Brothers Bloom?”

I’m still too close to the film to sit down and watch it, but I enjoy seeing the performances, and Steve Yedlin’s photography, and hearing Nathan Johnson’s music, all the amazingly talented people I was lucky enough to work with on the film. Some day down the line when I have some distance maybe I’ll be able to watch and judge the film itself.

What do you enjoy about writing scripts?

I don’t enjoy writing scripts. Writing is a miserable process. I don’t trust anyone who claims to enjoy writing. Like Dorothy Parker says: I hate writing. I love having written.

Why do you like to direct? What is the best part? What is the scariest part?

Every part of it is the best part, and also the scariest part. For instance, working with so many talented people wouldn’t be half as exciting if there wasn’t the constant fear that you’ll let them all down. It’s a constant mixture of exhilaration and joy and fear and depression. That sounds overly dramatic, but the truth is it doesn’t come close to capturing the experience of directing a film. I recommend that everyone try it at least once in their life.

How complicated or easy is it to direct your own work?

Part of what gives me the confidence to step on set and steer the ship is knowing the material from its origins, so in a way it’s easy. But I’ve only ever directed my own scripts, so I don’t have anything to compare it to.

Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) in "The Brothers Bloom." © Summit Entertainment, LLC

Bang Bang is hysterical. She expresses so much in so few words (of English). How much of her role was influenced by Rinko’s performance?

It’s entirely Rinko. It spoke volumes to me that she was willing to take that leap, of doing a non-speaking role with the confidence that she would not fade into the background. She has fantastic comic timing, she actually cut her teeth in Japan doing comedies. While we were shooting the movie, everyone was convinced she would steal every scene. But I think she fits into the film nicely.

Stephen=strong willed; Bloom=over sensitive and caring.
How does that make them such master con artists?

Stephen is the writer and director, so his confidence (arrogance?) serves him well. Bloom is the performer, so sensitivity and emotional empathy are the tools of his trade. I’m pulling this entirely out of my ass. In real life I don’t think that combination would necessarily make for a good con man team, but that’s why God made the movies.

The two bros: Bloom=over sensitive and caring (Brody), and Stephen=strong willed (Ruffalo). © Summit Entertainment, LLC

Penelope smiles and sees everything through rose-colored glasses. How and why did you create such an optimistic and often naïve character among a group of con artists/thieves?

Stephen and Penelope are two ends of a scale, with Bloom in the middle. While Stephen isn’t a pessimist, he’s much more of a structuralist. He is the grand architect, he builds the hedge maze. Penelope picks the flowers off the hedges. She’s about experience, about taking what’s in front of your face and making it beautiful through your lens of perception. They’re two very different kinds of storytellers.

Taken from your site: Why should DVD commentaries not exist? [I think I agree for the most part—umm in this scene it was raining and you remember that we had gone to a party the night before, yada yada]

I’m not personally a big fan of DVD commentaries. They’re generally recorded a long time after the movie was made, by putting the director in a booth at 9 in the morning and aiming a microphone at him for two hours. Talking for two hours straight and being entertaining is a massive feat, even for seasoned performers, which directors are not. So of course most commentary tracks are awful, and often sink into the director doggedly describing what’s happening on screen. I know there are people who enjoy them, so I do them and try to do my best, but I’m no performer either. God knows. I don’t enjoy them myself. But I know some people do, so I try to be as informative and un-boring as possible.