The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

78 Henry Jaglom
out of control. A good filmmaker probably realizes that that’s a dramatic
storyline. I’ve never thought of that; that’s a very interesting question. If
done incorrectly, it’s a very narcissistic subject; it does not have a universal
application. It has to be about something much bigger than that: 8½ is about
a man’s life, the women in his life, and about the act of creativity.
Did you see my version of 8½, Venice/Venice? I try to address myself to
that exact issue. I think the process is uncontrollable, so if you’re making an
authentic film about it you’re going to show that. Being a movie director is
like being an absolute dictator who can suddenly say, “I want the police to
move all those people from here over to there. I want a thousand elephants
right here.” Then there will be some people hired to do that, and yet there
is no control. It’s an illusion. Spinning out of control reflects the fear every
filmmaker has.
What is the allure then, of making films about films? Or in your case,
films about film festivals?
Jaglom: It’s that old writers’ thing about writing what you know. Everybody,
every filmmaker eventually wants to make a film about what they
know best. I distinguish very strongly between directors who are hired to do
other people’s scripts and filmmakers who don’t necessarily write it but are
involved from the inception and every aspect, like Fellini. Although he had
a writer, it is certainly his film. Like Sunset Blvd. is Billy Wilder’s film.
A filmmaker, as opposed to a hired film director, is somebody who is dealing
with this enormous and strange illusion of having a universe that he can
create. Then, of course, it comes to the end. There you are, you are alone.
We talked about the allure, but what is the danger of doing films about
Hollywood?
Jaglom: The danger is that you do it too narrowly, that your view of it is too
rarified. That the audience is not going to be interested. I don’t think there’s
an inherent danger. If it’s something so close to you, so rarified that you
don’t connect with people, then it is dangerous. I think that’s also its great
potential. I’ve always had a different view of what filmmaking is all about.
For me, it is about using your own life as much as possible. Telling the truth
and trying to capture that on the screen, and hoping that you’re not so iso-