The director discusses working with Christian Bale and their most recent reunion at the Oscars.
has found love online.
“I love it,” says directorTodd Haynesto EW about his mini meme moment.
Christian Bale finding a moment of representation in ‘Velvet Goldmine’.Miramax
“It’s so weird, such an out-of-body thing, when movies take on a life like that.
Then you’d get the soundtrack, and you’d play it all the time.
I really thinkVelvet Goldmine has become that for a lot of people.
Todd Haynes and Toni Collette, left, on the set of ‘Velvet Goldmine’.Miramax/Everett
And that couldn’t mean more to me that just makes me so happy.”
“It unlocks illicit feelings.”
As for the scene itself, Haynes remembers hearing about the real-life anecdote from an artist friend.
Too juicy to pass up, it went right into his original screenplay.
“I think we’ve all felt versions of that.
What’s interesting is the way pride is so interwoven with feelings of shame.
it’s possible for you to’t have pride without understanding shame.”
Haynes calls the actor exceptional.
“He entered into Arthur without being Method-y in a narcissistic or indulgent way,” Haynes says.
“He wasn’t that.
That character came directly out of this time, when the fan was given a special role to play.
And Christian was our way into that.
He represented us, and he represented me, and he represented you.
Christian was just so lovely.”
Haynes describes theVelvet Goldmineshoot as a tough one.
“We had a very ambitious movie with a low budget, and it was hard.
It was a grueling production.
So that was evident every day.
There were just always 10 more crises to handle.”
They’ve been in touch on and off over the years, leaving the door open.
One recent encounter at the 2016 Academy Awards sounds legendary, the way Haynes tells it.
“And she’s like, ‘Yes, always being gracious is really important.'”
Haynes took the wisdom to heart, especially when Blanchett called him with a special opportunity.
“She invited me as her guest to the Oscars,” Haynes says.
“So we sat in the front row.
I sat in between Cate and Leo [DiCaprio], in the front row.
But just down the row was Christian, on one side.
And just down the row on the other side, wasJulianne Moore.
I felt like I had my whole history of partners in the first row of the Oscars.
It was pretty sweet.”
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