Another day, another right turn to the ridiculously stupid fall-out from Lars Von Trier‘s “nazi” statements. Good old humorless reporters at Cannes loved raking noted provocateur Lars Von Trier over the coals for his joking “pro-Nazi” stance before the organization dubbed him persona non grata. The next step, of course, is the reaction from other filmmakers. This should be fun.
Reportedly, Nicolas Winding Refn, who debuted “Drive” on the Riviera recently, was “repulsed” by Von Trier’s comments. What that means, we don’t know. Maybe Refn actually said the words, “how repulsive.” Maybe he shook his head and verbally denounced Von Trier in a more specific manner. Maybe he simply made a “repulsed” facial expression, which could suggest someone misinterpreted how the “Bronson” filmmaker holds in a fart. Whatever the case, Von Trier, who apparently goes way back with Refn, thinks very little of the guy’s opinion.
When informed of Refn’s repulsion in an interview, Von Trier told IndieWIRE, “I’ve known him since he was a kid! Fuck him.” Refn is the son of Anders Refn, who edited “Breaking The Waves” and “Antichrist” (and worked with Lars on several films in several capacities), so there’s definitely a relationship there. While we wouldn’t be surprised if Von Trier has made several professional enemies, we also wouldn’t be surprised to one day see LVT and fellow Dane Refn arm in arm. In case you weren’t aware of this, Von Trier says things off the cuff, and in Hollywood, people keep their friends close, but keep total fucking assholes closer.
It’s a fascinating interview, which should be expected from Von Trier. Along with another prolonged, dry mea culpa for his Hitler comments (peppered with the sentiment that everyone reacted inappropriately – which is true), he reveals that Paul Thomas Anderson suggested Kirsten Dunst for “Melancholia,” that his next film, “The Nymphomaniac,” would be only a “softcore” pornographic affair (wimp!), and that he was deterred from adapting Wagner‘s “The Ring” because of Wagner’s associations with… wait for it… Hitler. Oy vey!
Update: Looks like Hitler has some things to say about this latest controversy.