In some ways, we’ve only gotten a small taste of what filmmaker Mark Romanek is capable of. In nearly 20 years, thanks to the fickle nature of the film industry, projects that have fallen apart and an unwillingness on his part to compromise the work, Romanek has only made two feature films, the psychological thriller, “One Hour Photo” (2002), the first film to cast the beloved comedian Robin Williams as a sociopath, and the melancholy sci-fi romance “Never Let Me Go,” from writer Alex Garland.
But regardless of studio green lights, or financing falling apart, Romanek is always making things. A striking image-maker of the highest caliber, before his film career started and in-between Romanek directed some of, (and arguably most of) the most iconic music videos ever made for artists like Jay-Z (“99 Problems”), Johnny Cash (“Hurt”), Beyoncé (co-directing “Sandcastles” from Lemonade), Nine Inch Nails (“Closer”), Michael & Janet Jackson (“Scream”), Fiona Apple (“Criminal”), Taylor Swift (“Shake It Off”), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Madonna, and many more.
READ MORE: ‘Tales From The Loop’ Review: A Moving & Wondrous Director’s Showcase Of Prestige Sci-Fi
Romanek was music videos at one point. His music videos have won 20 MTV Video Music Awards (the most for any director) and way back in 1997, he had already received the VMA Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for his contribution to the medium (the only filmmaker to have ever won that award ever). Romanek’s earned three Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video (more than any other director). In between film development and music videos, he’s shot some television (“Vinyl,” the unreleased pilot for “Locke And Key”), some of the most iconic ads for Apple, and is an avid photographer who has shot some of the biggest musicians, actors, and celebrities in the world.
In short, just because the films haven’t come to fruition, doesn’t mean that Romanek cinema and his trademark striking visuals aren’t their own thing, and arguably their own genre. His latest effort is as director and executive producer from Amazon’s thoughtful and compelling sci-fi anthology series, “Tales From The Loop” from writer Nathaniel Halpern and producer Matt Reeves (the recent ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise). A cineaste through and through, we spoke to Romanek about “Tales From The Loop,” but to get a greater understanding on how he sees cinema and what informs his eclectic work, we asked the filmmaker to take part in our The Movies That Changed My Life” feature series and he was happy to oblige.
What’s the first movie that you remember seeing in the theater?
“Mary Poppins.” I loved the entirely made-up storybook world of the film. I was 4 years old. I distinctly recall the characters’ laughter causing them to float up into the air. Since then, and since seeing the astronauts in zero-g in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and the Fizzy Lifting Drink scene in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” I seem to have a fair amount of weightlessness scenes in some of my work.
The best moviegoing film experience you ever had.
I don’t want to get anyone in retroactive trouble but was invited to see the only test screening of the 70mm Cannes premiere print of Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line,” with only two other people in the Darryl F. Zanuck Theater on the Fox lot, before it was hand-couriered to France. It was essentially a private screening (Malick’s return to filmmaking after 20 years!). It overwhelmed me emotionally. I sat in my car in the parking lot for 15 minutes, before I could start the engine.
The first film you saw that made you realize you wanted to be a filmmaker.
My dad was a movie buff, so he took me to the original 70mm Roadshow screening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Mike Todd theater — a movie palace (of course, no longer there). I was only 9 years old. I was too young to realize that I wanted to be a filmmaker, but that is the film that started me on the road to thinking about it seriously.
The movie that always makes you cry or the movie that is your emotional comfort food.
I always tear up at the end of the Peter O’Toole comedy “My Favorite Year.” Something about this older man overcoming his inner fears, even at such an advanced age, always gets me for some reason. I’m also rendered emotionally helpless by the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when the friends and relatives rush in with the contributions, but so is everyone with a pulse.
The movie that always freaks you out or makes you scared.
There are many. I am easily scared by films and don’t usually enjoy horror films. When the little old lady in the shiny red raincoat turns around in Nicolas Roeg’s “Don’t Look Now,” it always sends a shockwave through my nervous system. I’m often very scared in Scorsese’s great gangster films, because I find it so upsetting that men can be so ignoble and brutish.