see also: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[by Scott Thill ]

[Previous page: "Oh, that's good. See, you just answered your own question about what Dave and I have in common. That's psychotherapy."]

Morphizm: What about P2P technology? Have you ever downloaded a movie?
MG: No, I could not do that. It's too time-consuming and complicated, and I always mess something up on my computer.

Morphizm: What do you think about how it might change arts and industry?
MG: It's difficult to judge. I mean, I always preferred to go and buy what I was looking for. But I have iTunes, and I buy songs sometimes. It's frustrating, however, because your choices in terms of music are limited. They don't have everything. I know this is a big issue now, and could change the future of music and film. I mean, the only time I had full control was when I was putting together my Director's Label DVD with all my videos and shorts, and I came up with the idea to have a 50-page booklet. Because that's the kind of thing that I think will save the medium. These have to be objects you want to own instead of watching once and throwing away. Much like books: You have to keep them all on the shelves, in case you ever want to go back to it, give it to a friend and so on. The idea with the DVD was to make a something that you'd want to own, rather than something you own the rights to use. It's still a hard concept for me to grasp.  

Morphizm: Materiality still seems to make all the difference.
MG: Yes, and it's still a hard for people to understand that. When they pay for a record, they feel they're not just paying for the people who created the music but also for the paper, the plastic and all that came with it. It's something they can feel it in their hands.  

Morphizm: Are you worried at all about the effect P2P and downloading will have on your work?
MG: Well, I'm afraid of making an expensive film, so I don't think so. But maybe I should make a big expensive film, as they seem to be the ones that are going to be most preserved.  

Morphizm: Let's talk about your upcoming projects. What's going on with Master of Space and Reality?
MG: It's still in the beginning stages, but we are starting work on it. I have a lot of ideas. I also want to turns things inside out.

Morphizm: Are you a Rucker fan?
MG: Yeah, I like him because his work is quirky, mathematical, geometrical and unpretentious. I don't know much about him -- I've only read two or three of his books -- but we talked over the phone many times and he's very fun.  

Morphizm: What about Science of Sleep? You're a big dream theorist.
MG: Well, it's a very romantic story, so the title is a bit deceiving. I mean, there is a science of sleep in the film, but it's more observational. I observed dreams that I had and put them back into the context of when they happened. At one time, I didn't know the outcome of the film as I was shooting it. I wrote the scripts myself and it had optional endings, because I wanted to discover not just the character but myself during the shooting. I didn't know what the ending would be, so I shot a bunch of them and used the one that ended up being closest to the truth.  

Morphizm: Do you miss being in a band?
MG: I'm actually in one again, me and MC Paul Barman. I'm drumming.  

Morphizm: What's harder to keep on track: A film or an album?
MG: That's a good comparison. I don't know actually. It's funny; I don't know what's the more corrupt business, film, advertising or music.  

Morphizm: Your family was progressive by even today's standards. Do you think such progressivism would startle in today's increasingly conservative environment?
MG: Especially in your country. Yeah, it something I talk a lot about with Bjork, because we were raised in similar families. And we always say that the freedom we were allowed growing up is what allowed us explore our creativity, and in a way made us stronger. We had to fight to get what we wanted. I think being surrounded by creative people is very important, because children are exposed to it at an early age.  

Morphizm: Right. Today's kids have lots of eye and ear candy, whether pop music or video games, but the culture at large seems to have become more stifling.
MG: It's hard to tell what the future will bring. When my son came to live with me in New York a few years ago, he had to leave the video games at home.

Morphizm: How do you feel that double-edge of technology works with something like war, for example, which is becoming more virtual as we speak?
MG: To me, it's less about technology than it is about information, the medium and how people interpret what is happening. I mean, how is it that 3,000 people dying in New York on 9/11 became the biggest disaster in the world when a few years later 200,000 died in another part of the world? It's about how the information gets conveyed and transformed into public opinion. It's the same with religion: Two thousand years ago, some guy died and still today everyone's crazy about it. Well, crazy to me, at least. I feel that same way when someone talks about an incredible event or metaphysical occurrence. I always think that it's probably something very simple; it's just that the how of it all has been distorted by those telling the story. Now that's what fascinates me: How stories become created, amplified and distorted. Because our lives are shaped by these stories.

March 15, 2006

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