Secrets
by Pat Frickey
Berlinale Jury President Tom Tykwer charmed his already adulating audience for ninety minutes in an interview headlining the Berlinale Talents section dubbed “Secrets”. Interviewer Peter Cowie, a renowned British film historian and author of more than thirty books on film, adroitly let Tykwer paint a casual almost self-ironic portrait of himself while deftly elaborating on his uniquely collaborative skill in making films. Tykwer boasted that his success lies in socially integrating all the artists. He especially likes to work on films as part of a threesome, and more than once explained if there is any disagreement all is easily settled with a 2 to 1 vote.
Tykwer traced his modest beginnings as a simple film projectionist in Berlin having been turned down by all the film schools he’d ever applied for. He and theater manager Stefan Arndt used to stay up all night watching films and putting them in one of three categories: Zombie, Bambi, or Gandhi. Once they started making films together everything changed. Tykwer reveled in telling his tales of one bankruptcy and one near bankruptcy only to be bailed out by their first successful film Run Lola Run.
Other Interesting Secrets:
He admitted when being asked about why he had used animation in Run Lola Run, he wasn’t sure if he actually knew why anymore (after being interviewed so many times) or just was repeating the standard answer he always gives (to try everything).
He advised, when beginning as a young filmmaker: make movies based on your own life, things which would embarrass you in front of your parents. Also provide a lot of good food on set especially on a low budget film.
The masterful score from American Beauty is often used as temporary film music and will make even the most mediocre scene look spectacular. Once this music is removed during editing composers scramble to produce something similar with mixed results. Therefore he likes to compose his own music beforehand to create an atmosphere in his head before shooting.
His Harvey Weinstein story starts in the Presidential Suite of a hotel in Toronto with Harvey berating him and Arndt for signing up with Miramax’s rival Sony Pictures. Things turn ugly. Explaining they had seen The Godfather and knew the next step, he and Arndt abruptly leave the suite protesting their family honor has been insulted. Padding footsteps of Harvey follow them as they walk down the hall; Harvey decides to play nice after all and offers to let him direct a future film. Months later Tykwer and Arndt accept the offer to make the film Heaven for Miramax after (Twyker scoffs), turning down Highlander 4.
He lectures don’t make compromises or you won’t have a movie of your own. That is the lesson he had learned from turning down Harvey’s Highlander 4. (Editor’s note, that is easy for him to say.)
He is presently writing the third season of the TV series Babylon Berlin and realizes a series is an obsession, a tunnel thing. How do Americans keep these series going? His conclusion is that it’s a nightmare, it’s hell to have to write so many episodes, year after year. Next time he will demand a two year interval as he has a lovely wife and wants to spend time with her. He doesn’t want to be eaten alive by the schedule.
