Nicolas Winding Refn Talks Only God Forgives, Barbarella And Logan's Run

Nicolas Winding Refn, the director and writer of such films as the Pusher trilogy, Bronson, Valhalla Eising, Driver and his latest film Only God Forgives, gave an interview to collider, where he talked about Only God Forgives, the Barbarella tv show, which he wishes to do and the failed remake of Logan’s Run.

“Collider:  How did this movie come about for you?

NICOLAS WINDING REFN:  The idea of the movie was many different things.  I don’t have one thing that sets me in motion.  I would probably say that the first thing that started the whole flow of images for the film was the sense of holding your arm and realizing that it was an extension of your erection, and that it’s a violent mechanism.  And then, [you turn it] and it’s total submission.  There is a movie, in that movement. 

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Have people reacted to this film differently than you expected, especially having seen Drive?

REFN:  I don’t have any expectations.  People want the same thing, but it’s the one thing they must not get because then nothing has changed.  It’s like when Lou Reed did the album Transformer, which is one of the greatest rock albums of all time.  His next album was an LP of guitar distortions.  For me, it’s an evolution of my own creative obsession.  And it’s a way to free myself from what people want and expect. 

Above and beyond good or bad reviews of your movies, is it most important that people just talk about them?

REFN:  You can’t define this film as good or bad because it’s insignificant.  It’s more about the experience.  The conversations are an example of success because then you know whatever you’ve done has resonated.  The line between love and hate is so fine.  They’re very much the same thing.  Don’t forget that Drive was very polarizing.  Not everyone loved that movie.  But, they learned to love it, once they thought about it.  It’s the same mechanism that happens with all my movies.

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You’ve had a lot of various projects come your way and you’ve been talked about, in relation to various things.  Do you know what your next project will be?

REFN:  I want to concentrate on my TV show, which is Barbarella.  That’s what I want to do next.

Why Barbarella?

REFN:  I have daughters, so I felt I wanted to do a show that they could see.  I think that television has become really, really interesting, in terms of character development.  You can have 13 hours to develop a character, as opposed to 25 minutes in a movie.  That excites me. 

What was it that ultimately made it too difficult to get the Logan’s Run remake going?

REFN:  It was scheduling problems and commitment problems.  I didn’t feel like I was ready when they needed to go, and I didn’t want to hold anybody up on it.  It was a great experience, developing the movie.  I had a great time, but it just was not the right time.

Because you had a good experience with the development, are you more open to doing a big studio film, at some point?

REFN:  I would like to do a film like that, at one point, for sure.  It’s like a kid in a candy store.  It’s very intoxicating.”

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