The Machinist Q&A with Director Brad Anderson

Angelika Film Center New York Friday 29th October 2004

Q: What inspired you to make The Machinist?

A: Reading Scott Kosar’s Script. I read the script, which was a spec script, and thought it was really beautiful, spooky and character driven. Also that I hadn’t written it myself, this would be the first time I had directed something I hadn’t written. It was interesting and moody. It is always the script that launches the film; the script was also what captured Christian (Bale). His enthusiasm for the project inspired the financial funding for the project. It was shot and financed in Spain; US producers were just not interested due to the darkness of the story.

Q: Did all the funding come from Spain? And was it independent or government money?

A: It was a Barcelona company called Filmax. They were interested in spreading in new directions, trying for a broader crossover appeal with the US.

Q: I thought it was about a man trying to hide his guilt and it taking over his life, what about you?

A: It is the story of a man pursued by a guilty conscience and who doesn’t wake up to this fact until the end of the film. Bale was drawn to the fact that this is a man who is haunted and is slowly waking up to what he did.

Q: What are your impressions of how you are evolving as a filmmaker?

A: Into a beetle! (Lots of laughing) I just do subjects that interest me. I’ve done romantic comedy (Into Wonderland) and horror (Session 9) but have no plan, career wise, to be regarded as a romcom or horror director. I want to make bigger studio films; this was very Indy, but not wanting to do something just for the money though. I liked directing ‘The Machinist’, not being my script meant I was at a distance, filming from another person’s viewpoint.

Q: How did you get Jennifer Jason Leigh involved?

A: We asked! Of course asking her to be a prostitute is not unusual (laughs all round) at least this time she was a hooker with a heart! She wanted to work with Christian (Bale). It was a problem though as the Spanish people wanted more Spanish actors involved.

Q: Who was the bald actor? I thought he was very good. Also loved the choice of soundtrack.

A: He is John Sherion, a London based American actor. He was not what we were looking for for Ivan. Scott’s original script said that he wanted someone who was a near double for Trevor, and this is what we were looking for during the auditions for Ivan. Casting brought in Sherion, they said I know he doesn’t look right and isn’t suited for this particular part at all but I thought you might like to look at him anyway. His whole audition for Ivan was a complete accident! It made us rethink the look of Ivan completely. We decided that it would be interesting if, as Trevor shrank, becoming like bag of bones, that his conscious self grew becoming bigger, more fleshed out. The music was inspired by Bernard (Vertigo, Spellbound) and was done as a throwback; we wanted an old fashioned, timeless feel to it. The Theremin adds a spookiness to it; when was the last time you heard a Theremin in a film? We were going to have a dark industrial score originally.

Q: How did Christian lose the weight? How much did he lose?

A: Bale lost 63lbs basically by not eating. He knew 2-3 months beforehand that he would have to lose some weight. He did not expect to become a walking skeleton, only to lose a little weight. He was often tired, euphoric and in an almost Zen like state due to his weight loss. He had very little energy at times.

Q: Were there any similarities with Dostoyefsky’s Crime and Punishment? Trevor was reading The Idiot at one stage was this intentional?

A: There is a Dostoyefsky vibe. Scott was reading Crime and Punishment and it (The Machinist) has that East European vibe to it even though it is set in LA. Also I’ve studied Russian.

Q: Were the last scenes filmed first or last?

A: The last scenes were filmed 2½ months later, after Christian had gained extra weight back. In fact he was a bit flabby knowing he would need to have something to tone up for the Batman role. Originally we hadn’t planned to do that. We filmed the scenes with Trevor as he was, skeleton like. After viewing it we immediately knew it was wrong. You had no sense of the guilt and suffering Trevor had been through during the year. By seeing the change in him you saw what his conscience was doing to him.

Q: How long after the accident is it set?

A: A year. As Trevor says he hasn’t slept for a year.

Q: The Location is indiscernible; the only stand out feature is the big white monolith. Was this intentional?

A: In Barcelona there are a number of these large water towers around. We wanted it to look American but also indiscernible as to where. We wanted a very generic looking city. We had to search out places to film that looked industrial and could have been America. You’ll notice a complete lack of places like McDonalds and Starbucks, places that are on nearly every corner in most American cities.

Q: What did it cost to make?

A: 4 million euros, and you’ll have to convert that into dollars yourself if you want to know how much that is!

For a review of The Machinist click here...