Vincenzo Natali interview

VINCENZO NATALI

While he may not quite yet be a household name, thousands of film fans across the globe are eagerly awaiting the new film by distinctive Canadian auteur Vincenzo Natali.

It's over five years since his debut movie Cube became an international cult success, and its stylish mix of complex sci-fi plot and arresting visuals announced the arrival of an idiosyncratic new voice in cinema. Now he is back to promote his new film Cypher, a paranoid thriller starring Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu, and he took time out of his schedule to talk exclusively to Tiscali.

Natali is charm personified and remains just about as unaffected by his success as it is possible to be. A self-confessed film geek, he readily admits that he was more surprised than anyone by the success of his first film. "I couldn't believe the success it had because really to me it was just a simple little student film and not really meant to be seen by anyone else apart from a few friends" he says. "What's really strange is that the film is still being released theatrically in countries around the world today."

One would assume that such a success would open doors for the young director, but that wasn't the case: he spent a couple of years in "development hell", trying to get his next project under way until the script for Cypher (written by friend Brian King) landed on his doorstep. "I read it from cover to cover and as soon as it had finished I called Brian and told him that this was my next project".

Once again the action of the film takes place in a world that has superficial resemblances to our own, but still possesses its own unique look. This was crucial to Natali. "We actually only had a short shoot back in the summer of 2001, and due to budget constraints we didn't have that long in the edit suite, so we needed to plan very carefully in advance just how the film would look."

Needless to say, with a success along the lines of Cube under his belt, he was able to boost the star power for his next film and cast Jeremy Northam alongside Lucy Liu in the main roles: "It was simple. Jeremy read the script and decided he wanted to do it. I've always thought he was a great character actor and he was perfect for the role. As for Lucy, I think she genuinely wanted a break from the big Hollywood blockbusters she was involved in and she was a total pleasure to work with. She's a highly intelligent woman and great fun to have on set."