Brian De Palma says he'll never make a studio film again
The Septuagenarian blames 2000 sci-fi flop Mission to Mars
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Your support makes all the difference.American filmmaker Brian De Palma released his first film in and has since gone ot release over a period.
He's made a mixture of films deemed modern classics (Obsession, Carrie, Scarface) and others that weren't as warmly received (The Bonfire of the Vanities, Mission to Mars) but through it all has remained a prevalent tentpole for any cineaste.
In a new interview with IndieWire, De Palma - now 75 - has revealed why he probably won't make another studio film again.
The director made the comments after reflecting on a particular tough shoot for 2000 film Mission to Mars.
Speaking in promotion for new documentary De Palma - co-directed by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow - he went on to discuss the HBO project he planned to make with Al Pacino about Joe Paterno, the former college football star who later found himself embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal.
"We couldn’t get it set up as a movie and it was finally set up at HBO. But I’ve never seen such studio interference. I mean, I would get stacks of notes, over and over again, from multiple sources. It’s changed. They want to be included on everything.
"I remember throwing executives out of the room during a reading for Bonfire of the Vanities... I had the same thing with the Paterno project. I said, 'This is the first time Al has heard this material. I can’t have executives sitting here.' They were offended beyond belief — sulking, tense. I finally walked away from it.
De Palma - who also directed Blow Out, Casualties of War and The Untouchables - cited Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Lobster and the Tom Hanks-starring A Hologram for the King as recent films he has enjoyed.
Speaking about his own career, De Palma said: "My movies seem to get better with repeated viewings. There’s a lot going on in my movies - and a lot of movie history in my movies. So they’ll be writing about them for quite a while.
"How many books have been written about Hitchcock? Now they can write books about De Palma and Hitchcock. That could go on for another couple of decades."
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