Fantastic Fest 2014: Red Carpet Interview and Premiere of MY LIFE DIRECTED BY NICOLAS WINDING REFN

The world premiere of MY LIFE DIRECTED BY NICOLAS WINDING REFN was held at Fantastic Fest yesterday in Austin. The wife of Refn, Liv Corfixen, and the renowned subject of her documentary walked the red carpet and greeted fans Saturday morning. Refn and his personal and artistic struggles during the making of ONLY GOD FORGIVES is the subject of Corfixen’s film.

You can find photos from the event below. Both spoke openly to me about the challenges they faced being behind and in front of the camera. Check out what they had to say.

What was his (Nicolas) reaction when you first approached him with the project?

Liv – He was open to it. We did a similar thing about 10 years ago. He has quite an exhibition side even though he doesn’t like to watch himself afterwards. We wouldn’t have been able to do it if he wasn’t so open to it.

Was there anything you learned about Nicolas while filming him on set that was something new for you that you hadn’t previously discovered in your personal relationship together?

Liv – No. Not really. It just confirmed that he’s super intense and…

Nicolas – …Sexy.

Liv – No… that he’s a very good director. And I knew that, but sometimes I was a little impressed by that on set and how fast he moves and can change things and take control. Because I’ve seen him since PUSHER, so seeing him develop as a director has been there all along.

Was there any habits of yours (Nicolas) or elements of your film process that you were afraid to share on camera or wanted to keep hidden?

Nicolas – No. I always say: “the only thing I know is nothing.” So I can never go wrong.

Was there any sort of advice that you gave her before you started this?

Nicolas – No. I think it was just her thing. Me and Ryan (Gosling) were just puppets in this.

Liv – He really didn’t want to interfere. He was just like, “this is your movie and you have to do it your way.”  Of course in the end when it was almost done, he was in the ending room seeing this.

Nicolas – You had final cut (addressing Liv). I didn’t do anything.

                            (pause)

                  I wanted stuff out and she said, “No.”

Was there a specific idea or narrative you wanted to translate to film?

Liv – I didn’t really plan to make the movie when we moved to Bangkok. It was sort of an idea that came to me while I was there. I started to film and realized it would be interesting to do a documentary about our lives at the time. It just sort of happened. Mainly in the editing room. Of course I have a specific idea of what I like

The culture shock of going over to Thailand and then coming back must have been hard. What was worse? 

Nicolas – Moving over there.

                            (laughs)

                  We came back to Copenhagen. Back to normality. Now we’re living in LA. Now that’s culture

                   shock.

                           (with a smile)