Welcome to #FlashbackFriday, where we look at past moments with filmmakers, actors, etc. and highlight something in cinema history that’s fascinating, amusing, perhaps something you never knew or have seen, you name it.
As we approach the end of the first week of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, we thought it would be appropriate to share a special Cannes clip for this week’s #FlashbackFriday. In the clip, we see filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn questioned about the famously mixed reactions that his film “The Neon Demon” received two years ago.
The Cannes Film Festival is perhaps the best place in the world to premiere a film, as Refn says in the clip, but it can also be one of the most critical. The premieres at Cannes have a reputation of being very difficult if a film isn’t universally praised. And in the case of “The Neon Demon,” Cannes proved to be a trying time for Refn.
At the time, there were reports of boos, walkouts, and heckles for Refn’s film. So when he was asked by a journalist what his reaction was to “split” reviews, he was frank and honest, in typical Refn fashion.
“If I don’t split, what are we doing here?” said the director. “Art isn’t about good or bad, guys. Those days are over. The Internet has changed. So film as an art form is about an experience.
“Creativity is about reactions,” he continues.
“The Neon Demon” would eventually be released in June 2016 to, no surprise, mixed reviews. It currently sits at a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is about as “split” as you can get. However, as Refn says in the press conference, there’s no denying that “The Neon Demon” will get a reaction out of you. And according to the filmmaker, that’s the most important part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybpATApYrEM
