Ethan Hawke is urging you to demand offensive art from moviemakers in a world with a tense political landscape.
At the Berlin Film Festival Tuesday, Hawke was joined by co-stars Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott and director Richard Linklater for a press conference on their new film, Blue Moon.
When asked about making offensive art in Hollywood at a time when a “spark” is needed in the darkness, Hawke effectively said that bosses are too driven by money.
“Audiences have to care — [otherwise] they don’t sell, you guys,” the star began. “The community has to make it important for offensive art to have a place in our conversation. It has to be cared about. And when we prioritize money at all costs, what we get is generic material that appeals to the most amount of people, and we’re told that’s the best.”
He continued: “If you love offensive art and you want it, then demand it, and you’ll get it, it’ll get made. Right now, people don’t think they’ll make any money off of it, so it doesn’t get made,” he finished, prompting applause from the room of international journalists.
Linklater’s latest film centers around the final days of Lorenz Hart (Hawk), half of the songwriting team Rodgers & Hart and set around Sardi’s Restaurant on March 31, 1943, on the opening night of Oklahoma!
Linklater added: “Offensive times conjure up offensive art. But arts, I mean, movies particularly, have always been escapism. So I don’t know. I think most human psyches want to escape a little bit. And there’s probably less offensive art now than there has been in the past.”
When pushed about compromising in any part of the filmmaking process for the sake of that commodity, Linklater responded: “I don’t think I’ve compromised much at all over the years. It’s a low-budget film — we do whatever we want… You hear the horror stories and the film industry can be an interesting collision between art and commerce. But I’ve largely been spared that over all these years.”
Qualley said she has turned a lot to Linklater and Hawke’s team-ups (such as the Before trilogy) over the years. “When I was like 16 or 17, trying to figure out who I was, I turned a lot to Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke movies as a part of figuring that out. So for me, it was very surreal to have the opportunity to work with them, having grown up on their films and their collaboration.” She laughed: “To prepare for this, I just did what they told me to.”
Hawke said in response to Qualley’s praise: “I was so impressed that she was so committed and I hope that it speaks for that younger people are attacking their work. It was really exciting for me.”
Elsewhere, Scott said he felt like his role was mostly to support Hawke’s performance. “It was really easy for me to just establish a relationship with Ethan so quickly, and just to watch this incredible transformation.”
Linklater’s Blue Moon will premiere Tuesday night at the Berlin Film Festival, running Feb. 13-23. His 12-year project Boyhood won the Silver Bear at the 2014 Berlinale.
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