Main Page
Interviews Menu
Alphabetical Menu
Chronological Menu
Relativity Media releases The Family nationwide on August 13th, 2013. NYC MOVIE GURU: What do you think is so appealing about dark themes? Robert De Niro: Everyone’s always interested in a dark theme, especially when there’s humor connected to it. It seems like that helps---if that’s an integral and organic part of the whole story. Michelle Pfeiffer: It’s about what’s taboo. In civilized societies, we spend our lifetimes trying to become what’s socially acceptable. We’re dark and we’re light, and we all have both sides to us. We’re sort of living vicariously through these characters on screen. Especially with this type of film, you’re horrified, but also laughing at the same time. You’re ashamed that you’re laughing at this horror in front of you, but that’s what also makes it so unexpected. So ultimately, it’s entertaining. John D’Leo: I think this film has a lot of different elements. It’s going to be a good package, so I think audiences are really going to like it. Dianna Agron: Escapism. I’m sure almost no one will say that they relate to the themes of this movie. So you go to the movies to laugh, and see things that you don’t normally see in real life. NYC MOVIE GURU: Michelle, what attracted to you to starring in The Family? MP: I was really excited to do this because I loved working on Married to the Mob for so many reasons, mostly because I love [director] Jonathan Demme. This was really the first opportunity for me to enter back into that world. I was thrilled and delighted, but a little nervous that people would make comparisons between the two characters, as they are pretty different. NYC MOVIE GURU: Diana and John, what attracted you to your role? DA: One of the things I love about her so much is that she is a dreamer, and doesn’t really want anything to do with what her family perpetuates. She wants to fall in love, and wants the fairytale. That’s when she flips, because that’s what she knows what to do. So I loved the duality to her. Who doesn’t want to fake beat people up? (laughs) JD: With this one character, I got to do so many different things on so many different levels that most actors don’t get to do in several films. This is not just a normal mob movie. It’s a fish-out-of-water story. All the people I got to work with obviously, and filming in France for three months was unreal. It was my first time out of the country. I had to get my passport and everything. RDN: I did re-watch it. The DVD also has a lot of stuff that I had not seen, such as interviews with Henry Hill and the other characters. Doing the CinemaTech scene for The Family, I wanted to make sure everything was covered. I also spoke to [Goodfellas' screenwriter and author] Nicholas Pileggi a few times. I also spoke to [The Family's writer/director] Luc Besson to make sure the monologue was accurate. While the Goodfellas monologue was in the book version of The Family, there was also a monologue about going back to the neighborhood. It wasn’t connected to what Goodfellas was. There were specifics that had to be fixed. I wanted to look at the movie and interviews with people just to refresh my mind. NYC MOVIE GURU: What do you think are the basic elements that turn a dark comedy into a classic? RDN:I think the human part of it has to be important. There has to be some grounding and reality--not that you can't go off in different directions, but even that has to be grounded in reality, ideally. MF:I think it's something that covers new territory that hasn't been covered before, and a good story. Those two elements, in whatever genre they're in, will turn the film into a classic. Main Page Interviews Menu Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu ______________________________________________________ |
The NYC Movie Guru
themovieguru101@yahoo.com
Privacy Policy