Julian Schnabel on Art, Movies and Dante

Acclaimed director and visual artist Julian Schnabel paid a visit to the Austin Film Society Cinema to screen his newest work, In the Hand of Dante.

The film, based on a novel by Nick Tosches, comes out on Netflix this summer. Schnabel was in town to receive an accolade at the Texas Film Awards, so the timing was perfect.

Schnabel participated in a post-screening Q&A. He had a lot to say. Presented here are some highlights.

On the genesis of the film and casting Oscar Isaac as the lead…

“Johnny Depp was in a film that I made some years ago called Before Night Falls. And Johnny had five books, and he said, ‘Well, why don’t we make, let’s make another movie, and why don’t you pick one of these books?’ And I picked the most complicated, impossible book, and I said, ‘This is the movie that I want to make.’ I knew Oscar Isaac, and he read the script about seven years ago, and he said to me, ‘If he doesn’t do this, I’m your man. If you want to do this, just call me, and I’m there.’ When I realized that Johnny wasn’t gonna do it, I thought, well, okay Oscar, let’s do it.”

On protecting art from commercial interference…

“I felt like I had a responsibility to, not only Louise [Kugelberg, co-writer] and to Nick, but to myself, also. As a painter, nobody comes in and tells you they’re gonna, take your work away. All you have, like they say in The Crucible, all you have is your name. So, if I couldn’t put my name on this thing, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you. This is the movie that I wanted to make, and we fought to keep it intact.”

On Dante Alighieri and the complications of love…

“I think it took Dante 700 years to figure out he was with the right woman. And his fascination with Beatrice was his fascination with his projection of what love was, and his description of it. So he was in love with his work; he wasn’t really in love with her. But his wife had to live with that, and his children.”

On the controversial “Fuck you, God” line…

“Franco Nero, who is Italian, said, ‘You know, I don’t know if you want to have this guy say Fuck you God in Italy. This is a Christian country, it’s a Catholic country, and I don’t know how big that’s gonna go over over there.’ But, I mean, I think God has kind of let us down. I think he’s, if you look at what’s happening in the world… where is God? What’s he, off duty? Taking a nap? So, I don’t have a problem saying that, or him saying that.”

On John Cassavetes and his use of profanity…

“But I can tell you that John Cassavetes never used the word ‘fuck’ in a movie. And he made some very tough movies. But he would use the word freak, this or that, whatever. He never, and I know that because I never paid attention to that, but Ben Gazzara was my friend, and he told me that.

On Martin Scorsese’s performance…

“I think everybody’s really great in the film. I’ve never seen Gerard Butler do that before. Marty took out his teeth to do that part. He really did, and I think everybody committed to doing something that has to do with trust. I guess maybe they felt like I wouldn’t let them fall through the cracks, and they didn’t let me down.”

On “becoming the poem” and Lou Reed’s passing…

“I mean, when he says, um, ‘You’ve lifted the veil on the inexpressible, you’ve entered the sigh, you’ve become the poem,’ I think that’s what every artist intends to do, or hopes for, with their work. I was with Lou [Reed] right before he died. And I had been working on this movie for such a long time, I told Lou, I said, ‘You’ve lifted the veil on the inexpressible, you’ve entered the sigh, you’ve become the poem.’ I think he was pleased with that. I think he felt like he was going out in that, with that, and that meant something to him.”