Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1062452
46 DGA QUARTERLY PHOTO: EVERETT Q: So how did Amores Perros come about? A: We wrote the pilot for a TV series in '95. And that was the first time I was directing something more than two, three minutes. I was very rigorous with myself. And then I decided to start working in film. And [I was introduced to] Guillermo Arriaga. So we both started working on the script to make my first film. Q: So you'd already done quite a bit of hands- on training before your first feature. A: My first film I directed when I was 36 years old, which is considered very old now. But honestly, I arrived with a lot of hours on the set, like a pilot on the plane—I had flown 10,000 hours, more than most of the film directors in Mexico. I arrived at the right time. Q: Were you prepared for the rapturous reviews? A: To be very honest, I was caught off-guard. Not only because I didn't expect it, but at the same time I was living in Mexico. I was not reading reviews or going to festivals. The globalization was not like it is today, where every kid has the access. I knew the film had been very well received, but I didn't have any frame of reference, until the second film that I made (21 Grams). Q: You've never really experienced the conflict between art and commerce that faces some directors. A: No, I have been lucky in that I have been able to work on my own material and things that spoke to me at the time [with] sup- port. And I don't take that lightly. I'm very, humbly thankful about that, because I have [heard] terrible stories of filmmaker friends of mine, for years, who had suffered enor- mously by being treated like shit or being torn apart by horrendous stories of power and stupidity, Guillermo del Toro [among them]. I was lucky to always have worked with people who supported my vision. And I have never been asked to do anything that I didn't want to do. I have to say that if a film of mine is shit, it's my fault. It's my shit. Q: That period between your first and second film, was that around the time you moved here? A: Yeah, after Amores Perros, Mexico became a very, very [dangerous place]—there was a rise in kidnappings. It was a very tough time to be there. I had two kids who were young. I became kind of a public figure and a kind of easy target because I refused to be with bodyguards or live in a gated commu- nity. So I felt a little uncomfortable. And at the same time, I felt that it's good to have a chance to challenge myself and do some- thing else that will take me out of my com- fortable ranchito and try something new. Q: And 21 Grams also had something to do with that? A: Because the story involved a religious fanatic—the character of Benicio Del Toro— I thought that the way the character related with God was so childish, so primitive that I thought it [aligned] very much with some of these religious institutions that are in the American South. And I thought, "Well, this can be a very interesting way to portray that religiousness in our neighbor country." And then I wanted to work with Sean (Penn). And we came and lived here, and I was devel- oping the script almost two years. Q: After moving to L.A., did joining the DGA help you establish a sense of community here? Did it help you acclimate to the industry? A: Yes, I have always I felt the DGA was very generous. That it was very diverse. I never felt like coming here was tough. Honestly, the kids not speaking English was difficult. And Los Angeles is especially different from any part of the world, and so different from Mex- ico. So it took me some time to really get used to. I was a little bit in a kind of depression. And the script was very tough, dealing with tough subject matter. But I found the DGA was very inclusive and there were people from all over the world. And then, obviously, to be accepted—it made me feel, at least profes- sionally, very welcome. Accepted. Included. Yeah, I really appreciate that. Always. Q: Were there certain directors you reached out to for advice? A: I became friends with Michael Mann, for example. He was one of the directors whom I really I started getting close to, yeah. Q: Back to the God thing: it's one aspect that stands out in your work, especially in the first four movies—the question of whether God exists. And if he does exist, it's the God of Job—a cruel, testing God. Can you talk about these metaphysical conflicts in the stories you tell? A: I have been always very, very aware, I would say, of God's presence since I was a kid. Since I was very young, my mother was very religious, Catholic. She is still alive. My father passed away four years ago. He was Catholic, but he never really practiced. But Iñárritu, on location in Alberta, Canada, for The Revenant, with lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his DP, Emmanuel Lubezki. All three would earn Oscars for their work on the film, and Iñárritu would earn his second consecutive DGA Feature Film Award.