Famous director Oliver Hermanus ("Beauty", "Life") returned to the Cannes Film Festival nearly two decades later, preparing to bring the movie star heating and stir up emotions with lush romantic dramas starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor.
The “History of Voice” was conceived in early 2020 before the coronavirus outbreak, prompting a buzz on social media. At that time, Mescal and O'Connor fled the starring Internet boyfriend, showing "Ordinary Man" and "Crown" respectively. Five years later, it is one of the most important actors in the exhibition business.
The film is based on a series of short stories by writer Ben Shattuck, following Lionel (Mescal), a talented singer from country Kentucky with big dreams. In 1920, he met the Boston School of Music and Music and David (O'Connor), who was eventually warned. Their appeal is instant and scattered in meaningful but short-lived romance, which Lionel reflects throughout his famous life and career.
type Going into trouble with Hermanus on the ground in Cannes, discussing the breathless path to production, the current description of the gay and intimacy on screen, and his expected biopic of the future.
This is strange because after 14 years, it feels very same. Everyone has money, there are a lot of screams, and it's overpriced.
How did you recruit two of the hottest actors in this independent world?
Josh and I had the same agency in the UK and he and I read short stories at the same time. We had a conversation, but then the world entered Covid Lockdown and I went back to South Africa. He said, when I have the script ready, please leave him in my brain. That's easy to do. When I threw him into “live”, I met Paul, who ended up not having time to do it. He and Josh met around the same time. The movie always almost collapsed, but it made it for us in a good way, and their careers obviously soared.
I went to all the obvious places for this movie. So many people give numbers. I'm sure there is a literal machine on the A24, a heavy old oracle that can shoot a number of faxes. Anyway, it always says "$8 million". I really can't do it for $8 million. Sara Murphy appeared as a producer in late 2020, and we went to AFM and places like this (raise funds). People say to me, “These guys are great, but they are TV stars.” Talk about Josh on “The Crown” and Paul talks about “The Ordinary People.” Then Josh got the "Challenger" and Paul got the "Gladiator". Somewhere around the 2023 Oscars, Paul and I were there and talked to anyone who would like to listen to the movie. Miraculously, this is blended together before they get older and cannot play these roles.
Tone versatility as a director -
Do you think? I made a movie.
I do. But it feels like you've ever been trapped in a real romance.
Yes, it's a very romantic story. It is a profound concept of nostalgia and uses metaphors of sound to preserve feelings. Before the 20th century, this was impossible. How do you feel when you hear your parents’ voices for a long time after their death? and yearning. Trying to understand is an interesting thing. We will be confused with the obsession and unique love we desire. You can crave someone, not just because they are not there.
The film is scheduled for 1917. You say the short story is very progressive because these two men are not trapped in the desire to know each other. They sneak in directly.
It's 2025, and queer audiences want more. We all see a lot of metaphors, especially when it comes to biopics. I'm working on Alexander McQueen now. He is a gay, HIV-positive, artist, genius, living in the world of fashion and then committing suicide. I remember watching (Ryan Murphy) "Halston" by (Ryan Murphy) and seeing strange people succeed, celebrating and flying too close to the sun. They are burned in some tragic endings. I think our lives might go on that path when our sex and lifestyle are dangerous or sad for them. All the secrecy and suppression. I made a movie "Beauty". But I wanted to provide the audience with other weird experiences.
What do you think of the gay state on screen? We're still in the afterglow of "White Lotus" Season 3, Mike White says he missed the era when gay sex committed in our culture. He wants to restore it.
But, can you restore it? The cat is out. I love movies with primitive sex, and it takes a lot of things to be shocked or harmed by queer sex. I made a TV show called "Mary and George" in 2023 and we will stand up and try to think of new sex positions. I would turn to Nicholas Galitzine and say, "What did you not do?" He would go, "That was how I fucked yesterday. I had a party with that guy the other day. I took that guy to that guy, but it was within reach for the other." The intimate coordinator would bring an iPad and flip through the new position. This is I just want to distinguish French carnival from British carnivals like Lego.
So, aren't you shocked by the love scene between Josh and Paul?
There was a moment, but I was very determined that there was no sexual scene assumption that was key, or that their relationship changed. That's not a movie. They stick together from the first day they meet. What I like is the moments that bring sex, and then the post-moment. Josh's character has amazing things, he keeps collecting all the feathers that fall off Paul's pillows and stuffing them in. This is romance.
Josh and Paul introduce chronicle folk music in this film. What did your process teach you about the United States?
Tradition is an interesting American theme. Compared to Europe, we think the United States is a young country, but has a long history and it is fascinating to see these roots. You'll find things like the songs Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone Sang, songs by Joni Mitchell Sang. They all come from the process of others from Ireland, Britain and Africa to the United States, blending tapestries. Music can be traced back to religious and racial backgrounds, especially the roots of slavery. It shows you the roots of the United States becoming an immigrant country.
How far are you in McQueen’s biopic?
I inherited this after many years of development. I started from scratch. My friend Harry Lighton (the director of this year’s Cannes entry “Pillion”) wrote the script for me. McQueen is hard. How do you make a biography about people who oppose biopics? It has to be form and genre bends.
In a sense, clothing became the most important thing?
The great Sandy Powell I worked with, she and I have been talking about McQueen. If the art of film is fashion, it is the real moment that people like Sandy realize. This is one of our biggest challenges. If you made a movie about Da Vinci, did you print out Mona Lisa only? Or is someone repainting it?