48TH THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL
November 16 - 25 2007
PRESS CONFERENCE
JOHN MALKOVICH
Among other things, in his press conference on Sunday, November the 18th, John Malkovich spoke about production, acting, cinema and theatre. Renowned producer Russell Smith accompanied on the panel the popular actor, who is visiting the Festival as a producer of Jason Reitman’s film Juno.
The President of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, George Corraface and the Director, Despina Mouzaki, welcomed Malkovich and Smith. Mrs. Mouzaki characterized John Malkovich as “an actor who constantly sets higher standards in every appearance he makes. Two times Oscar nominee, winner of dozens of other high distinctions, John Malkovich is one of the best actors of his time. His successful career, brilliant mind and broad talent have taken him beyond inspired acting moments to extending his reach in areas such as directing and producing”.
The President of the Festival, George Corraface, mentioned that “the talented actor is always trying to “tell us” something, whether he is on stage, or in front of a camera”.
Regarding the production of his film Juno, Russell Smith mentioned that, right from the beginning, everything started from the script on which the film was based, a brilliant script, with an original idea.
When asked about his collaboration with Russell Smith, John Malkovich revealed that they have been the best of friends since they were 18 years old. Next, he explained that his participation in Juno was limited to keeping notes and making observations on the script.
Regarding the film’s subject, he said: “What we liked about it was that the script was about teenagers and so we wanted to make it look realistic and at the same time sensitive. We worked on this combination with the director”, and added that “The goal for a successful collaboration with a director is to share the same vision and to completely trust one another, but this takes time”.
As for the artistic differences between cinema and theatre, Malkovich said “when someone takes part in a theatrical performance, they have to create a living experience every day, whereas in cinema, it never changes. Nothing will change if an actor plays differently on any given day”.
When asked about independent American cinema, the popular actor mentioned that “by now it has become a small part of the big studios’ system”, and that as an independent producer, he has seen great changes in the way productions are being made in the USA in the last five years.
Regarding the differences in the way people in cinema work in Europe and in the USA, Malkovich explained that most of his films have been shot in Europe, not because he planned it that way, but because it happened by chance: “I don’t think that there are any great differences regarding the way people work. Anyone making a film anywhere in the world just wants to have good results. Whether they are in America or in Europe”, he said.
Malkovich also spoke about the differences in the way actors work in theatre and in cinema: “If we compare acting in the theatre and acting in cinema using [the metaphor of] music, it would be like having a musician playing the piano and another playing the saxophone. Both of them are musicians, but that doesn’t mean that being good at the saxophone automatically makes you good at playing the piano and vice-versa”.
