Childhood, humor and fear have always been the three great viatics of Robert Zemeckis' cinema.
From the
Back to the Future
trilogy
,
Who Wants Roger Rabbit?
or
Forrest Gump
, who won him six Oscars in 1995, the 68-year-old American director continues to instill these three ingredients by varying the proportions.
This is probably why, when Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro asked him to adapt the classic children's tale by Roald Dahl
Sacred Witches
, he couldn't resist.
The opportunity to tackle the funny, creaking and moving story of a young orphan, who in 1967 in the heart of deep Alabama, will cross the road of witches as seductive as they are formidable, in a sumptuous seaside resort.
Pandemic obliges, the film with Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci is released on VOD and DVD / Blu-ray.
LE FIGARO.
- Why were you drawn to Roald Dahl's novel
Sacred Witches
?
Robert ZEMECKIS.
-
In fact, I believe that my sensitivity has always been in tune with that of the works of Roald Dahl,
James and the big peach
, through
Charlie and the chocolate factory
or
Le Bon Gros Géant
.
I felt connected to what he wrote, the somewhat subversive nature of his novels.
I liked the way he was able, at the heart of his stories for children, to mix more adult themes ...
What convinced you to dive into the adaptation of this particular book?
I felt that in these difficult times, I could revisit the story of
Sacred Witches
by refreshing this sarcastic fairy tale in my own way.
Read also:
Relatives of writer Roald Dahl apologize for his anti-Semitic statements
That is to say?
Well, for example, the original novel is set in Britain in the 1980s. I wanted to take it a step further and set the plot in late 1960s Alabama just out of the box. the segregation.
The Deep South inspires me.
I shot some great
Forrest Gump
sequences there
with Tom Hanks.
I thought the Deep South of the United States was very suitable for this kind of story, since it has a strong tradition related to the supernatural, to the presence of voodoo, and all the things reminiscent of witchcraft.
One idea along with another, I also thought to myself that it would be wise to set the plot of the film at a time when segregation is not yet a distant memory.
I especially wanted to immerse myself in a time when there would be no security cameras, smartphones or social networks ... And then this series of decisions made the film resonate strongly with what is happening in the United States, racism, unequal politics, injustice ... The novel connects two worlds by adding a touch of magic that seemed perfect to me.
You said Roald Dahl's books were a bit subversive.
Are you also as a director?
Yes of course!
I am a subversive filmmaker deep inside me.
This is why I am particularly attracted by these humorous texts which do not hesitate to play with the fears of the reader, while adding a nice touch of black humor.
And so, if Donald Trump is going to see my film, he might not like that kind of humor at all.
As for me, I never understood his sense of humor…
(Laughs)
.
Read also:
Roald Dahl wanted the hero of
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to
be black
The witches you stage are not treated in the classic way at all.
How did you come to imagine their appearance so special?
Indeed, I did not want my witches to conform to tradition, and that they all appear bristling with spikes, with hooked fingers, pointed hats and noses sharp as knives.
I wanted something different, more unique.
I needed witches with some sort of Hitchcock glamor.
Since the movie is set in the 1960s, I decided I was going to dress them as if they were coming out of
Cold Sweat
,
Psychosis,
or
The Hand in the Collar
.
I imagined my witches as if they looked like Kim Novak or Grace Kelly.
In short, I wanted to film ladies so elegant that they bewitch us and of whom we are not suspicious enough!
Hitchcock heroines have always made me think of witches ...
I imagined my witches as if they looked like Kim Novak or Grace Kelly.
Hitchcock heroines have always made me think of witches ...
Robert zemeckis
From
Back to the Future
via
Who wants Roger Rabbit's skin?
or
Le Pôle Express
, your family films always contain an adjusted dose of frightening sequences.
Why do you like to make children shiver?
It's always a matter of balance.
But remember that children like to be afraid.
They love to scare each other.
Rather, it is the parents who are trying to protect them from being too scared.
Taming his fear is a very important stage in the development of the child in his life.
Me, for example, I remember films that scared me as a child.
Now, I know that everyone is different, and that we must respect the different sensitivity thresholds of children.
Some are frightened by the cinema screen.
While others are not afraid of anything.
To read also:
Robert Zemeckis: "I have always been free to vary genres and forms"
Which movies scared you the most when you were a kid?
Night of All Mysteries
, by William Castle, released in 1959. It was a horror film starring Vincent Price that was shot in a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Otherwise, I remember my parents taking me to see
Psychosis
, by Alfred Hitchcock, when I was little.
Ah, and also
The Blob,
by Irvin Yeaworth!
Were you afraid of witches when you were little?
No, the witches who flew around the characters, mounted on their brooms, always made me laugh!
The one that scared me the most was perhaps the witch queen from
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
, a Disney movie that particularly frightened me.
This witch marked me so much, undoubtedly because she underwent striking physical transformations, that I staged her in
Who wants the skin of Roger Rabbit ?.
She makes an appearance in a humorous shot, when Snow White helps her enter a shop selling apples!