Jose here. When I learned I would be talking to Begin Again director John Carney, I had to promise myself that my interview wouldn't just consist of me begging him to reshoot that scene where Greta (Keira Knightley) and Dan (Mark Ruffalo) put on their headphones and walk through NYC, using me and Keira...
...because as magical movie moments go, that one takes the crown this year. You'll be relieved to hear that I did talk to him about other things when we spoke about Begin Again, which is now out on DVD. We even get the last word on which songs will be campaigned for Oscar nominations.
JOSE: Begin Again is actually the only film that I paid to see more than once in movie theaters this year...
JOHN CARNEY: Sorry, can you say that once more, I didn’t hear you.
JOSE: Yeah sure, I was just saying your movie is the only one I bought tickets to more…
JOHN CARNEY: [Laughs] That’s fantastic and I was joking, I heard you the first time, but wanted to hear you say it again.
I really meant it. The last time I went, I had literally just been dumped by someone, so in trying to make myself feel better, going to see Begin Again seemed like the only option.
I’m sorry, but I’m glad you went again, that’s very sweet!
Keira Knightley and John Carney
This mostly made me wonder if you intended to make the film as the equivalent of “listening to your favorite record” when you’re feeling blue for example?
Oh that’s interesting and it’s funny you say that. Mostly I think that musical films are more like albums in the way that they make sense anywhere, you don’t necessarily have to follow the plot each time to just tune into that bit you love, like an album. [More...]
Which is unlike most films where you have to be in the mood and follow the plot when you rewatch it. So I think that you’re right, generally speaking musical films can do that, and with both Begin Again and Once to a degree, I’ve met people who tell me they watch the same scenes over and over again, which is kind of the way I grew up with listening to albums and watching musicals.
Plus you’re also a musician, which I guess might come in handy when you’re editing.
I’ve always wanted to make films that satisfied me as a musician, as much as a filmmaker, so I’m trying to find that balance, which has been an interesting journey. I remember when I started out people said “there’s too much music in your film”, so in order to get rid of that problem I just decided to make films with even more music and fully commit to that.
You’ve said your particular kind of musicals are “stealth musicals” because you don’t need to suspend your disbelief and the music is part of the characters’ lives, but what traditional musicals influenced yours?
Very specific ones, like A Star is Born which is great and also a stealth musical, in how you have to remind yourself that you’re watching a musical. I also love Guys and Dolls, New York, New York, which I watched on repeat a lot for two to three years when I was in my twenties ...Willy Wonka is a great musical too. But I guess Star, Guys and New York were a little bit where Begin Again comes from.
Please do a My Fair Lady remake with Keira.
Oh yeah, I’ll pitch it to her! I’m sure someone’s mentioned the idea to her before too.
Mark Ruffalo could be Professor Higgins!
[Laughs]
Can you elaborate on how you came up with the Russian doll structure of the film? I thought it was interesting how you used cameras and cell phones as portals of sorts to go back and forth in time in the lives of your characters.
I’m glad you thought that, cause it was the one thing that made me nervous and that structure was a challenge, because we were asking the audience to bear with us while we took them places. I like the use of technology in telling a story and using these elements to show the past, especially since we’re always using our phones, tablets and computers. Even a dictaphone is interesting, because you’re listening to yourself in the past. I find that very often different parts of you are in different machines; sometimes I’m looking for a note on my iPad and I remember I actually left it in my computer.
So between this element of editing yourself throughout the day, and that scene with Keira and Mark literally creating a soundtrack to their day as they walk around New York...can we say that in a way Begin Again is also about the process of making films?
Yeah, I think it is. That’s quite observant. The way we live our lives has changed an awful lot in that sense. Growing up I remember it would sometimes take me weeks to find a piece of music I liked, and the availability of music and how we share it nowadays, has changed the way in which we connect to people, so I wanted to look into that. But you’re right about the filmmaking, I hadn’t thought about it too much, so I’ll have to mull that one over…
Once and Begin Again are both incredibly romantic and they have in common the fact that the leads never engage in any kind of sex. Is it because you’re more interested in using artistic creation as a unique kind of romance?
I guess now you can say I am, at the moment I’m interested in that connection involved in falling in love and creating things at the same time. Those things have always been intertwined for me a little bit. I’ve never gone up to someone at a club or at work because they’re pretty, but because they’ve done something that appeals to me and that I think I can understand. My relationships with people always have more to do with what they’re creating, instead of how they look.
Do people ever tell you that you need to make darker, more cynical films? I remember a lot of criticism for both these films came because they were so sweet, and don’t get me wrong, I love that Begin Again feels like a Bing Crosby film for example, but it’s rare to see that sort of innocence in films nowadays.
It’s interesting, I think both films could’ve been darker, but the movie that wants to get made is the movie that gets made. As you’re editing it the film tells you what it wants to be and to force something upon it just to make it darker wouldn’t have been good. It’s a sweet, easygoing film and that’s not to say I don’t often see the darker side of things, I can be quite cynical about some things too, and I’m certainly cynical about certain types of music...but I’m sure I will develop some fangs eventually in my filmmaking [Laughs].
When I realized that Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals had written a lot of the music in the film, I couldn’t help but see parallels between him and Keira’s character (who incidentally reminded me of Carole King), in how they were all songwriters first, who became pop stars.
I think in the film Greta is more of a writer than a performer and she even says that. I was more interested in the idea of a singer/songwriter who was more interested in writing the songs than performing them. I love great singers and I think being a great performer is a great thing, but when you get those together is when the real magic happens. But Greta is definitely not that, she’s a writer and that’s what the film is about I think.
Do you know what songs you’ll be pushing for the Best Original Song Oscar?
We’re pushing for two songs; you know the one where the instruments come to life, “A Step You Can’t Take Back” and then also for “Lost Stars” which you can hear at the end of the movie. What are your favorites?
I’d have to say “Like a Fool” and “Coming Up Roses”.
Oh yeah, Glen’s [Hansard] song is great!
But I love the soundtrack so I could go on forever really.
We’ll have to talk again soon then.
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