Animal Kingdom is something of a phenomenon in Australian cinema. After winning big at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the word of mouth was intense. Many critics were blown away by it in the months leading up to its release, but the most significant reaction was that of Australian audiences: they, too, have been flocking to it. The box office takings have been extraordinary, and the film had to expand onto more screens in its second week, a rarity even for Hollywood movies.
Last year, I visited the set of the film for the industry magazine Inside Film, interviewing writer/director David Michôd, producer Liz Watts, and star Guy Pearce. That full report can be found in the May issue of Inside Film.
The interview with Guy Pearce took place in mid-March of this year, long before Animal Kingdom was released. He was in LA, and we conducted the interview by phone. He was both very talkative and very generous with his time, and I ended up with far, far more material than was needed for the IF piece. The relevant parties have kindly granted permission for the remainder of the interview to be published here at Onya.
What are you up to in LA at the moment?
I’m actually kind-of in-between work. I just finished a film with Nicolas Cage [The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, directed by Roger Donaldson] in New Orleans and I start something in New York in a few weeks, so I’m really just hovering here, you know, taking advantage of being in LA. Doing the usual thing of having meetings and trying to find work, really. Nothing too exciting.
Recently, you seem to be doing a lot of cameos that have gone on to great success. Is this by design or coincidence?
By design that they go on to acclaim, or by design that they’re small roles?
The second one.
Well, you know, I’m not really sure what it is. I’m certainly not avoiding taking on leading roles in things. But really, the leading roles that I’m being offered at the moment aren’t necessarily things I’m interested in. Or they’re things that I’m interested in, but they haven’t necessarily got their money yet. So I’m sort-of waiting for them to come together, and in the meantime some interesting smaller parts have arisen. I enjoy doing it, but to be honest, it’s a little harder to fully absorb into the world of the film when you’re only on it for three days or three weeks. So I wouldn’t want to do it forever, to be honest! I’m sure it ends up as one of those things where I might switch back and forth from more of a leading role in something to more of a supporting role in something else. So, on Animal Kingdom, for example, I was really impressed with David Michôd and the rest of the cast they pulled together, and then with Hurt Locker, for example, Kathryn Bigelow… you know, I’d been a friend and a fan of hers for many years. It was an interesting thing to go off and do it. But yes, it’s been an unusual couple of years!
What are the key differences between working with someone on their first feature film, as opposed to someone like Kathryn Bigelow who has quite a few under her belt?
Well, it sort-of depends on the person that they are. I mean, I’ve worked with first-time directors who feel incredibly accomplished in their skills, and I’ve worked with experienced directors who seemed not necessarily in charge of what they’re doing. It really does come down to the personality of the person and the general ability they have to communicate and be honest, or whether they’re caught up in their own ego stuff. Everybody’s different. I suppose as a general observation, the first timer – this is not the case for David Michôd, ’cos he felt very accomplished – but the first timer is reliant on the other people around him to sometimes articulate what it is he wants. He might be able to articulate it to the actors or to the camera team, but then it might take the camera team to send that information out to everybody else. Whereas someone like David or someone like Christopher Nolan when we did Memento… Chris had made a film before himself, so he officially wasn’t a first-timer, but he still was new in his career. But his knowledge of the camera and his knowledge of human psychology was just really impressive. You just felt very confident in his world. I’ve worked with first-timers before, as I say, and they kind-of say, “Well, I know what I’m feeling, and what I want to get in what I’m feeling”, and then it sort-of takes everybody else to translate that and break down what they’re after. I haven’t seen the finished film [of Animal Kingdom]; I didn’t get to go to Sundance so I haven’t seen it completed, but I saw a rough cut and was very impressed with the tone of it, with the feel of it. And then I got reports back from not just members of the cast and crew in Sundance, but people that I know who went to see the film and just went “Wow, this is really impressive!”. So, I imagine it’s only improved on the rough cut that I saw.
I’ve seen the final cut, and can assure you it’s pretty amazing.
Oh, good. James [Frecheville] was relatively new to the process as well, and he was the central focus of the film. Obviously he needed to be, he and David really needed to make sure they understood each other very well. James did a beautiful job, great performance and great observation by David.
In David’s previous life, he was a film journalist. Did you ever deal with him back then?
Not that I can recall! I don’t think… he was at IF Magazine, wasn’t he?
Yep.
No, I don’t think we actually did anything together. But I had heard of him, I don’t think it was Crossbow, I think it was another short film at a festival somewhere, so I was always vaguely aware of him. Have you interviewed David?
Yeah, I interviewed him on set last year.
Okay, right. I find him a delightful guy. Really lovely, communicative, shy. Really great to work with.
When I was there last year, one thing that struck me was it was the complete opposite of a film set. It was calm, it was quiet, it was very relaxed. The crew members I spoke to said this had come down to you, that you have a very quiet, polite manner about you between takes…
Me?
Yeah.
Oh… well, I was only there for two weeks, so I reckon they might have established something else before I came along! (laughs)
Well, they said it was all very energetic beforehand, and you came on and everyone just sort-of chilled out, it was a very nice mood.
It’s always funny to understand what effect – if you have an effect – on a group of people. And obviously Ben [Mendelsohn]… Ben and I didn’t have much to do with each other [in the film]. I don’t know if you saw Ben on set, but he’s very fun and boisterous, he’s got a great energy about him. I find unless I’m playing a very boisterous character, I’m not very good at being boisterous on set. It’s too much of a leap to go back into character. So I’ll often quietly disappear into a corner somewhere and try not to attract any attention. So, maybe that reverberated somehow amongst the crew.
[Producer] Liz Watts said that when you came on board the film, that pretty much locked in the financing. Do you feel that responsibility when you’re considering a project at this level, that your yes or no may decide its fate?
I’m sure it is feasible that if they get me for the film it may happen, and if they don’t, then it may not happen – but I know I’m not the only actor who’s going to be able to help them out with money. I kind-of just go, “If it’s not right for me, I just can’t do it”. I hope they get to make the film, and if they can’t do it with me, I’m sure they’ll find somebody else who will be able to help them with financing, so I’m aware of it, but I don’t let it infiltrate my thought process. I don’t want it to affect my decision making.
There have been endless debates about what’s wrong with the Australian film industry, and what it should be doing. Lately, it’s sort-of felt like the tide has been turning a bit, with films like Balibo and Samson & Delilah and Animal Kingdom. Do you have a take on this, on the industry as a whole?
Look, I really don’t. I always get nervous when this topic is brought up, because I feel like I should be able to articulate more what’s really going on, but I do tend to live in my own little bubble in a way. And as much as I’m sure a lot of people in the hierarchy of the Australian film industry might turn their noses up at me for being like that, I get a bit lost in the – and I know you’re not just talking about the politics – but I get a bit lost in the politics of things. I find that it’s ever-changing, so one minute you’ve got three great scripts that get made, and then the next those three scripts wouldn’t have got made, and I don’t quite understand why money went to some and not to others. People always talk about the swinging tide of the Australian film industry, and what it must be, and I’ve never really understood what it is that causes it to be positive or negative.
One year, for example, you look and you go “Well, there was Muriel’s Wedding and Priscilla”, and they both did well overseas, so does that mean suddenly that the Australian film industry is looking good? Or does that actually not count? So, to be honest, I’m probably just as confused about it as just about anybody else. I’ve tried to give it thought before, but I really don’t… I’m not very good at that. I’m really not. I’m quite selfish about my part in the industry! Obviously, I want the industry to flourish and do well, and I think there are so many great stories that can be told in Australia, and it’s such a shame that… Look, I probably do have a bit of a theory, actually. I think that Australian audiences are afraid to take on Australian films. I think that there is a natural insecurity within the Australian voice and that voice is expressed through art that is created, and that voice is expressed I think via the Australians that choose to listen to it. I think that voice can suffer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not just blaming the public for not taking on Australian movies, but given the opportunity to watch big, splashy American stuff, or an Australian film, I think Australian people are looking for escapism even more than Americans are. And if Americans are looking for escapism, they know they can get it in Hollywood, in their back yard, whereas if Australians are looking for escapism, they’ve also got to look to Hollywood or Europe or wherever, so I think that has an effect on the Australian film industry itself.
Having said that, I’m obviously aware that if a film does well at an international film festival, then all of a sudden everyone in Australia goes “Yeah, Priscilla!” or “Yeah, Animal Kingdom!”. I just don’t think we’re very good at being the first ones to push ourselves forward. And there’s a part of me that likes that about Australia, we’re not a big, heavy country. We’re not an egotistical country. But I think that actually then has an effect on how we promote our artistic ventures. So, I think that has something to do with the industry, but that’s the only theory I can voice. And I don’t know if that’s all of it, I’m sure there’s a lot more to it than just that.
A lot of people generally want to know the differences between filming in America and filming in Australia. I was wondering if there were any differences between an Australian production filming in Australia, such as Animal Kingdom, and an American production filming in Australia, such as Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. How different are those experiences, given they both filmed in Melbourne?
Well, on some level there’s no difference. When you’re on set and you’re working on an intimate situation between the director and the DP and a couple of actors, there’s no difference really. So that was an odd one to compare! If you ask me the difference between Animal Kingdom and Time Machine, or Animal Kingdom and Bedtime Stories, which are two hundred million dollar Disney and Sony and Warner Bros productions, that feels completely different.
What films influenced you when you were growing up?
I’m not sure what influenced me. I watched a real variety of stuff growing up, from The Elephant Man to Friday the 13th. Obviously, whenever I’d wag from school, I’d watch whatever movies were on TV during the day, so you’d find there’s be like an old Bette Davis film or a Jerry Lewis film or, you know, some cowboy movie from the 70s. So I think I was just really fascinated by all facets of storytelling within filmmaking. And consequently, the work that I do is relatively varied. Apart from my four years on Neighbours, my four years on Snowy River! (laughs) But I have a real variety of interests, I think, in film. There aren’t many films that I wouldn’t be interested in doing. I’m just fascinated in emotional stuff and the psychological connection between people, and whether that’s set in the future in outer space, or back in the 1700s, or a contemporary piece, whether they’re rich or poor, or if they’re in cold climates or hot climates, all that stuff adds to it, but ultimately it’s all about people. So, I’m not really sure, they all probably influenced me. I mean, my favourite film of all time, which I saw when I was twelve in 1980 was The Elephant Man, the David Lynch film. And that really resonated, there’s something so incredibly unforgiving about that film. It’s just… I can’t even really describe it, the effect that it has. I would say that if it had an influence, it was a sub-conscious one, but I’m certainly aware that it’s one of my favourite films.
I can certainly relate; it was a David Lynch film that pretty much changed my life when I was a teenager.
Which one? Blue Velvet?
Actually, it was Lost Highway.
Oh, right, okay! (laughs) Yeah, that’s pretty gross.
Yeah, I’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t know you could do that in movies. I just couldn’t sleep for three days!
He says “Hang on a second, I’m going to break the mould, and we’re going to do it like this now” , and you just go (sharp intake of breath) “Fuck!”. I thought there was something safe about going to the movies!
You’ve got a lot of creative outlets beyond acting. Will writing and/or directing be one of them in the future?
Look, I’m not sure. I always think about it. I have ideas and I write them down, but I don’t know if I’d be capable of directing a film, to be honest. I haven’t really done it, so I’d have to make a short film and see what I learned in that experience, because the more I work, I feel like the less I know on some level. And I’m yet to find a story that I want to commit to for years and years and years and put the thing together and direct it. So, I’m not sure if I ever will get to that point or not. I would be really interested and fascinated to direct a movie, but I’m really aware obviously – and this is not the reason why I shouldn’t do it – but I’m aware of the mistakes that I would make. I think the translation between what you want to make and what ends up on the screen is really a giant leap. And for a lot of people it’s quite a surprise. I’ve worked with a lot of first time directors, and obviously they’re the ones who experience it the most, ’cos it’s their first time. You talk to them about their second film, and they say “Now I know what I’m doing!”. (laughs) I’m sure I’d experience the same thing. So, I don’t know. I gravitate towards writing songs, I suppose, not that I do anything with them, but I really enjoy that. It’s very personal. That’s what I tend to do in-between. Maybe one day I’ll record a bunch of them, I don’t really know. I guess at the moment, the industry’s taken a bit of a hit in the last two years. I feel I’ve got to work a lot harder at finding the work. So I’m concentrating on making sure that the work rolls in, and that the roles don’t get smaller and smaller and smaller and so on.
Animal Kingdom is currently on release around Australia. The Onya review can be read here. My own review, published on Ain’t It Cool News, can be read here.
