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DIRECTOR'S CHAIR www.postmagazine.com 12 POST JULY 2016 then to combine all that with horror would be shocking and very interesting. So I wanted to make a sexy, funny, beautiful, violent, melodramatic horror film. "The other idea I had was, I think there is a 16-year-old girl in every man and mak- ing The Neon Demon was my opportunity to explore this side of myself. It's easy. You look in the mirror and fantasize about all the things you can't do as a man. So I imagined myself as a young girl, moving to Los Angeles for the first time in an attempt to make it big. You know, in fairy tales, men are defined by their strength and women by their beauty. It's a very archetypal idea." Any surprises working with a largely female cast for the first time? "No surprises, although the makeup trailer was a lot more fun than usual. Everyone was very professional, and while some of my crew, like the DP, were also women, it's no different from working with men. But I do find photographing women much more satisfying." So how come it's taken you so long to work with women? (Laughs) "Sometimes you wait a little lon- ger for the best stuff, and I must say that Elle was amazing — like this unique com- bination of a cutting-edge actress and an old-fashioned silent movie star. She made the whole film work." How tough was the shoot and did you shoot chronologically as usual? "I did, and it absolutely helped, because you're all there sharing this experience as it happens, and it solidifies the fact that filmmaking is all about an experience. I'm never tempted to shoot in the 'normal' accepted way, all out of sequence. What's so great about that and being 'normal'? We shot very quickly, for seven weeks in LA, on a very tight budget, as I shoot very inexpensive movies so I can retain my free- dom. So we had to make a lot of creative decisions very fast and with very little ma- terial, but that's part of the fun — turning your weaknesses into your strengths." Do you like post? "I love post and editorial, because it's so calm after the stress of the shoot. Shooting is always struggling for time, fighting for time, fighting with time, fight- ing for more time that you can't get. It's this constant battle, and post is like a big relief after that. And now you can do so many things editorially." This was edited by Matthew Newman who's cut several of your films. Tell us about that relationship? "We first worked together on the British TV movie Agatha Christie's Marple, which was a great experience, and then he cut Bronson. He's become my key collabora- tor since then and is very instrumental in helping me shape and make my films. And we work together from the very start of a project, when we talk basic structure. He's with me all the way, and he doesn't just edit my films. He's in on the script writing, in for pre-production, then we meet in the evenings on the shoot and look at the dailies and discuss that. Then he does the fine cut and he also supervises large parts of the post production process, including the visual effects, and then he's in for the final mix, and then the grading. That's another key role, as he can explain to the colorists what I like, as I'm color-blind and I rely on him to communicate what I want. He knows me very well, and that I like a lot of color and a lot of contrast." Where did you post? "We began cutting it in LA while I shot, and he stayed in the pool house of the house I rented in LA. On Bronson, he stayed in a hotel room next to mine to edit. On Valhalla Rising, he lived in Copenhagen near my house. When we did Drive, I ed- ited it in my house, so he stayed with me, and on Only God Forgives, he was next door in the hotel. So it's a very close work- ing relationship, and then we fine-cut it in Copenhagen, and we also did all the post work and visual effects there, as well as all the mixing, which we did at Mainstream, which is owned by the sound editor." VFX often play a big role in your films. Do you like working with them? "To a point. I like them but it's sometimes very tedious when you're waiting on shots to be finished. At the same time, I love the possibilities of what you can do with them, and our VFX supervisor, Peter Hjorth, did a great job. We started with 100 shots and then ended up with over 300, because that's the beauty of tech- nology. As you work in post, you realize all the things you can do and then just add stuff — and we did artificial flares, changed colors on pavements, that sort of thing. And that's why I love post so much, you can keep working on the images and add and change stuff as you go. You can do so much more, thanks to the digital revolution." Sound and music always have starring roles in your films. Talk about their importance to you. "Music is my most important tool, and it's all about the subconscious and hidden emotions, while dialogue deals with the logical needs of the characters. Talking is my least favorite part of filmmaking. It's not that I don't love dialogue — it's more that sound and music can take you to places that you can only fantasize about. That's why they're such powerful tools, and we did all the music and sound at Mainstream. And like with the editor, I like to work with the composer right from the start. So, even before I shoot, Cliff [Martinez, who previously composed the scores for Drive and Only God Forgives] and I talk about how we will use music and what kind of music. And he came up with this great, quite minimal synthesizer score, which worked really well with some of the songs we also used, like 'Waving Goodbye' by Sia with Diplo. I think the combination was very effective." What are the biggest changes you've seen in post since you started in the '90s? "The real big one is the digital revolution, and I'm so happy I've been able to experience it. We shot this digitally on Alexa XTs and I love the look. I love film, but for me digital is the way to go. And it matches my style. I think over the past two decades, I've become more confident about what I want to do."