The upcoming film “Woman in Gold” tells the story of Maria Altmann, an elderly Jewish survivor of World War II, who sues the Austrian government with the help of a young attorney for the return of artwork the Nazis stole from her family. Recently, I interviewed the film’s director, Simon Curtis and the real-life attorney who help Ms. Altmann with the landmark case, Randol Schoenberg.
Let’s start with you Simon, how did you hear the tale of Maria Altmann?
Simon Curtis: I saw a documentary on the BBC about the subject and thought it would make a great film.
Wonderful, and you thought it would make a great movie why?
Because it was a strong woman taking on, towards the end of her life, an important campaign to right the wrongs of the past.
Randol, for those who never heard of Art restitution, could you tell us what that means?
The Nazis were sort of infamous for stealing property and were very interested in collecting artworks wherever they conquered especially from Jewish families. So there are, as the movie says, over 100,000 estimated paintings that were never returned because they were stolen, mysteriously disappeared or were never brought back. There are a number of people who are working in this field who are trying to track down and locate stolen artwork and bring it back to their rightful owners.
You stated that you were worried about one thing in the film and it wasn’t your portrayal but surrounding the creation of the Klimt painting.
My one stipulation is that I didn’t want it to be a sex farce like there’s a film called “Lisztomania”. Ken Russell did it. It’s a movie about Franz Liszt, who is a great composer, but it turns his life into a sex romp basically and there are giant phallic all over the place. So, when I was thinking of “What don’t you want” I said “That’s really not what I want because Klimt, unfortunately or not, lends himself to type of movie too because he was this magnetic male character who never got married but managed to father at least eighteen illegitimate children.” He supposedly painted in a smock with nothing underneath and had these nude models all over the place. I was hoping that if they wanted to really tell my story that it wouldn’t be drown out by that type of story. Also, Maria’s family didn’t want that to be the focal point as well.
Simon, this is not the first time you’ve worked with Helen Mirren. You worked with her in the theatre back in the 1970’s. Tell me about the experience.
I was the assistant director of a production of “Measure for Measure” which she was in. I adore her then and it was thrilling to direct her many years later.
What was it like to tell this story since it has been unheard for many years until recently?
I was a tremendous privilege telling this story because it was a very personal story that touched on the Jewish community. One lady who lived majority of her life in California teams up with the grandson of another refugee and together they formed this odd couple that tries to make amends with the past.
Randol, why should people see this film?
I hope they see this film because they are interested in a great story. Its not everyday that you have a story that involves the Nazis, the most expensive painting in the world, a Supreme Court case and this generational journey between an elderly woman and a grandson of one of her friends. It’s a generation gap between them. You don’t have buddy movies so often between the “Harold & Maude” for example. A person needed to be reminded of what happened in the holocaust is unfortunately, the worst catastrophe in the history of mankind with the number of people who were murdered. It’s our obligation to continue to tell the story. The definition of culture is history. It is this transmission of stories from the past into the present and directing towards the future.
Randol, it was a huge risk you had to take from going to a big law firm to taking the case of Maria Altman. What was the turning point that made you decide this case was worth pursuing?
I was at a big firm, doing well, but I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to be able to do cases like this that I really believed that I really thought that were not tilting the windmills but had a chance at succeeding and I couldn’t do that in a big firm. It’s just wasn’t what big firms do. So ultimately I decided that this is the move & risk I need to make. I think there are other lawyers who wished they decided differently but I didn’t want to have a regret. It was almost like a family matter, too. Maria was very close with my family, to my grandmother and my mother. It just felt like something that I had to do.
I told my wife, “Look, if this doesn’t work out, I’ll put my tail between my legs, knock on the door and get a job and say that I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” I was 34 and felt that it was time to try it out. There’s never a good time, actually, to realize that you’re in the working world to make a change because there’s always something that’s difficult. We were about to have our second child when I left the firm and I thought that it’s not going to get easier. When the kids are growing up and heading to school, it was not going to be easier. I got to start now.
Simon, you started off in theatre and worked your way up to film…
It’s not necessarily working your way up (laughs) I feel I’ve gone from television to film just the time when everyone is going the opposite direction.
Do you prefer a particular medium to the other or they both work cohesively?
I feel very blessed to have been able to work in the theatre, TV & film. Its very hard to balance all three because they have different cycles and difference in timing but I feel very blessed to tell this story as a film with the Weinstein Company.
One last question, Randol, How does it feel to see Ryan Reynolds playing you and Katie Holmes playing your wife in the film?
It’s a good question. When they told me that Ryan Reynolds was going to play me, I sort of laughed (laughs) and thought “Ryan Reynolds, really?” “People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2010, is that what you think of when you think of me? Yeah, ok, I think I could get used to that.” Of course, it was a big joke in my family for a while but when you see what he did with the role, when you see how capable he was of being that type of character, not just the superhero or hunk that he normally plays but someone having a very serious emotional intellectual journey, you can see he was the right choice and was very, very good. Also, the chemistry he has with Maria is so wonderful. Of course, I had the greatest relationship with Maria. I feel its great.
Katie Holmes as my wife? You know, many people say that my wife is pretty good looking also. So I am happy with my wife. Katie is also from Ohio, like my wife. They have that in common. They added some height and glamour to us but they did a great job.
Special Thanks to Simon Curtis and Randol Schoenberg for the interview. Be sure to check out “Woman in Gold” when it hits select theatre, Wednesday April 1st from The Weinstein Company
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