Only a few days prior to being released worldwide, A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING, director Tom Tykwer’s second collaboration with Tom Hanks after 2012’s CLOUD ATLAS just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden has called the adaptation of Dave Egger’s novel of the same name about a depressed businessman whose last hope is to sell a futuristic technology to a Saudi king “an affecting fusion of midlife crisis and globalization blues”. In a recent interview with German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung, Tykwer extensively talked about his approach to filmmaking, the other Tom -- and his upcoming (TV) project:
SZ: Mr. Tykwer, for many people, your job is an abstract profession. What exactly does a film director do?
Tom Tykwer: I ask myself this question quite often, too, because later when the words “A film by Tom Tykwer” are on the movie poster, that’s always a little short of the mark. Actually all a director does is say how they imagine something should be and then discusses these wishes with their closest colleagues, for example the cinematographer or the production designer. The director himself can actually not do anything really well.
That’s something of an understatement, now.
You laugh, but it’s really true. As the director, you stand there and ask, ‘Shouldn’t this be like this?’ And one of your artistic partners then says, ‘Maybe more like this.’ And you reply, ‘Yeah, okay, you’re right.’ The finished movie consists of the ideas of many people, not just mine. I’m actually just the central membrane. That’s why as a director you can do a little of everything, but nothing really well.
You have been creating films for two and a half decades and are now beginning filming for your major TV series Babylon Berlin. Does one become more relaxed over the years or have you always been completely charged up?
I’m always excited. It’s just a pretty crazy profession with lots of roller coaster rides. You burn an insane amount of energy within a short period of time and use so much creative force on one single thing. It’s very strenuous and demands a lot of stamina, but it’s also addictive. When you’re shooting a film, it’s as if you’re in a manic loop; it’s simultaneously terrible and great.
What’s terrible about shooting?
You naturally ask yourself occasionally why you should run yourself ragged for one single thing. But this work tunnel that you disappear into and in which a huge counter current often develops is just part of the work. You simply have to struggle through it all and it’s often like running a marathon. That’s probably the best comparison: a marathon is anguish, but has extremely strong euphoric aspects to it. Anyone who’s ever run a marathon can’t wait to run the next one.
You shot a few episodes of the series Sense8 for Netflix. How is that work different compared to a feature film?
Directors who want to reveal their own signature style naturally work differently than directors who need to fit into a concept, which is common for US television series. The series is influenced primarily by what they call the show runner, who is usually the head writer and producer. The directors come on the set, make sure their scene is filmed reasonably well and fits into the previous episodes. They focus on working with the actors. So, it’s completely different work than for the cinema.
Let’s talk about your new feature film, A Hologram for the King based on the novel by Dave Eggers. The main character, who is played by Tom Hanks, is an exasperated sales rep who needs to sell the Saudi king hologram technology. His character is about your age; does that make it easier for you to put yourself in his shoes?
No.
The reason you have access to a character can be based on so many other aspects than their phase of life. I also felt close to a character like Grenouille in Perfume who lived in the 18th century and was far younger than I was when it was shot. But both Perfume and Hologram are about the forlornness of an individual and this expresses a truth that we all understand, regardless of how old we are.
Because we are all lonely?
Because we all carry forlornness inside us and yearn to be saved from an existential loneliness that is always boiling up. It’s a subject that interests us all.
After Cloud Atlas, this is the second time you’ve worked with one of the greatest film stars of our time, Tom Hanks.
Hanks is a gift because he is already 59 but is still a playful, ever more curious actor. He wants to try new things. Ever since Cloud Atlas, both of us hoped we’d find something else we could collaborate on and then this novel arrived. I thought to myself,
this book is simply crying out on every page: Tom Hanks! It would have been a crime to let anyone else play the role.
And now you’re working on yet another book adaptation. With your colleagues from X-Filme you’ll be adapting the bestseller series Babylon Berlin, which is set in 1920s Berlin, as an opulent German television series for ARD and Sky.
That’s right, but we are presently so deep in the preparations and have
dived so deeply into this world that we sometimes almost forget the original, because when you’re adapting, something new is created. I’d say a material is only suitable for adaptation if you can constructively emancipate yourself from it.
How did you discover this project?
I wanted to do something set in 1920s Berlin and the novels by Volker Kutscher were a fit occasion. And
TV series are the most interesting new form for filmmakers right now. It’s fair to say that they mark a turning point in storytelling. This kind of storytelling is completely new and is really unique.
You don’t have to carry this mammoth project with its almost crazy budget – by German standards – of almost 40 million euros on your own.
Do you sleep better at night because of that?
For me, it’s always about a horizontal way of working, because it’s simply more fun to work together with others. Of course, you still have to try to filter out a singular voice in such a project. At least that’s my theory.
by David Steinitz © Süddeutsche Zeitung GmbH, Munich. Abridged; courtesy of Süddeutsche Zeitung Content. Full article in German.
