Harmony Korine is the type of filmmaker that you feel like lets you take a trip into his soul through his work. And honestly, if you take in his entire filmography (yes, including “Trash Humpers”), you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that Korine is an interesting, if not a wee bit odd, dude. And in a new interview with Huffington Post, he gives film fans a bit of a more honest look into his current life, and let’s just say, it’s exactly what you might be picturing. Actually, it’s probably way better.
The filmmaker is doing publicity for his latest project, “The Beach Bum,” which stars Matthew McConaughey as a constantly-high Moondog as he encounters various other equally interesting folks in southern Florida. And when you hear Korine talk about his own life (also in southern Florida), you have to wonder if there’s more of the filmmaker’s own life in Moondog than audiences might be aware.
In the interview, the topic of politics is brought up (as it seems to always be nowadays). However, Korine is quick to push that aside.
He explains that his life has no place for political discussion right now, saying, “I’d rather just go fishing, drink a lot of Mountain Dew, eat some Taco Bell, go surfing, play electronic poker, drink a Cuban coffee, smoke some cigars. You know what I’m saying?”
When he’s asked if he does check out the news, to keep up with what’s going on, the filmmaker says that he overhears discussions about it, but chooses not to engage. Why? “There’s no soul to it. I just don’t want to spend my time here going back and forth. Everything is so tribal and everyone hates everyone. I’m not really interested. And I don’t really care about participation,” he says.
Now, after another question is answered by including a reference to Mountain Dew, the filmmaker is asked if he really likes the soft drink as much as he’s saying.
“Yeah, because it’s like you drink some Mountain Dew, eat a couple of Crunchwrap Supremes, watch some cartoons and play some computer poker, and you really can understand what bliss is,” Korine explains.
He later adds, “Dude, it’s so good. I mean, I won’t drink it nonstop. I still try to drink at least one cup of water a week.”
Of course, the interview does cover a bit more about “The Beach Bum.” Despite the film getting mixed reviews from critics (as do most of the filmmaker’s works), it sounds like Korine, McConaughey, and the rest of the cast and crew had a blast making it. And there seems to be plenty of incredible scenes that didn’t even make the final cut.
“Oh man, there were some funny scenes of [McConaughey] eating lobster on a hoverboard,” says Korine about one scene that was cut. “He had a lobster bib on, and he was going around in circles around his McLaren after he buys a sheet of acid. That was a hard one to leave.”
“The Beach Bum” hits theaters March 29.