Lee on Scorsese, Moore on Jonze, Cronenberg on Kaufman

by Eric Melin on December 3, 2008

in Blogs

martin scorsese 2008 b/wThanks to Scene-Stealers contributor Tony Sams for these links. Interview magazine has a history of really cool interviews, and new to their website are three artist-interviewing-artist interviews that are pretty great. You get to hear Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese talk about the differences in growing up Italian-American and African-American in New York City, and I love how conversational the tone is.

Also featured is director David Cronenberg (“A History of Violence,” “The Fly”), who certainly has his own fetishes, interviewing screenwriter and first-time director Charlie Kaufman (“Synecdoche, New York,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) about maintaining his personal vision. Then there’s the question-off challenge made by Sonic Youth guitarist/vocalist Thurston Moore to his old friend, director Spike Jonze (“Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation”) that features this exchange:

TM: Do you fall in love fast and deep, or do you exact caution and willpower?
[The crowd applauds again. The judges make some notes.]

SJ: What man would you be cool making out with?
[A man seated in the back of the crowd gets up to leave.]

TM: Have you ever had the shit kicked out of you?
[The crowd cheers, apparently liking this one. Audience members seem to be starting to side with Moore.]

SJ: [quickly interrupting the applause] When you first had sex, were you happy or confused or both or what?
[The crowd likes this one too. Jonze is breathing quickly but is slightly relieved that he landed a good one.]

Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of Scene-Stealers.com, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and contributor for The Pitch. He’s former President of the KCFCC, and drummer for The Dead Girls, Ultimate Fakebook, and Truck Stop Love . He is also the 2013 Air Guitar World Champion Mean Melin, ranked 4th best of all-time. Eric goes to 11. Follow him at:

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