http://www.afc.at/jart/prj3/afc/main.jart?rel=de&reserve-mode=active&content-id=1164272180506&pos=5&tid=1423041085468&artikel_id=1423041084936
I haven't tried to re-translate it into proper English but I think it's (almost) understandable.
I just hope it all fits in the page.
Interview: Karin Schiefer
February 2015
INTERVIEW BILLIONAIRE, THE MAKING OF
The journey from Rome to Los Angeles is a fully painted and signed America. Over the rotation of BILLIONAIRE, a road movie between film and painting, a car ride from Rome to LA over 18 studio canvases.
Here we are in a huge painting studio. A quick look at the making clear that the rotation of BILLIONAIRE a huge preparation phase is headed.
Edgar Honetschläger: Yes, it was clear that each canvas that would serve as a background on set rolling, a size of 16 x 4 meters - so 64m2 needs, I had to rent a larger studio to cope with the can. In the period of three years, 18 pictures were taken. Six months it took me alone to develop a primer for canvas, which can be run as the Japanese ink with which I have worked, as if working on paper. Japanese ink is generally used only on handmade paper. At first I toyed with the idea of working on paper, it soon became clear that it does not tear would be enough for later use. You have to imagine alone what it means, a 64m2 canvas on the brake is applied. It was then primed on the ground, inlaid with water and then I painted. The painting was done in different layers. The advantage of Japanese ink is that it is indelible. After each painting process I had to wait a few days until the canvas was dry to begin with the next layer can. On some pictures, I worked about two and a half months and when the screens were done, I started with the drawings for the sets. BILLIONAIRE is primarily a twisted road movie that the studio Actors go to get out. The places where they get - Liquor Store, motel and gas station - are drawings - some 8 x 4 meters. Almost everything had to be life-size. The Liquor Store in New York, for example, consists of fifty drawings, all of which were attached with magnets and made sense. America became a world made of paper and canvas by. Basically, it's a megalomaniac madness. The first ideas for this film in 2001. Until the movie comes out, I will have spent fifteen years with this project. Crazy.
How do you get from a 64m2 big picture that is on the ground, an overall view?
Edgar Honetschläger: That was a huge problem. I am always risen to a ladder, to give me some idea. You can not take photos in a piece of such a large image on the ground. We mounted on the ceiling of a camera, each image was photographed in seven parts and assembled on the computer. Then I could see the results of my work. Some pictures I saw only two and a half years after its completion. What really made me happy was that of the eighteen works, I'd say more than half done. Japanese ink painting works as prima pittura. When you do something wrong, you can throw away's. Since there is no repair. This has pretty much given me these huge faces fear, if both the cost and whether the effort. Often I lacked the self-confidence. The doubts and concerns that I could do something that is wrong and no longer make up was great.
As the images were then attached to the movies?
Edgar Honetschläger: The 64m2 large images for the Rolling background strips then ran in a loop on a specially constructed machine there and formed the background of the film image - family houses, oil fields, city, clouds, cactus, a tree on the hill, the reconciliation in the drawn world forms, industrial landscape, mountains, Chinese landscape, stars - hundreds of stars that I have all painted by hand. The machine on which the canvas that was moving in a circle, was attached was 8 x 4 meters. During the shoot we had three stages, between which we commuted so that everything could go out in the short rotation period. If the car is about to be shaken and light and wind effects are created, produced by the moving screen behind it the impression of a moving car. But if the car stops in front of a liquor store, then it needed a 1: 1 drawing of the house. This required a drawing that was a total of perhaps even greater than 64 m2. It was clear from the beginning that it would make no sense to make a single large drawing because you had to plan for possible variations for the light. We therefore recorded individual elements - the door, the sign, the window lattice. For a scene in a diner, I needed a mirror and did not connect with glass paper. Elisabeth Vogetseder from the art department suggested with drawn tiles to place two walls in a row, cut a piece in the front and a double which confronted the actor and co-moving mirror, so the idea of the mirror could be shown. The drawings needed a foundation that had to be put in the right shape to fit the drawing reference. So each scene required a custom solution and has an uncanny logistical madness generated.
The date from which the project team work began to be?
Edgar Honetschläger: In late spring 2014, the artistic works were finished in May / June began teamwork. Igor Orovac made the production line, Roland Zumbühl assistant and Moshe Kvitelashvili took over the manager. Conrad Reinhard and Elisabeth Vogetseder have in common with the company revamped 'made the logistics behind it and then built everything. You have printed in advance my paintings and drawings in scale and assembled into sets model. Using these models, we were able to determine in advance how we, for example, photometric approach to the matter. For the old car, which plays a major role in the film, we had a miniature version, with which we were able to design a choreography, which has been slightly modified in detail on the set.
Has the story of BILLIONAIRE developed over such a long period of time?
Edgar Honetschläger: She always adapted to the circumstances, the story has remained constant: Who makes the images that has the power "- told through a journey from Rome to Hollywood. The characters always stood firm. There were probably fifty versions of the screenplay. The image work went off when the story was clear. I am not one of those artists who go into the studio and paint something to himself. I need a specific topic. About the story I analyzed what I need. In some cases, I had to rewrite the story, because it was clear that some things can not be in this kind of movie world realize. From the outset it was clear to me that I wanted to create a film that is really a narrative that is easy to grasp, despite all possible theories and especially the people amused. My wish is that people have laughed a lot when they go out of the theater.
How do you get the claims media criticism and comedy to a common denominator?
Edgar Honetschläger: That will prove to the finished product. I think that's part of the tradition of filmmaking that hides the policy under a comforting surface. That would certainly be my wish. I am convinced that people will soon topple into this world. I have taken this time extremely long time for casting, and for the supporting roles. I wanted that for any element in the project, I had the impression to make a compromise in terms of quality. Philipp Spall, who plays the devil comes from England, who plays Lydia is the Frenchwoman Pauline Acquart and Yukika Kudo plays the Japanese Princess of grass. The Cardinals - three famous old comedian from Italy - to play in the truest sense of the word "supporting roles". I named it "The Marx Brothers of Faith": But it is to look funny. For the many very small roles I've found performers from all over Europe.
Where the Studio rotation went on the stage?
Edgar Honetschläger. We rented a 3000 m2 hall in Wiener Neudorf and worked there on three stages simultaneously. Therefore, the film also has two DPs and two gaffer. It was not easy, because everyone in the double structure had its own philosophy. The two cameramen were Piergiorgio Bottos, a 67-year-old Canadian who lives in Italy and Daniel Hollerweger, an Austrian early 30s who understood very well, even if they are completely received differently on the matter. As a gaffer, I had the second best gawkers, the Japan has to offer, who has made the light at Aun and who experienced only out of love for the project. As a second gaffer I had Dominik Danner, the last for Gustav Deutsch Shirley - Visions of Reality has made the light and is an artistic film in Austria certainly the best. Also, since both were age- and perceptive moderately different. All four together, that the bottom line for the film comes out the optimal result was a challenge. The basic idea was that I discovered in all of these people something that I felt intuitively, that it would make for certain fields of film cover. It was interesting that in view of the magnitude of the task in two departments, the desire was there to work alone. We shot in Vienna, Rome and Los Angeles, the Japanese lighting could not speak English, so I had to translate on the set besides still, because of BILLIONAIRE have been people from 34 different nations work for which there was no common language. Consequently, they could turn to each other because they all speak the language of the film.
What tells BILLIONAIRE?
Edgar Honetschläger: The film has a 7-day structure as the Genesis. The first day of playing in the real Rome, the last in real Los Angeles. The journey from Rome to Los Angeles is a fully painted and signed America. America is a large, spacious land, a picture. How do I set it is without a theater feeling arises? That was my biggest concern. However, I believe that it has been through a very intelligent art department and a very clever camera work, not to slip into the theater. Rome is the place to meet the protagonists of the Catholic Church a deal with the devil comes in, to make that power find that wants to snatch her power over the images. Lets you have the devil to find the evil and destroy them. At the same time the devil signs a deal with the young girl from the dream of the 20th century. dreams: they want to be famous. She meets him without knowing it, the devil, who promises her that he could lead them readily in the celebrity. However, it costs a price: it must renounce for love. These give up, she is very quick to. Sex is also sufficient. It is the example that she wants what defines us, the Company achieved - namely fame and attention. They want to be loved by all men and forgets to love about yourself. At the same time it is about a factor of tourism - the shinoistische Japanese woman on the monotheistic principles of Christianity knows a lot, the basic principles of our thinking as romantic love or good and evil tries to understand and serve the young girl as a saving anchor. But in the end they also forfeit our Western ideas of the world.
How can the principle: 'Who makes the images has the power’, to explain' briefly closer?
Edgar Honetschläger: If I then say so fast - "Who makes the pictures, has the power", then that is based on the often left aside thoughts that Christianity is the only monotheistic religion that has chosen the image to the main carrier of its persuasiveness , In Judaism and in Islam there is a prohibition of images. In Buddhism, there are pictures, but they are not the primary place of attraction. Christianity has always worked with pictures and I am completely convinced that we are still "the world pause" because we have such a great power over the images. Rome is evident as the scene of image production due to the Vatican City and Los Angeles, the second location outside the studio, in the last hundred years was the place of the default image originated the largest manipulation. For Europeans, yes shape this dream, this is less severe than for someone who has grown up in a culture that has nothing to do with our perception of the world. Who does not grow in Christian parts of the world may have no idea of romantic love, for it is an invention of the West. By a Hollywood film, you will suddenly confronted with this concept that a probably very irritated, but also creates a desire. It causes one to desire things that do not really belong to the own culture and thus one falls this philosophy. At the same time it is in BILLIONAIRE also about how bad this dream. But the beautiful illusion of love makes us very unhappy. The principle of "fame" ultimately runs down to is that those who are famous, are not happy and those who are not famous and would like to be, nor are happy. Who is this concept really happy? This is a great theme that runs through the film. The second is the central perspective. What does the desire to go on a two-dimensional background into the deep? This question goes back to the Renaissance painting to Masaccio. And it goes back to the day, when we ourselves in the new media strive and especially where the film as a medium continues this desire for virtual reality. On what we'd like to crawl into the canvas / screen.
From reality to illusion and from her back to reality - so you can define the principle of the film?
Edgar Honetschläger: There are mainly towards the end break places where I put the open. Each film is pure manipulation. It is always thought to reach a certain goal, even with the so-called honesty. At some points I put the open carefully, but so that it does not disturb the flow of the story, but that is probably mild smile about it.
What are the last days of shooting now run in Hollywood?
Edgar Honetschläger: Five days of shooting are manageable. But Hollywood is the last twelve minutes of the film, with these images you will be released from the film, ie, this section had to pay special attention. I brought the centerpiece of the crew and compiled to a young American team. I enjoyed the pragmatism of the Americans. Little heart, no sentimentality, but no interference to the concept, so everything under the title: "Let's get the job done". But again, it has been possible to dream. Because in Hollywood part of the film is about the Wizard of Oz Here fulfilled all -. Because the film quotes tirelessly film history. But could not care less if you do not know it.
In view of the extensive pre-production an equally intense post-production be expected?
Edgar Honetschläger: Hopefully not. It must not be re-drawn and painted for years, yes. 60 minutes of the film were shot in a studio. In addition to the dialogues on the soundtrack is not available yet. There is a setting of a animated film the same. It will be a lot of work and there are still many questions that are not answered: How will it sound if one of the leading actresses go through a papery forest? I do not yet own. The images will need to find a congenial sound designer. A wonderful musician, I have already found. Now I need good people for the sound design to produce the sounds. It needs someone who can deal well with film and art at the same time and in the best case is self Musicians. More than fifty percent of this film played out on the soundtrack. Since there is a big job to us. Sometimes I think I'm crazy. Initially I had rented this studio here for three months. I seriously thought that I could make everything in such a short time and then it took three and a half years of continuous work. I would like to make the film quickly finished, but I'm afraid there is still some work to do. I have a feeling that the time will be well chosen for the release of the film in any case. The project did not materialize for many years, because just problems in the financing. Now I think BILLIONAIRE could hit a nerve. The confrontation between the United States and China is becoming more evident. In southern China, all times are currently the largest film studios built. Has realized that, with the power of images to gain influence over the economic and military out into the world. It is always ultimately about what happens in the mind.
The large time complexity is certainly not conceivable without appropriate financial outlay.
Edgar Honetschläger: without the exchange of works of art, the project would not have been possible. A motto was: Images from power. For an enormous number I met a swap agreement of different people, who have worked on the film or contributed to the film and "paid" with works of art. Otherwise, we would have the film can not quite believe it. With the funding alone, it would never be assumed. The film had two and a half million Euros needed. He is far more expensive than similar films. To bring art of mine used was a way to get a green branch.
Interestingly, again creating a cinematic dialogue with the visual arts by Gustav German also very long and elaborate project.
Edgar Honetschläger: After I rumkoche to BILLIONAIRE for almost 15 years and I am very grateful Gustav because it was created by Shirley a precedent that it has made me a little easier in the argument. Gustav comes from experimental film. I have my first feature film Milk made in 1997. We have a very different approach. Gustav has reflected on Edward Hopper and has chosen as the starting material existing works by Hopper, while I start with the presumption, to create a world with my own art. I was very pedantic with the drawings. Of course, I would also be free to order everything from professional film artists, we would have thrown away after shooting everything. Now take the pictures my handwriting and will also be on display. I will set no 1: 1 transfer into the exhibition space, the cinema is quite different requirements than a museum, but I would like to present completely different there. There shall be no documentation, but the pictures are created for the film can be in the context of art in itself. In BILLIONAIRE everything is the same and it goes to the roots of cinema. The screen that moves, is itself cinema. It's just a squad that keeps coming back. All have tried to convince me that we should work with Green Screen and Back Projections. That did not interest me everything. I wanted an image moves, so to speak, as a film within a film.
, and Paris looks down on us 
. And I seem to forget all of the questions I had while thinking of her lack of interviews. But I will think about it.
I am neutral towards her work, as I have not seen Twilight (nor do I want to 
