Director Quentin Dupieux on ‘Wrong Cops’

"I felt a great energy in the room… I said I was going to pee my pants"

By Morgan Rojas|December 17, 2013

mr-oizo

 

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After seeing Wrong Cops at the Vista theater, I knew that my interview with Quentin Dupieux would be a good time. His quirky directing style and effortless “coolness” is present in his latest directorial feature about a group of hilariously awful cops who break more laws than they prevent. As well as directing, Dupieux also produced, wrote, and edited the film. The music was composed under his stage name, Mr. Oizo, and rounded out the indie film’s vibe. I sit down in an office on the 10th floor on Sunset & Vine as I wait for Quentin, and can’t help but laugh at the fake hand covered in blood on the otherwise empty desk. He walks in a few minutes later, with his trademark button down shirt halfway undone, says hello and sits down. We begin:

 

I SAW THE FILM LAST NIGHT AT THE VISTA (IN SILVER LAKE), AND IT WAS AWESOME, VERY WELL RECEIVED…
Yeah, last night I felt a great energy in the room… I said I was going to pee my pants during the movie.


WHEN YOU STARTED TO MAKE THIS MOVIE, DID YOU INTEND TO DIRECT, PRODUCE, WRITE, COMPOSE IT… PRETTY MUCH DO EVERYTHING?
No, that’s just the way I’m doing movies now. “Rubber” was the first movie I edited myself. For my first feature I was working with a DP and an editor, but being in the editing room with someone else and trying to get what I want felt frustrating to me. I needed to do it myself. To me, that’s the best part, editing a movie.


SINCE THIS WAS AN INDIE I’M SURE THE BUDGET WAS PRETTY SMALL, WHAT WAS YOUR PRIORITY WITH THE MONEY YOU HAD?
[The budget] is really cheap, so I have to operate the camera, I have to edit myself, I have to do the music, because otherwise, the movie doesn’t exist. I like to use my music because it’s more personal, more my vibe. For this specific project, my goal was to get something funny on-screen every single day. The days are so compressed because we’d shoot 4-5 scenes a day so the only thing I’d think about is “Is this really funny?”


YOU HAD A GREAT ENSEMBLE CAST WHERE ANYTHING THEY DO IS FUNNY. HOW DID YOU GET THEM ALL TOGETHER?
Well I just loved Steve Little from “Eastbound and Down” and I offered him a part in the movie I did before [“Wrong”] and I loved working with him. I think he enjoyed working with me too so he came back for this one. I actually wrote the part for him. I was trying to get Eric Wareheim for the previous movie I did but he was busy, so I insisted for this one and he came.


I WAS REALLY SURPRISED TO SEE MARILYN MANSON, HE WAS THE PERFECT CHOICE. KIND OF SHOCKING TO SEE HIM IN THAT ROLE BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY GOOD!
Oh yeah he is really good. It was pretty shocking to see him without the makeup. Manson came to me because he was a fan of my movie “Rubber.” He sent me an email saying that the movie was his favorite of the year. He’s a nice guy, very funny and smart. He’s a really strong actor, I shot something new with him about two weeks ago.


HAS “WRONG COPS” SCREENED IN FRANCE?
Yeah, it’s coming out in the U.S. first but we’ve screened it in a few festivals in France, which was a different [experience]. It’s the same movie of course, but it’s subtitled and a different vibe, even for me! You don’t laugh at the same moments.

Morgan Rojas

Certified fresh. For disclosure purposes, Morgan currently runs PR at PRETTYBIRD and Ventureland.