Interview: 'Guest of Honour' writer/director Atom Egoyan

Nearly 40 years after making his feature directorial debut, Atom Egoyan continues to craft engaging cinematic works that attract top acting talent.

The Oscar-nominated writer/director’s latest film, Guest of Honour, stars David Thewlis (Naked; Professor Lupin from the Harry Potter films) as Toronto-based food inspector Jim Davis, whose work life begins to crumble once his daughter Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira) willingly goes to a jail for a crime she didn’t commit.

Calling from the Toronto Pearson International Airport, Egoyan spoke with Asheville Movies about releasing a film during a pandemic, the joys of having complete artistic control, and current events in food and politics.

Atom Egoyan: I’m about to get on a plane, which is making me a little nervous. I’m going across the country and spend 6 hours on a plane, so we’ll see what that experience is like.

Edwin Arnaudin: Will this be your first big travel since the pandemic started?

AE: Yep. Have you been on a plane since?

EA: No. I’ve been pretty much staying in Asheville. It was going to be a busy year with music festivals in the spring and summer, and hopefully film festivals in the fall, but I’ve just stayed here. My parents live about an hour away, so I’ve seen them a few times and social distanced with them.

AE: Alright.

EA: Well, best wishes with all that! Hope it’s as normal as possible.

AE: Yeah. It’s amazing, all these different stages we’re all going through. We’re really happy to be, on the one hand, just watching stuff and staying home, and then just feeling all this anxiety. It’s a crazy thing — but we’re all experiencing it.

EA: Well, like I said, I’m based in Asheville, North Carolina. I didn’t know if you have any personal or professional experience with Western North Carolina.

AE: Certainly! I was involved a few times in South Carolina. I was with the Spoleto Festival, so I’ve had a couple of my operas there in Charleston — theater projects. So I’ve been there actually a few times, but not North Carolina. And those have been really great experiences. I’ve really loved it.

EA: And then you also shot Devil’s Knot around Atlanta?

AE: Yeah, around Atlanta and in Georgia.

EA: Nice. Well, you talked a little about the general state of things and how you’re getting back in the saddle a bit with taking an airplane trip. How have you been overall during the pandemic these past four or so months?

AE: Obviously, I was incredibly lucky in retrospect that [Guest of Honour] was in Venice, Toronto — it did sort of half of its festival tour. I was fortunate to see it with audiences and to have that experience before it sort of suddenly shut down. I got to have a screening in New York, sort of a pre-opening screening that Kino Lorber set up. Again, I think through that now — super fortunate.

And like everyone else, I’ve been aware that there’s this incredible generous offering that a lot of places…like the Met Opera is showing operas every day. I’ve been able to catch up on series, read books that I always promised I would go back to or read for the first time — like huge, thick novels. I rewatched Bela Tarr’s Sátántangó. [Laughs] Very thankful to the Criterion Channel for this incredible wealth of movies, and, actually, a lot of my earlier films are now available on the Criterion Channel.

So, thankful for all that, but you are incredibly…our son was about to shoot his first short film and then the pandemic came, so he’s trying to get it back on its feet. But for a whole generation of young filmmakers, this is quite catastrophic. And yet, on the one hand, we’re blessed with these technologies that allow us to share things and to rewatch things, [but] we don’t know what sort of world we’re going into right now.

And so, there’s a sense of…we will persist, and obviously work will continue to get made, but the way in which it’s shared might be very different. But we’re all just waiting to see. It’s like we’re all Sleeping Beauty, in a way. We’re all waiting to see what’s going to happen when we all wake up from this. But I think, like a lot of people, there are days when you feel that you can actually just indulge in something in a way that you might have not had the time before, but then you have suddenly too much time, and what does that mean?

EA: For sure. And you mentioned being fortunate to have experienced some screenings of Guest of Honour, but with Kino now opening it digitally, I’m curious what you see as the pros and cons of not having a traditional theatrical release for it?

AE: Well, the major con is that I think that the film…there’s kind of an odd sly humor and tone to the film, and when I’ve watch it with audiences, I’ve appreciated that there’s a collective response that acknowledges that. I think when people see it alone, you don’t have that tension which an audience brings. But on the other hand, that feels like such a luxury given the extremity of what we’re facing and that it still gets to get out there. It’s an intimate enough film that I’m not feeling that people are missing the experience of seeing it on a big screen. Some of my movies really, because of the way they use landscape, they really invite the large screen. This one is an intimate story, so, in some ways, I think it’s well served by this medium.

I’ve come to the realization now that I’m watching a lot of series that the feature film is a very particular form, right? It’s almost like a short story and you want to watch it in one sitting. You don’t want to break that experience up. So a film like this is designed to be watched in one sitting, like a lot of my features are. If you watch halfway and you come back to it, you would have missed the rhythm of the piece, and that’s something that I think that, when you’re in a cinema, you’re kind of locked into that, and that’s something else that’s being missed.

EA: I definitely agree, though I do like that, basically right when the pandemic hit, Kino and other indie distributors in the U.S. partnered with indie theaters to digitally release their films and do profit-shares. Are Canadian indie theaters doing similar things?

AE: Yeah, they are. There was this incredible initiative that was set up by the Criterion Channel. It was a Go Fund Me to raise money for independent cinemas, and I think that was really important, just to show these cinemas that they are so important and vital to the cinephile community and that we cherish them and hope that they will survive this process. I do hope that when people watch my film, they will go through Kino Marquee and watch it through a local cinema as opposed to going through iTunes or one of the more [mainstream options]. I think that that habit of actually identifying your filmgoing experience with a cinema that’s close to you or that’s part of your history, it’s a huge part of what it meant to be a cinephile, right? We really count on these places. They are like our shrines, right? So I love the fact that Kino Marquee allows that there’s an acknowledgement and a sustenance that those places get to have.

EA: Absolutely. We have two indie cinemas in Asheville and they’re both hanging in there. Fortunately, they both have landlords who are being lenient with them right now, so that’s a big help.

AE: That’s a huge difference, right? The landlords also respect what those cinemas mean to the community.

EA: For sure. Well, turning back to Guest of Honour, I was looking over your filmography and it seems like you wrote and directed pretty much, if not all, of your films through Adoration, but since then you’ve directed three films written by other people, and The Captive you co-wrote. What prompted you to make that deviation?

AE: I think that, even when I watch Guest of Honour, I’m aware that there are certain themes and certain ideas that I’m really obsessed with and that I keep coming back to. Especially this idea of someone with a particular type of job that gives them access into other people’s lives — the insurance adjusters or tax auditors or litigation lawyers. There’s this fascination with how certain people have a license to really alter other people’s lives, if they so choose.

I’m interested in looking at other people’s worlds, right? So, when I read a book or if I see script that I feel that I could do that is close enough to my concerns, but it’s a different narrative and I feel that I would be the best person to make that film — which may or may not be the case. I’ll leave that for other people to decide — that’s irresistible. I write a lot more scripts than I actually make films of, because sometimes I write a script and I go, “You know what? There’s no reason to make this a film. Everything I wanted to say about this is in the script.” But then you write something like, let’s say, Guest of Honour, and you realize that, no, you really do need to see these locations and you need to see this actor and have this great performance by someone like David Thewlis that is able to ground this and to actually elaborate the story and give it its full potential.

Other stories that you write, you just feel like you’ve either done it before or there’s no need to go any further with it. And then you read a book and you go, “Wow! What an incredible world this writer’s introducing you to!” Then that becomes the inspiration for an adaptation. In the case of The Captive, which is a film I’m super proud of, that was an original story. All those characters were in a draft I had written, but then a friend of mine, who always is obsessed with crime thrillers, said, “Well, why don’t you give it more of a procedural quality?” And so, that collaboration became very interesting to me as well. It changes the tone of the film.

It’s interesting. And then I do these operas, some original. Some of them are original operas. Some of them are obviously classic works, like by Mozart or Wagner. I think as an artist, you’re just trying to…you want to make sure you’re excited about what you’re doing. That’s what it comes down to. You want to make sure what you’re doing is something that is exciting you with its possibilities. And I do think that sometimes you write an original script and you’ve satisfied that excitement through the process of writing. And that next crucial step of spending two years of your life trying to raise money, trying to cast it, making the film, putting it into the world — is it going to sustain your interest for that long? And that’s a huge issue.

A lot of my friends, they direct for television, and it’s interesting that one of the things I’m envious of sometimes is how short their commitment is. They read a script, they’re in prep, they shoot it, and then they basically hand that cut over to the producers, right? When you’re making a feature film, whether it’s something I’m writing and producing or whether or not I’m directing, I’m in it for a long time. I’m very involved with the post-production, but I’m super involved with putting the film into the world, which you’re not when you’re a director for hire for television.

EA: Even though you said you’ve really never stopped writing, are there ways in which you feel that Guest of Honour benefits from you having worked from other people’s screenplays?

AE: Oh, yeah. I mean, the best thing is that it’s completely artisanal, right? I’m responsible for all the choices. I’m not answering to anyone else at all. It’s completely the product of something that I felt I needed to say and finding the means to say it and be completely responsible. When you’re directing for someone else, often there’s a producer who developed the script, and they’ve decided that this is something that’s viable, and the director becomes an essential part of that package, but it’s not the same.

You’re not exposing yourself in the same way as when you’re taking on all these responsibilities — and in this case also deferring your fees — because you feel this story is so exciting to you, and that it can excite that sort of…I was going to say “And you hope it excites that same sort of feeling in a viewer,” but that isn’t really the essential reason you’re making it. The reason you’re making it is because you need to tell it as an artist. You need to make this as an artist. And you hope it finds an audience, but it’s not made around the idea of an audience — even though you can’t raise even the amount of funds that you have here if you don’t have an audience in mind.

EA: And then you mentioned exploring these invasive professions, but how did you decide to specifically write about a food inspector?

AE: Because I had a bar with a friend, about 10-15 years ago, with a small cinema. It was called Camera Bar, here in Toronto, and we had to deal with health inspectors. I just became aware of how much power they have from that time they’re in your restaurant. And at that same time, our son was working as a bus boy in a very exclusive French restaurant here and he was coming back with stories of how the owner/chef had been tormented by a food inspector.

So it just began to form — this character began to form. And then I started doing research. I started meeting food inspectors. And, first of all, I’m surprised that job hasn’t been explored, because it’s an incredible job. And, basically, it’s someone who’s regulating our whole culture, and right now it’s become strangely pertinent since we’re all obsessed with health and inspections. It has an odd, ominous kind of feel now that restaurants are closed — to see someone who’s actually in the job of making sure these things are healthy and are observing codes and standards is really interesting, I think.

EA: On that note, but shifting to some current events, have you read about the controversy surrounding the LA restaurant Sqirl?

AE: Oh no! What’s going on there?

EA: Well, they’re known for this ricotta toast with jam — some typical hipster brunch dish — and earlier this week, former employees came out saying that they had open vats of jam with mold growing on it

AE: Oh my God! I’m just looking this up right now. Wow! This is exactly…yeah. Here’s the thing about LA that’s so fascinating is that people report a lot. They really follow food inspections in LA on their apps, right? So, that’s something that we didn’t show — that whole culture — but some people are really obsessed by these ratings. Oh, this is so interesting! Thank you for alerting me.

EA: You’re welcome! It’s so bizarre — they had some expert telling them a certain amount of mold was OK and they had a secret illegal kitchen where employees would go in and shut out all the light so inspectors would walk by and not look in there because they didn’t think food prep was going on there.

AE: Oh my God! This is so interesting. Thank you for this. Oh wow, I should have put this in as a scene. Instead of jam, I had dead rabbits, though. Anyway…[Laughs]

EA: [Laughs] Yeah, those were wild enough! Anyway, one of the things I was most impressed with in Guest is your ability to juggle multiple timelines. Were there any techniques you used in the writing process to help you keep track of them all, while still developing each timeline and making them engaging individually and as a whole?

AE: It’s a constant…you’re molding it all the time. The script is one thing. it provides you with a schedule of material you need to shoot, but once you’ve shot this material, then the editing… Things are shifting all the time and, obviously, I’m very interested in music and sound design. And in this film, the music becomes a very important part of the narrative because it’s Veronica being a composer and conductor, and that theme that she’s playing, her own theme, has a really strong part in the movie because we see her having ideas as a young child, writing it out on a piece of paper that the father finds, and his whole history to that story is really essential.

But that goes back to your other point: When I’m writing, directing, and producing, I have total freedom to be molding it. I don’t need to get approval from producers or investors who have a strong expectation of the script it is I’m trying to shoot. For instance, when I direct a film like Chloe or Remember, that’s a script that is not going to change much because it’s what I was contracted to make. Right? I will give it a tone, but I can’t change the order of things very much because there’s an expectation of what everyone has signed on to. When I’m making one of my own films, the expectation is something that…everyone who’s involved understands that it’s going to shift — it’s going to change, and sometimes radically so. A film like The Sweet Hereafter radically changed from the assembly that it had. So, it feels like this is the big difference between the two types of filmmaking.

EA: That’s fascinating to hear, those two sides of the coin.

AE: Yeah.

EA: And then, like you said, you knew that to do this story justice, you needed a great performance from someone with David Thewlis’ skills. And it’s a pleasure to see him in a leading role again. He’s been one of my favorite actors for a while, and I think he’s one of the best we’ve got, but from a filmmaker’s perspective, I’m curious what distinct qualities do you feel David has that make him a great actor?

AE: Oh, wow — so many. But I think it’s you’re not quite sure what to make of him. He’s someone who seems both very…you sympathize with him. He feels very approachable. And yet, there’s something ominous about him at the same time. There’s something unexpectedly…he creates tension. I noticed that from the first time I saw him in Naked. He’s so charismatic and you’re just drawn to him. And yet there’s something everyman about him at the same time. it’s not like he has immediate movie star features or that charisma, yet there’s something so…there’s something so…he’s able to convey a certain type of madness really well, even though he’s a very grounded, sane being. I noticed this when I first saw Naked, but we follow him in this very deranged space he enters, and we certainly see that with this character as well.

EA: I agree, and I also felt that way with him on the Fargo TV series. He seems so otherworldly, yet you want to trust him.

AE: Yeah. Yeah.

EA: Lastly, I wanted to ask another current events question, this one relating to Ararat and your lineage. What do you think about the Trump White House's slightly more receptive rhetoric surrounding the Armenian Genocide after the Obama administration's long-promised public recognition that never wound up coming to fruition?

AE: Again, you hope for complete recognition. Yes, one is very disappointed by Obama because he made it clear that he would make that part of his platform if he was president. And I just think that, given the history that the United States has with the Armenian Genocide, and how much attention was paid during the time it happened, how it was covered and was so widely acknowledged — it seems incomprehensible that this has taken so long to get full recognition from the U.S. Even given the fact that every state has individually acknowledged it now, that seems to be the case. Every state.

But it’s always…and it seems like the Senate is on the cusp…but it’s always this executive moment where the relationship with Turkey or the way that the U.S. is using that relationship to threaten recognition — you realize the cynicism of realpolitik, right? That, I think, is what’s become very evident. It’s an inconvenient truth, as they say. And given Turkey’s status right now — even as we speak right now, there’s war being threatened with Armenia — you would just hope that you would have absolutely total support from the U.S., and we as Armenians will keep fighting for the day that can happen. 

(Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber)