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(Full disclosure: I wrote the program notes for the series.)
How did you shape your character?I didnt really shape the character.
I tried to play myself … let me go back a little bit.
I didnt feel like being an actor.
But he spent the entire day at my house.
And then he said the magic words, that the entire film would be improvised.
That word in particular,improvised,rang a bell.
That interested me, so I thought,Yes, I could do something improvised.
Still, this character he has no name in the movie had to be somewhat similar to my own.
I have also written an essay on cinema and dreams.
That all being said, I was not interested in being an actor.
I also dont feel like what I did was acting I played myself.
What you see in the film is me telling my story.
Something that belongs to you.
I want you to think of something about yourself and bring that to me.
In this way, the actor enters more deeply into the film.
Those scenes came out as they were written.
I like that kind of British humor; its a very refined sort of humor.
I want the humor in my movies to be like that, kind of classy.
Not the kind of humor that is about a funny line or quip here and there.
You co-wroteSuspiriawith Daria Nicolodi.
We went to Germany, Switzerland, France, and Belgium, looking for historic examples.
We also tried to meet with witches or people who claimed to be witches.
So in my opinion, witches dont really exist.
We saw a little of that during our journey before makingSuspiria.
So its interesting to hear you say that you dont believe in witchcraft.
She told me that she understood nothing about the movie.
What does this mean?
And what does that mean?
I dont get it.
Why didnt you explain this better?
You know, Id hoped that the audience would come up with their own explanations, I told her.
Thats the secret of the film.
Thats the kind of alchemy that a film should have, andInfernos a very alchemical film.
It was a big success in England and France, though.
We threw the cats first at Daria and then at her body double.
Thats a very violent and a very shocking scene …
I didnt realize it was gonna be quite so hard to make.
You got great results from another very particular animal performer inPhenomena: Tanga the chimpanzee.
I dont know if you know this, but chimpanzees are incredibly strong.
The chimp would grab her arm and Jennifer would scream and become very agitated.
The chimp also became a little agitated, but I was lucky.
The chimp looked at me very seriously.
She made up for her good behavior the next day.
We were shooting a scene near a forest and the chimp escaped.
She was missing in action for three days.
We had to call in the forest rangers to find her.
So when Anna realizes how disturbed she is, she first cuts her hair.
Its initially rather long, but she cuts it really short, just like a boy.
Then later on, Anna becomes a blonde by putting on a blonde wig.
Magherini gave us some Freudian insights into scenes like that, as well as Annas behavior.
We also watched many films about the subject.
There was a lot less work to do with Zhangs character.
So it was very easy to work with Zhang.
Over the course ofDark Glasses, Pastorelli and Zhangs characters develop a mother/son-like bond.
She would photograph famous actresses, but also normal women women of the street, you might say.
My mother would also prepare the lighting for highlight certain features of her models faces or their bodies.
So for years, I was inspired by her in a way that I didnt at first realize.
And in the majority of my films, the main characters are either women or girls.
Ive worked with her on six different films.
My mother has been one of my films greatest inspirations.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
