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The Velvet Goldmine director defends himself
by Ian Harrison
from Select magazine, Oct 1998

Ian Harrison: What is Velvet Goldmine about?

Todd Haynes: I tried to look at how glam rock itself functioned and do a similar thing within a narrative context with the themes and questions that characterized the early period of the '70s. There was a specific American thing going on with experimental rock like Iggy Pop and The Stooges and the Velvets, and a particularly British sensibility that comes out of the music hall tradition that played with gender and camp.

IH: Were you a fan of glam rock when it was happening?

TH: I was aware of glam vaguely when I was young and it was happening, but it wasn't a big deal in the US. It was more a kind of college radio phenomenon. America was still into that singer-songwriter stuff, like Carole King and Jackson Browne and Neil Young, and I totally idolized that world. Glam was a real slap in the face of those ideas.

IH: How has Velvet Goldmine been received so far?

TH: What I've seen is a real strong reaction on both sides. It's already won an award for Artistic Excellence [sic] or something at Cannes. It was created for this film. Scorsese told me that the film inspired him to make films again. All my films have divided audiences intensely. The most interesting films that have ever been made have always done this.

IH: There are quite a few holes in the narrative, where it doesn't make sense.

TH: You've gotta give up on reality when you watch this film. You can't be too stuck on real history, because that misses the point. Glam rock wasn't about that. You can't be too precious about the truth of glam rock.

IH: So if you're looking for a narrative, you're missing the point?

TH: I would like to see it compared to 2001 and A Clockwork Orange where, no, you weren't interested in the plot, the plot was just a way to get you somewhere else, to show you things, to take you somewhere else and open up your mind in the way drugs were used at that time. Kind of like the film version of a concept album.

IH: People have been mentioning Absolute Beginners.

TH: I think Absolute Beginners went out on a limb in lots of ways, and for many people it didn't work, but any film that tries new things you've got to give credit to, even if it doesn't work for you. I wasn't expecting that exact reaction to Velvet Goldmine, but people want to feel solid about things and I guess maybe this film doesn't offer that.

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