Director Tom DiCillo's 'Delirious' Peeks Behind the Paparazzi's Lens
By Carita Rizzo, Special to Hollywood.com
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
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Are the paparazzi the scum of the earth or simply doing their part in the hierarchy of show business? Delirious introduces us to life on the other side of the velvet rope, an insight into a schizophrenic world where photographers believe they are equal to their prey, while simultaneously being convinced of their own worthlessness.
This modern day fairytale is the story of homeless actor-wannabe Toby (Michael Pitt) who convinces paparazzo Les (Steve Buscemi) to let him work as his unpaid assistant in exchange for room and board. Les teaches Toby about life behind the lens, justifying his position as a celebrity photographer who benefits from other people’s unfortunate situations. As Toby is introduced to a new and glamorous world he falls for pop princess K’Harma (Alison Lohman) who shows him her side of fame and fortune, an existence essentially without trust. As their relationship develops, his friendship with Les deteriorates. Can their friendship survive Les’ profession? Can trust be rebuilt? And can paparazzi ever really be trusted?
Tom DiCillo’s Delirious is the epitome of independent films. It is a film where creative control belonged to its director. Its stars are critically acclaimed actors who are more known for the work they do than the parties they attend. Although a budget of $3-4 million would make digital video the most practical option, it is meticulously filmed on 35mm. The project may have taken 25 days to shoot, but the film took six years to complete.
When finally in the can, it made the festival circuit, won awards for Best Film and Best Director and is now opening in select theatres nationwide. The road Delirious has traveled is a bumpy one – one that could have been made smoother by creative compromises, like not casting the relatively unknown Michael Pitt as Toby. “I was pushed very hard to put Frodo, Legolas, [or] you know, Demi Moore’s new husband in this movie to finance the film,” says director DiCillo. “And I said, “No, it’s got to be someone people can discover, someone who can show us homelessness and make it believable. That’s not easy to do.”
Despite his desire for a bigger budget, DiCillo says, in retrospect, that he would not have made this film any other way. “I think what we accomplished was pretty amazing, there’s a consistency of detail and emotion and just really complex stuff that we got. In that respect I’m not sure I would have done it differently because the energy that that created I found helpful. It added to the spontaneity of the film.”
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For Alison Lohman, who portrays the damaged pop princess, the environment that DiCillo created was collaborative, despite time restrictions. “Tom was the perfect combination of casting well and having faith and trust in that the actor can do the job,” she says. “It means more to an actor than anything, to have that support, and he gave me that and he also had many great ideas. It was the perfect balance. I hesitate to do improvisation, but he gives you the confidence to want to play. He was very encouraging.”
The satirical world that DiCillo’s has created is full of industry stereotypes like Lohman’s Britney Spears-esque character, whose ego is constantly fed and whims are supported, as well as the sexually aggressive manager who jumpstarts Toby’s career, played by Gina Gershon. Gershon doesn’t seem all that surprised that the crazy world she lives in continues to entertain audiences. “I remember when I did The Player years ago, and Robert Altman said, ‘Listen, we don’t have to make any of this funny because it already is funny. Just tell the truth and it’s already innately funny.’ And I feel like it was the same for this movie. A part of this business is completely ridiculous, so I think we’re taking a certain aspect of that and that’s a lot more entertaining than showing the people who are great at what they do.”
A fan of DiCillo’s previous work, Gershon agreed to working on Delirious before she had even seen a script. “I think he’s got a great energy about him. I met him a long time ago when he was making Johnny Suede and I liked him then and we were always seeing each other, going, ‘Let’s work together, let’s work together.’ I’m the type of person that there’s directors I really want to work with and I’ll say ‘Great, let’s do it. Wait, what is it we’re doing?’”
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Ultimately, says DiCillo, Delirious is a story about family, friendship and the miracle of success. “I was interested in seeing how two unlikely people could come together and form a friendship that was actually real and how the idea of fame could infect it and pull them apart. It enabled me to use elements of the entertainment industry [and] I would say it’s less a satire than ultimately an homage to it. Ultimately the miracle that happens with Toby is the miracle that keeps us going to the movies in the first place. I believe in that miracle.”
Delirious opens in Los Angeles and New York on Aug. 17
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com Staff- © 2007- All Rights Reserved