逐夢者The Dreamers

Playful Chloë 
by Federico Sarica

Fourteen years and eleven months have gone by since that November 7th, 1994. When, through tha pages of The New Yorker, author Jay MeInerney introduced Chloë Sevigny to the world. In his eight-page article he described her as, amongst other things, "the coolest girl in the world". He probed the scene - interviewing its leading figures and visiting cult hangouts - that centred around people like Sevigny and Harmony Korine and caught everybody's imagination at the time, not least that of Larry Clark who decided to endorse the group of young talents by shooting "Kids". The rest is history, as we'd say if we wanted to use a cliché.



But we believe there's no call for cliché when talking today, in 2009, about and to  Chloë Sevigny. And although describing her as the coolest girl in the world was spot-on in1994 when she was 20 and had yet to be seen on the silver screen, how about we trying moving on now? If anything because we think there's a need today to celebrate certain moments of the past decade which left their mark on contemporary culture and aesthetics and that this process also includes placing its leading players in the right context. In this case, an actress with a qualitatively important career behind her and a very promising future. Someone who has every right (until proved otherwise) not to give a damn about next year's hottest color or the bands on the crest of the wave. Because if today we still limit her persona to the girl who's always and only fashionable, it's hardly surprising - indeed, almost predictable - that she should confess "I hate interviews" as she did in one of the text messages we exchanged when we were trying to co-ordinate our schedules to fit in a chat. A little shyness, albeit appealing and well controlled, and we think also, not unreasonably, boredom. Anyway, we did have that chat in the end. And it was very pleasant.



"I think it's easy and fun when you're young to talk about what you like and what influences you in music, cinema and the arts," She says when we start talking about what's culturally important to her today.  "Growing up I realised I wasn't so obsessed any more about what was happening around me. I think that it's a question of choice, in a sense. Such as choosing to stop reading fashion magazines on a regular basis. They always publish interesting things, of course, but when I realised that it was making me feel uncomfortable with myself, I stopped. I don't read them anymore. It's the same thing with music: I come across good things from time but not as often as I used to. Basically, I think it depends on your attitude towards the rest of the world. How willing you are to open your heart and what you're willing to open it to. That's how I feel at the moment." That could sound snobbish, were it not for her natural, slightly self-ironic tone.



She's currently in LA where she's working on the new season of "Big Love", the TV series in which she has starred for the past three years as Nicolette, one of the three wives of a Mormon. The series is very popular and comes in the wake of other productions that helped build the success of HBO, the U.S. network known for its high-quality programming. "I think the key to Big Love's success is simple. Everybody's fascinated by the family's unconventional, rather strange way of life," she explains. Although it takes up a lot of her time, she still seems to be very attached to her role. "I really enjoy being in the series. Leaving for LA and spending 6 months working there is a new adventure every time. Sure, the role I play isn't easy because Nicolette's a very tough type. But things will happen to her in the next series that will make her more vulnerable and I like that. I like the idea of adding a bit of color to the character I play."



It's often said that in some way or another Chloë Sevigny sooner or later always manages to work with her favourite directors. And that her ability to establish contacts is behind the long list of top directors she has worked with, which includes, amongst other, Lars Von Trier, Woody Allen and Jim Jarmush. It's also often said that in some way her belonging to a mainly indie, artsy universe has, however, barred her way to the big Hollywood productions. We think that, again, these are mostly old clichés. How about this: she's a fascinating woman with a unique face and a excellent actress, and that's why a certain kind of director with a certain kind of sensibility sooner or later ends up considering her as the perfect actress for a particular role.



Simeple, isn't it? The most recent example is Werner Herzog, who chose her for a major part in his new film to be released in 2010. Entitled "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?", it's a triller based on a real crime perpetrated in San Diego. The leading character, played by Michael Shannon, is a boy who kills his mother;Chloë plays his girlfriend. "The film resolves around the main character. I'm his girlfriend. Through flashbacks and memories, I try to understand what brought him to do such an awful thing." Herzog certainly isn't known as a director who's easy to work for. "I found him to be a very affectionate, easy-going person with a very concrete, definite way of interacting with actors," she says about her relationship with the director. "It'd be logical to expect genius, excesses to expect genius. excesses and improvisation from someone like him. On the contrary, I was very impressed by his willingness to work on our moves before starting a scene. It was really a great experience." There's no point in beating around the bush: cinema is the thing she talks about with teh most enthusiasm.



Not that she dismisses everything else out of hand, of course. She's still interested in fashion, but while she hasn't forgotten how much she owes to the fashion world and industry, she seems very keen to put things back into the right perspective. That of a passion that, for example, led her to create a collection for Opening Ceremony this season. It will, however, probably remain an extemporary experience and not a regular undertaking. "I don't think of myself as a stylist, haven forbid," she comment. "I've never thought of myself that way and I don't think I'd have enough ideas for a collection every season. I'd like it to be something special, to do occasionally. In fact I haven't made any plans with Opening Ceremony for now. We'll see what happens after Big Love. If I'm in New York and I've got time, well, why not? Unless another film comes along immediately." 


這真的是我有史以來看過最爛的訪問了！！打完逐字稿才這麼覺得
但刪掉很可惜[本人善用上班零碎時間]，還是留著好了
*想翻的人請舉手跟我說
*小克最正了！！