9 questions with director David Kaplan

I recently had the opportunity to review a DVD of the short films (which includes a young Christina Ricci in a leading role) of independent filmmaker David Kaplan. In addition to that review, Kaplan provided me with a chance to interview him via email. The following are the questions and answers from the director, perhaps best known to the public for his major feature film Year of the Fish.

Upcoming films for Kaplan include a comedy featuring actors from Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and famed Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah which is in post-production currently. In pre-production (and thus likely for 2010) is the film Play, in which Kaplan directed and co-wrote.

I hope you enjoy the insights and thoughts the interview brings up, as well as taking the time to see the Little Red Riding Hood collection of short films now out on DVD.


Michael Vass: What led you to focus on short films, and then fairy tales for your work?

David Kaplan: There's something wild, unruly and deep about fairy tales. Their imagery seemed perfectly suited for film. Short films are simply more affordable than feature films and therefore easier to make.

Michael Vass: How did you come upon Christina Ricci, and the other actors in the film?

David Kaplan: I had already worked with Christina at the Sundance Institute's directors' workshop. She seemed born to play the part of Little Red. Not only did she have an uncanny resemblance to the famous Gustave Doré illustration of the tale, but she also had a sparkling intelligence in her eyes necessary to embody this clever young girl. The other actors were friends or were found through auditions.

Michael Vass: Why did you choose to have so much of the film shorts devoid of sound?

David Kaplan: They're not devoid of sound. They have music, sound effects, narration.... I chose not to have sync-dialogue in Little Red Riding Hood because it made it more storybook-like, which gives the audience a certain nostalgic comfort at the beginning, a feeling which is gently subverted as the film progresses.

Michael Vass: In each film there is a subtle but definite sexuality. They each border on the taboo, in their own ways. What inspired that direction?

David Kaplan: Fairy tales explore some dark shadows and truths of the human experience. Even though we think of them as innocent children's stories, I always felt they were much more complex than that. As Djuna Barnes notes in Nightwood,

“Children know something they can't tell: they like Red Riding Hood and the wolf in bed!”

Michael Vass: Do you have plans for a full length feature film? If so, will you be expanding on these film shorts or a new idea?

David Kaplan: Yes, I have several feature projects in the works. A couple are fairy tale adaptations. In fact, my first feature film, Year of the Fish is an adaptation of an old Chinese fairy tale. It played in theaters last year and will be released on DVD soon.

Michael Vass: Is the concept of introducing sexuality in a unique and subtle manner something you want to include in all your films, or was it just something that you found compelling for this short material?

David Kaplan: It really depends on the particular film. For example, the last feature film I made is a mainstream comedy about Indian food and cooking (it's in post-production) - not a lot of dark, offbeat sexuality in that one :)

Michael Vass: Since the success of your shorts at multiple independent film festivals have you found mainstream Hollywood more interested, or less?

David Kaplan: The shorts are very useful as an introduction to Hollywood. They got a lot of doors open for me.

Michael Vass: Do you have an ultimate wishlist film that you would like to make? If you could film any style of movie, with any actor/actress, what might you do?

David Kaplan: Yes, there are quite a few wishlist films I'd like to make. But that's a secret unless you're willing to finance them.

Michael Vass: What are some of the films and directors that inspired you?

David Kaplan: Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter, Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Murnau's Sunrise, Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon, Neil Jordan's Company of Wolves, and of course Cocteau's La Belle et la Bete.

DVD Review: Christina Ricci in Little Red Riding Hood

The title sounds so innoucuous. I’m sure that many are thinking that this has got to be a mistake on my part. That it must be a audio book review. But I’m not mistaken, and you will be surprised. And you will understand why this is a Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo Award winner.

Little Red Riding Hood and other stories, is 3 short films each based on a short story from fairy tales. In total the entire collection of films, made by director David Kaplan, are only 30 minutes long. But I bet you just can’t watch them once.

Little Red Riding Hood is the first story on the DVD. Likely this is because it stars Christina Ricci in her teen years. But the story is hardly the thing of childhood memories. It does effectively set the tone for each of the following stories though.

In each of the short films we are introduced to unique takes on old ideas. We have sexuality introduced in a manner that has you questioning if it was the director’s intention, or just your own inner thoughts making a leap. We get a mixture of ballet, Black and White film, acting, silent film, represerntative characters, puppetry, and a touch of nostalgia among the various stories.

The Red Riding Hood is my favorite. It is sweet and tempting while being new and a bit whimsical. It’s visuals are not breath-taking, but simply further engross you to the action around you. Very little detracts from your observation, providing a voyueristic pleasure on top of everything else. Chrisitna Ricci is perfect, with a coyness and yet intensity in her eyes that just hits the mark.

Little Suck-a-thumb is completely in a different direction. From the sweet and even playful temptation we go t o color and an experience that may just strike you hard. In this short film we get to see a bit of a homage to Nosferatu and the old silent horror films. We are presented a tale with strong homo-erotic undertones.

The story takes a major back seat to the acting, as by the time you are getting the opening lines we are thrust calmly into the crux of the story. There is a gentleness and seduction going on that plays well to the sudden and well placed soundtrack of Ave Maria (a favorite song of mine that I never imagined would fit such a film). By the end we are left with a stroy that hits on views of morality, sexual preferences, and orientation without ever being graphic, lewd, insulting, or shocking.

The last story, The Frog King, is my least favorite of the 3. It too is in Black and White. But unlike the initial which had a narration, this is strickly old school silent film. The look is grittier as well. Darker scenes match a tone that seems ready to explode with danger at any moment. And the payoff left me scratching my head.

We travel this journey with a very young actress, into a place that I’m not sure of. Again sexuality comes up, and again it is a take on it that is far from the mainstream. But this story is unsettling. It’s harsher and less defined. It is more open-ended and questionable.

It’s not the acting that will throw you, but the direction and the story itself. I normally don’t listen to the commentaries of most DVD’s but I sought out this one to hopefully gain greater insight into the story. Sadly there was nothing in the commentary that really helped me out. Other than to hear David Kaplan explain that this was his least favorite as well.

Speaking of the extras of the DVD, there really aren’t any. This is a straight forward DVD. You have the 3 short films, the commentary of each film, a commentary on the folklore by scholar Jack Zipes, and it’s over. Considering there is only 30 minutes to it all I can’t say I’m surprised, though I was hoping to see a blooper real or extra scenes that were deleted – especially for Frog King.

All in all, I liked the DVD. The short trip it takes you on is worth the time and money spent. And as I said in the beginning, you will likely watch it over more than once. If that is not a sign of a worthwhile purchase, in a world of highly forgetable and poorly created revisionist and/or sequel laden films, then I don’t know what is.

Movies yet to come - 4.16.2007.1

Now that the debate over Mr. Don Imus has ended with his loss of employment, and renewed attention is placed on the gansta rap music genre, I will get back to the somewhat more mundane discussion of the other things happening in the world.

Before I start with the items that have caught my attention I want to give an update on the polls I have running at www.vassconsult.com . According to the poll on Presidential candidates, if the election were held today Senator Obama would win. Some might say that the nature of the blog, and/or myself, would affect those voting; but considering the fact that Senators McCain and Clinton are both close behind (tied in second) I don’t feel that is accurate.

For those that wonder, the polls are open to anyone, and I don’t ask or care about race. But there has been a near even distribution between men and women (52 vs 48%) as well as a similar breakdown for those 18-35 vs. 35-65 (48 vs 52%). It’s getting interesting. I will run this poll until the end of the year, so vote and let your friends know about it as well. [If you are interested in learning more about my coverage of the various candidates visit www.vassconsult.com/politics/election2008.html]

There were 2 movies that may be of interest that made announcements last week. The first is a sequel (like what movie is not a sequel these days) of a good film. If you saw 28 Days Later [absolutely not the Ms. Sandra Bullock film of similar name] and enjoyed the hyper-kinetic zombies of the movie, the next part of the story is 28 Weeks Later. Literally they continue the storyline with what are the continuing effects of the England destroying virus. It’s not quite Shaun of the Dead, but I’m sure it will catch the attention of many U.S. fans. My guess right now is that it’s worth seeing in the movies instead of DVD.

Moving onto action movies, what could have more action than a film with Mr. Jackie Chan AND Mr. Jet Li? I know, Mr. Li said he wasn’t going to make any more films after Fearless, but this should have already started production. It should be quite the film considering both are the top names in the martial arts genre, and have been for over a decade or 2. It should be quite the combination, the stunts of Mr. Chan and the wire-work of Mr. Li. There is no doubt that the quality should be top of the line for this film. You won’t have to wait too long for this film, it should be out in 2008. Do I really need to say more?

On the more esoteric front, a blast from the past is on the horizon. I’m not talking about the remake of Dolemite again, I mean real old. Fans of animation may recall the cartoon Speed Racer. (Younger readers may recall the techno remix of the theme song - which is nice) Yes the adventures of the Mach 5 will be coming to life with a strong cast. Mr. John Goodman will be Pops, Mrs Susan Sarandon is set for Mom, and the best part is Ms. Christina Ricci has joined on to be Trixxie. I’m sure those who never saw the classic cartoon have no idea who these people are. The best I can offer to those readers is that the car is the real star. The Mach 5 is fast, stylish, and has as many gadgets as a whole James Bond film. (I still can’t imagine why it needed 2 buzzsaws but that could look great if they keep it). The lead role of Speed is going to Mr. Emile Hirsh, I have no idea who the kid is. The last thing that makes this concept interesting, the Wachowski brothers are directing and writing it. I’d expect quite the homage to old Japanese cartoons, manga and anime in general. We shall see.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Movies old and new, comic books, stocks and Jesus - 2.27.2007.1

Amid the various cries of those terrified that their stock portfolio will turn into the ultimate tax write-off, or the anger at potentially finding out Jesus may have had a family, there has been some other news. Now I won’t say that a 4% move isn’t significant for one day, but it’s really not that big a deal. For many stocks it only equates to .50 cents to $1.50 and that’s really no big deal. After more than a decade dealing with stocks and the financial markets, bumps in the road never give me pause. If you are freaking out think of this, if you believe that America will continue and that GE will still have people working tomorrow (or the next 6 months) then don’t worry. Stocks move up and down, and a good investment made for sound reasons will generally tend to work out. I’ve said that to clients as a broker for a long time. Mr. Warren Buffett said similar things for decades. And generally it is always true.

As for those who can’t live with the thought that Jesus could have been human in his actions, well that a religious interpretation. I don’t have an opinion either way. If you believe a thing then it doesn’t matter what others say, I believe. That’s why it’s called faith. Take it up with Mr. James Cameron. Enough said there.

But in the rest of the world there were a few things I’d want to touch on. Mr. James Brown has still not been buried. The drama with Ms. Anna Nicole Smith still dominates media attention while news of this successful entertainer of decades remains unspoken. I just don’t get it, not even 2 months after his death.

Another sad loss is that of Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the author that inspired the film Das Boot. I’m not sure how many have seen this WWII submarine film, but I strongly recommend it. While it was about German U-boats it was not about Nazi’s. It was not a glorification of war, or an ideaology, but the human spirit in trying times. The will of the submarine’s captain is enough to overcome almost anything, and rally all his men to continue to live. It’s a powerful film, best seen in the original German if you ask my opinion.

On a lighter note, an end is coming to the production of The Producers. This old play, which inspired 2 films (the Mr. Nathan Lane and Mr. Mathew Broderick remake is inferior to the Mr. Gene Wilder and Mr. Zero Monstel original), resurged in a second run on Broadway and has had 2,500 performances. A run like this is quite impressive, and the material justifies it’s popularity. But if you haven’t seen it yet I’d advise the aforementioned original film. Better than the remake and, unless you like Mr. David Hasselhoff or Mr. Tony Danza, far better than the actors on stage until April 22nd.

On the comic book front a new deal will provide what is now a rare reversal, comic based on television shows. Of course I doubt this deal will be of much worth. The source of the comics material will come from programs made for SciFi Channel. While it has taken the SciFi Channel years to finally stop making giant animal films, or horrendously bad rip-offs of bad sci-fi movies, there really hasn’t been that much quality. Beyond the never ending spin-offs and additional seasons of Stargate SG-1, the terribly named, horribly ‘revisioned’, though well acted Battlestar Galactica, and the refreshing Eureka the cable channel has nothing. Just re-runs that have been on dozens of channels for as many years and cancellations of interesting programming (like Trippin’ the Rift – but there is no surprise they would do that). Oh but don’t let me forget they have the ultimate sci-fi draw, wrestling. And they wonder why they can’t keep the core audience. Good luck collecting their probably short live comic book venture. I won’t even bother looking for them.

Lastly I must mention that Black Snake Moan is due in movie theaters soon. This is the latest film with Mr. Samuel L. Jackson and Ms. Christina Ricci. While the film does have Mr. Justin Timberlake as well (hopefully in a very minor role) it sounds as if it is more than the name and posters imply. I noticed the posters earlier this month will back home in New York City. If you haven’t seen them, expect to be caught off guard. When the television commercials start you’ll understand why, and I’m sure there will be someone protesting. I’ll give you a hint, an older Black American has a young White girl chained in his house while scantly clothed. Oh, and it’s in the South. If that doesn’t catch your attention I don’t know what it will take to get it. I just have to see this film, if the 2 theaters in this small town will play it. What about you? Are you looking forward to a film like that? Why?

This is what I think, what do you think?