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While speaking at the San Sebastián Film Festival, where they are presenting “Bucking Fastard,” renowned German director Werner Herzog and the film’s star Orlando Bloom spoke about a threesome scene between the “Pirates
of the Caribbean” actor and Rooney and Kate Mara, who lead Herzog’s latest as two deeply intertwined sisters.
Asked about the scene, Bloom said there is “such simplicity to the characters and [their] carnal desires, but also an innocence to the sisters,” adding: “My character, the Bucking Fastard, is sensitive too. And he’s quite quickly out of his depth in some ways. It was a very sincere sort of moment that was created.”
“There are moments when a director has to step back,” Herzog jumped in to say. “In the love scene, I said to Orlando: ‘You are in bed, and you have two women in your arms. How you deal with it, I cannot give instructions.’ It is beautiful because it has such charm and depth.”
Despite having world-premiered “Bucking Fastard” less than two weeks ago, prolific director Werner Herzog — who is also a recipient of this year’s Donostia Awards at San Sebastián — is only days away from wrapping his next project. “Three days, and I’ll have my next film finished,” he said. “On Monday, I am back to work.”
Herzog did not go into further details about the next project, but one could speculate he is referring to “The Twilight World,” an animated adaptation of his eponymous book that tells the story of a Japanese intelligence officer who defended a small Filipino island for 29 years after the end of World War II. The director also noted he is currently writing two books and continues to work on scripts for future projects.
The director also spoke about the dangers of the rise of AI and new technologies. “We have to defend our souls against encroachment from outside,” he said. “This is why I would be very clear with very young people around their cellphones all the time. Do not live a life that is dictated by algorithms to keep your attention. Why don’t you dig a hole in the ground? Why don’t you build a little house on a tree? The moment the world starts to occupy our souls, you have to be very vigilant. Now with AI, it’s coming big time at us.”
Herzog’s name was intertwined in debates around artificial intelligence given the release of Piotr Winiewicz’s “About a Hero,” an experimental film that saw the Polish director feed Herzog’s sprawling body of work into an AI bot and then shoot the resulting script. The film also created an AI-generated version of Herzog’s characteristic voice. The German director recently called the film “phenomenally, abysmally stupid.”
Back to “Bucking Fastard,” the director cut off a journalist who referred to the film’s long gestation as an “obsession.” “I do not like the word obsession,” he said firmly. “Do you see an obsessed man here? I’m totally relaxed. If you have an obsessive director, actors will run away, producers will run away. You have to run away from yourself if you’re obsessive, and I’m not, period.”
“I have many a good story in me,” he added when speaking about what keeps him going as a filmmaker. Offering a metaphor of stories as burglars invading his house, the director said he usually tackles the intruder that poses the most serious threat. “Whatever comes with real vehemence at me, that’s what I’m dealing with. And I’m never afraid, whatever it might be.”
Herzog gushed about Bloom. The actor plays the titular character in a way: a charming sweet talker who becomes romantically involved with the Maras’ Holbrooke sisters. The director noted how Bloom “left behind what he is famous for: the heartthrob for the teenies.”
“You have to step into a new arena, play different parts,” he recalled telling the actor once they met. To emphasize this breakthrough, Herzog asked Bloom to grow a beard and make his character more “manly.” “It had to be distinct, a new terrain. It is a very interesting transition, and I will keep an eye on what [Bloom is] doing in the future.”
“When I look at Orlando’s career, he’s famous everywhere in the world, but a part of how he’s now navigating what is coming at him, I have the feeling that time is on his side, so wait for what’s coming,” he continued. “I am very, very curious. There will be beautiful stuff coming from him. I am totally convinced.”
Bloom was also praiseful, calling working with Herzog a “bucket list item.” “What I love about ‘Bucking Fastard’ is that it refuses to judge its characters and offer any kind of easy answers. That is something that Werner focused on. It was wonderful to work with Kate and Rooney; I’ve been a long admirer of both of them. We had a lot of fun in Dublin. It was a great experience and certainly a bucket-list opportunity to work with someone like Werner and such a phenomenal cast.”
