Quentin Dupieux on ‘Full Phil’ With Kristen Stewart, Woody Harrelson

Quentin Dupieux‘s “Full Phil” has been described as a “White Lotus”-esque project based on its high concept pitch, starring Woody Harrelson as a wealthy American industrialist attempting to reconnect with his daughter – played by Kristen Stewart — during an opulent trip to Paris. Yet, the prolific French director tells Variety that his movie is “more like ‘Emily in Paris’ in hell — a fever dream, a nightmare version of it.”

A extremely prolific and iconoclastic filmmaker, Dupieux (who describes himself as a “washing machine running non-stop”) says “Full Phil” was sparked by his want to make a movie in English after making 10 films in French. At the start of his filmmaking profession, he had made a few initiatives in the U.S. such as “Rubber,” which lensed in California with a forged including Stephen Spinella. “When you change languages, your brain enters a slightly different zone. It’s very interesting,” Dupieux says in an exclusive interview with Variety on the eve of the EFM.

The surreal black comedy, which Studiocanal will introduce to patrons at the European Film Market in Berlin, also stars Charlotte Le Bon (“White Lotus”), Emma Mackey (“Barbie”), Nassim Lyes (“Under Paris”), Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.

Now in post-production, “Full Phil” shot on location in Paris and marks the first movie co-starring Harrelson and Stewart. They turned out to have the excellent chemistry, Dupieux says, including that “making the Kristen–Woody relationship believable” was key for the film. “Even if my films are often absurd, I always want believable worlds. I wouldn’t have liked it if they didn’t feel like family,” the helmer says. “But they’re great professionals. We never questioned it. He really is her dad, she really is his daughter.”

Yet, “Full Phil” isn’t a deep exploration of a father-daughter relationship, says Dupieux, who is thought for his absurdist and quirky humorousness. The synopsis suggests a shocking subplot, mentioning “French cuisine, a 1950s horror film and an invasive hotel employee” disturbing their lavish Paris journey. “Pure emotion as an objective isn’t my thing,” he says. “What I like is fantasy, and above all, making people laugh and be entertained — but not through traditional comedy.”

“The film is funny in other ways. I started with this father-daughter story, and then there’s a second film inside the film,” he says. “I see these conceptual films like amusement parks. It takes us on emotional, comical and fantastical rides.”

“Full Phil” reteams Dupieux with producer Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi (a Mediawan company). They have made eight movies in six years together, including “Mandibules,” “Smoking Causes Coughing,” “Yannick,” “Daaaaalí!,” “The Second Act”, “The Piano Accident” and “Signaux.”

The pair are already working on another project with American actors. “There are many actors I still haven’t worked with. In France, I’m close to exhausting the possibilities. In the U.S., I’m just getting started,” Dupieux says.

What’s the origin of “Full Phil”?

I’m a bit like a washer that runs continuous. Projects are born and feed off each other continually. I do know there are people who work in another way, who sort out a project in the future and for whom there are causes and a strong want. For me, it’s more like a washer. Right now, I’m actually at the end of “Full Phil,” and I’m already revisiting scripts I had in progress, and we’re already relaunching other initiatives. So there isn’t this system of a project being born in my thoughts. It’s not a race — I do it calmly — however this project was born in my laboratory, like all my other initiatives, in perpetual movement. It’s very laborious to search out what triggered it.

Was it maybe a gathering with Woody or Kristen?

More doubtless a want to confront the English language again. When I used to be just beginning out, I made a few small movies in the U.S., in English, and I had a variety of enjoyable. When you modify languages, your mind enters a barely different zone. It’s very attention-grabbing. Then I got here again to France and eagerly made 10 French movies in fast succession. I met a lot of French actors, and there are many movies in that group that I’m very happy with. That’s just about the place it began — a want to alter register by way of language. My movies rely closely on dialogue, and altering languages means confronting a different rhythm, a different music. That was the beginning point. After that, Woody and I met because he noticed “The Second Act” and “Yannick.”

How did that connection occur?

He was very taken with “The Second Act” and “Yannick,” which stunned me because those movies are based solely on textual content. It’s laborious to think about Anglo-Saxons watching one thing like “Yannick,” which is an hour of subtitles and little or no action. You’d suppose those movies wouldn’t journey, however they do.
What people don’t essentially know about Woody is that he has a really mental facet. A few years in the past, he made a single-shot movie broadcast live. I didn’t see it, however he instantly told me about it because are lengthy photographs in “The Second Act.” You wouldn’t suppose it, however he has that form of considering. His movie was like live theater, and my movies are fairly theatrical too — very targeted on actors and dialogue. That spoke to him, and we linked. At that point, I used to be already writing “Full Phil,” and that assembly boosted my want to do it. Having direct contact with an American actor like Woody makes development a lot simpler. In France, I can name actors immediately, textual content them, get selections in a short time. In the U.S., all the pieces takes longer. Decision-making is slower.
Given that I like immediacy – my movies are brief, I make a number of a 12 months — that’s not always straightforward to mix with the American system. Here, it labored because Woody actually wished it.

What about Kristen Stewart?

We embarked on the movie as soon as Woody got here on board. He accepted without studying the script, which is extraordinary for an American actor. He was so enthusiastic about the two movies he’d seen.
I completed writing, and we needed to discover the character of his daughter. We always start by checking availability, because I like immediacy. We set dates straight away — we don’t say, “We’ll see in a year.” That’s the DNA of my initiatives. They’re very ready and really written, however we do them shortly.
We began searching for a younger lady who might play Woody’s daughter and who could be accessible, and we shortly got here across Kristen. It was a terrific alternative. The mixture works completely. We’d never seen them together, however one thing was instantly apparent.
She took a weekend to contemplate it and accepted within 48 hours, which is uncommon. I believe there was a challenge in the movie that excited her. She joined just like that — very courageous of her.

Why courageous? Is she doing stunts?

You don’t comprehend it yet, however there’s a fragile facet to what she does in a single a part of the movie. There was a complete factor about delicacies, however I can’t say more. Sometimes the difficulty is bodily transformation or stunts or shaving your head. Here, it’s one thing fully different. I’ll go away the thriller unresolved.

Is it a movie about cooking?

Not in any respect. I’m dissecting a father-daughter relationship in an advanced state of affairs. It’s about a widowed father attempting to reconnect along with his daughter, who’s about 30. There’s a really emotional, grounded half with real characters. And then the movie slips — inevitably — into one thing more fantastical.

There are often fantastical parts in your movies.

That’s because a straight movie about a father and daughter isn’t my factor. Many people do that very effectively — I’m considering of “Sentimental Value” not too long ago. That’s not my specialty. I dabbled in it, however inevitably I ended up doing one thing else. Pure emotion as an goal isn’t my factor.
What I like is fantasy, and above all, making people chortle and be entertained — however not by way of conventional comedy. The movie is humorous in other methods. I began with this father-daughter story, and then there’s a second movie inside the movie, which is also a shock.
You can guess it from the synopsis: Kristen and Woody’s movie is combined with a Fifties horror movie. It’s executed in a really playful approach. I see these conceptual movies like amusement parks. The movie takes us on emotional, comical, and fantastical rides.

What labored particularly? The chemistry between Kristen and Woody?

That was the major challenge — making the Kristen–Woody relationship plausible. Even if my movies are often absurd, I always need plausible worlds. I wouldn’t have appreciated it in the event that they didn’t really feel like household. But they’re nice professionals. We never questioned it. He actually is her dad, she actually is his daughter. That was a terrific success.
Another gamble was integrating a Fifties horror movie into a contemporary story. On paper, it sounds loopy. The synopsis is mysterious. But that ingredient labored too. It makes the movie joyful, particular, and fairly new.
There’s also the theme of Americans in Paris, which might really feel synthetic. We shot in real places. The movie might have been partly shot in a studio – it will’ve been simpler and cheaper — however we refused. It actually takes place in Paris, in real streets and buildings, and that provides it real allure.

Some people in contrast your movie to “White Lotus” based on the pitch. Do you see that?

I not too long ago watched a few episodes of the latest season with Charlotte Le Bon, who’s also in my movie. I don’t actually see the similarity. “White Lotus” is kind of life like. Yes, there are two people in a lodge, however there’s a lot more than that. And we don’t keep in the lodge the complete film.

Did you ever consider setting “Full Phil” in L.A.?

I might have told the story anyplace, however I’d never filmed in Paris before. I normally escape — deserts, sea, mountains. I live in Paris, so I want dreamlike locations. Recently, I made “L’accident de piano” in Haute-Savoie. Here, it was attention-grabbing to ask Americans into the cliché of Americans in Paris and really shoot in Paris. It was a part of the DNA from the starting. And the cooking component wouldn’t have labored anyplace else.
It’s more like “Emily in Paris” in hell — a fever dream, a nightmare version of it.

Do you let actors improvise?

No, that’s not my system. The script is a score, and it must be adopted. But within that, I’m fully open to real life. I really like being stunned by performances.
I work by ear. I hearken to rehearsals or the first take, and I do know what to inform them. Sometimes it really works instantly; sometimes there are misinterpretations, and I right them. When a line sounds mistaken, it’s like music — I ask for another tune. The rhythm is musical work.
We explore. Sometimes we get caught on three strains for no purpose. That’s a part of the job. It’s not improvisation, but it surely’s not robotic both.

Kristen Stewart is also a filmmaker. Did that affect the collaboration?

She was very good and let herself go. She instantly noticed that my methodology was distinctive and never typical. Because I write all the pieces myself, I’m behind the digital camera, I determine once we cease and start — it’s somewhat wild. She understood it shortly and trusted it fully. The same with Woody. For the first two or three days, they had been spectators of a technique they’d never encountered. It was a really serene set. I believe it made an impression.

What defines your methodology?

Speed. We shoot in a short time, however without stress. The team is extraordinarily skilled. Actors often inform me that on conventional units they spend their days ready. On my movies, Woody and Kristen had been on set all day.

You also edit during filming?

I pre-edit during filming. As soon as I’ve a doubt, I lock myself in a dressing room and test if the modifying works. That approach, I keep away from capturing pointless footage. Many administrators would maintain capturing “just in case.” I don’t. I test. It means I don’t exhaust the actors by repeating issues endlessly.

What stage is the movie in now?

I’m ending the modifying now, and I’m very pleased with it. I’ve never executed something like this before. It’s new, even for me. And I’m delighted it’s in English, with Woody, Kristen, Charlotte Le Bon, and Tim and Eric. Cinema is often in comparison with cooking. There are elements. Sometimes recipes don’t work. In this case, I discovered a recipe that actually labored.

Did this experience make you wish to make more English-language movies?

Absolutely. We have other initiatives in the works. One was written even before “Full Phil.” It’s like altering music. English has a different rhythm. I noticed it during modifying — it’s new music, very pleasing. I’m not bored with French in any respect, however this is a musical respite. And the U.S. is an excellent playground.
There are many actors I still haven’t labored with. In France, I’m near exhausting the potentialities. In the U.S., I’m just getting began. So I’ll completely continue creating initiatives in English.

Your producer Hugo Selignac says many American actors wish to work with you.

Yes, we’re in demand, which could be very nice. It reinforces our conviction. But truly making it occur is difficult — schedules, enormous stars, timing. My methodology is fast-paced, and I can’t project myself two years into the future. I live in the second. So I’ll end up working with those who settle for that speed. Woody and Kristen had been the first to strive it. They beloved it. It went very effectively. And we hope to persuade others to go just as fast.