The Future is an indie drama from writer-director Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know). When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves. It will be screening at the 2011 New Zealand International Film Festival and we asked Miranda July (also the lead actress) a few questions about it…
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FLICKS: Hello from Flicks. What should people expect from The Future?
JULY: A talking cat, a shirt that moves by itself and some heartbreak.
FLICKS: What’s your favourite line of dialogue from the film and why?
Well, you’re asking the writer, so this is kind of rough. There is a scene where a man asks a woman if he would like it if he watched her all the time and she says “Well, if it was really all the time, then I wouldn’t have to do anything, ever. I wouldn’t have to try.” That to me is the uncomfortable heart of the movie, that fantasy of being totally passive – which is maybe only a fantasy that a very hard-working, independent woman would have, and be ashamed to have.
FLICKS: Thinking back on the shoot, what is your fondest memory from the set?
Any day when we weren’t behind. It was a 21 day shoot. I’m not sure I had time to feel fond.
FLICKS: What was the last great film you saw?
I saw the new Greek movie Attenberg [also screening at this year’s Festival] and loved it.
FLICKS: If you could work with any filmmaker or actor/actress living or dead, who would it be?
I would work with Knut Hamsun. He was a writer, not a filmmaker or actor so I would have to convince him he could do it first.
FLICKS: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Film is the art of omission” is always helpful when editing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0pE4W3HZ_8
