Celebrated filmmaker Neil Jordan's latest project is "The Good Thief", a winning combination of casino heist film and intimate personal drama. It's also a remake - of sorts - of Jean-Pierre Melville's celebrated 1955 film "Bob le Flambeur".
What was it about "Bob le Flambeur" that appealed to you?
It's a lovely film. It's a French version of an American film. The original story was quite small but, as I began to write, it was the character of Bob that came through. Here's this guy who's constantly reinventing himself and always telling stories. He's hooked on heroin but trying to give it up, hooked on gambling but trying to give that up. Once I'd got the character, that's what drove me. The whole thing became interesting. In the end it became less of a movie about a robbery and more about someone trying to find an intellectual challenge that would force him to change.
The story starts in a very dark place and then goes to the light. That was part of the attraction for me - starting with this man who was kind of half-formed and leading him to elegance.
How important was Nick Nolte in completing your vision of the film?
Very important. I wasn't going to do it if I didn't find the right person. And I thought Nick could really make something of the character. But I didn't have anyone in mind when I wrote it. It's the sort of thing a studio would have wanted Bruce Willis to play!
The film was made independently. Does that give you more freedom?
There was no compromise in this at all. That's the good thing about making a film independently. The bad thing is you have no money or a distributor! So it's taken a while to find its feet but now it has, I hope it'll do well. It's what I want it to be and the performances are very real and true.
Although it's set in the French city of Nice, it's an international story...
It could have been set in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Tijuana, or even one of those Indian gambling places. But the original is European, a European version of American reality. I went to Nice and thought it would be a really good opportunity to make a movie that wasn't one of these European movies with German actors and Jeremy Irons! I just thought it would be good to see some really ballsy actors who you don't often get to see in commercial cinema.
As a movie fan, was it exciting to shoot at Studios de la Victorine?
A studio is a studio... just because "Les Enfants du Paradis" was shot there! You don't go to Shepperton and think, Ah, this is where they shot Bond 2, 3, 4 and 5! Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely studio, but I'm not a romantic in that sense. Working in a studio is like working in a shed. I had a nice office, though.
