Paul Morrison: Rob felt so much more a Dali – the combination of acute intelligence, vulnerability and self-consciousness

That was a LONG title eh? :))



Amanda Bell - The Twilight Examiner had the chance to interview Little Ashes director Paul Morrison. Here are some parts but you should read the whole article. It's very good :)

“We made it in the spirit of . . . just need[ing] to make this film, it’s crying out to be done, without expectations of what will happen to it,” says Paul Morrison, director of Little Ashes about his film. “But I’ve been around long enough to know it’s when you least expect it that good things can happen.”

Little Ashes (which will be released this Friday, May 8, in the United States)(Gozde's note: It is released in UK and Spain as well. For the list of theaters check HERE and HERE:)) has been met with great anticipation. Starring Robert Pattinson, Javier Beltran, Matthew McNulty, and Marina Gatell, the film will present an ephemeral biopic of the life of Salvador Dali – a Spanish artist whose art, some say, is impossibly well done.

As a director, Paul Morrison is known for his work in Wondrous Oblivion, Solomon and Gaenor, and Degas and Pissarro Fall Out. With Little Ashes nearing release, however, his name has practically become house hold.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the thoughtful and intellectual Mr. Morrison, and, after doing so, I am convinced that he is right, “good things can happen” – and to the right sort of people.

About what brought Morrison to the Little Ashes picture, he says it was “[a] great screenplay.” Continues Morrison, it’s “an intimate human story of these three or four people’s relationships at an extraordinary moment in history of social and artistic ferment. Plus, it was about these three exceptional artists, at least one of whom was a hero of mine.”

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For Lorca and Dali, I must have seen every up-and-coming young actor who was available in both Spain and the U.K. Originally, Rob read for Lorca, and I was going to cast Dali in Spain. But Rob felt so much more a Dali – the combination of acute intelligence and vulnerability and self-consciousness that the part demanded – that I switched, and brought him back to read for Dali. He was perfect. I never saw anyone in Spain who felt right for Dali, by the way.

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Still, there were good days and bad days on set. A “perfect day,” says Morrison, “was shooting the scene where Bunuel comes upon Dali and Lorca in a clinch in Lorca’s room. Nice and contained, funny, and brilliant performances, and time enough to get all the shots I wanted, and think of some others.” Continues he, it was “also very magical to shoot in Cadaques in the little bay which was Dali’s favourite, and to know that he had stood on the same rocks with Lorca eighty years before. . .” An “awful day,” says Morrison, “was shooting the aunt’s dinner party where we had a lot of Spanish press and TV around, trying to present a front of professional calm to the, but the actors were 5 hours getting through make-up, and I was screaming with impatience as we were left with only two hours to shoot the big scene.”



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With Twilight and How To Be star Robert Pattinson in the cast, and with his recent successes outside of Little Ashes, his fame is bringing a lot to the table for the release of this picture. About that, Morrison says, “I don’t follow it very closely, but mostly it has been great for us.” On the other hand, “where Rob has been misconstrued,” says Morrison, “and seemed to be putting down our movie when that wasn’t what he intended,” it can be irritating. Though, says Morrison, “I’m delighted for Rob for his success, and delighted, too, that he will draw a new audience to the movie. The fans of his who have seen it so far, who I’ve spoken to, seem very positive.”

You can read the entire article at the source . Thanks to Amanda for sharing the interview...