'American Beauty,' British interpretation

Director Sam Mendes goes from 'The Blue Room' to the Oscars

Mendes

February 18, 2000
Web posted at: 3:34 p.m. EST (2034 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Oscars are a month away, and already British neophyte film director Sam Mendes is the movie industry's golden boy.

In a year when commercial but critically reviled hits such as "Big Daddy," "Double Jeopardy" and "The Mummy" cluttered theaters, Mendes' "American Beauty," gratified critics and audiences alike. According to Exhibitor Relations, the film, a darkly funny paean about the rot infesting perfectly pruned American suburban life, earned a respectable $71 million last year.

This week, all the critical accolades paid off, too. On Tuesday, "American Beauty" earned eight Academy Award nominations, including best director, best picture, best actor for Kevin Spacey and best actress for Annette Bening.

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Those were just the latest plaudits for the first-time film director. Mendes, an affable chap who helmed "Cabaret" in London and on Broadway, as well as the celebrated play "The Blue Room" with actress Nicole Kidman, already took home a Golden Globe earlier this year for best director.

Last year, he sat down with CNN to talk awards and rewards.

CNN: So, now that "American Beauty" is up for so many awards, what do you think of our obsession with little statues?

Mendes: "The bad thing about all this awards stuff is, it pits one film-maker up against another, it pits one movie up against the other. But, the good thing, there's no big movie this year that's gonna blitz everybody. You don't have to see all these movies and debate. And that's great."

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CNN: What do you think the big debate is about "American Beauty," if there's one at all?

Mendes: "The main debate is, I suppose, about how profound it really is. I think it's a very profound film and I think it's a very unjudgmental film and I think it's a very big story, but I think the story is universal. I think it's a very big story set in a very small place. I think you have to feel it's more than a satire. To me, it's about the endless fascination with how many layers there are to every human being, how nothing is what it seems. By the end, they're all very complex human beings."

CNN: When did you realize you might have a diamond in the rough in your hands?

Mendes: "I think you go into a kind of trance when you make the film. When you shoot it, you can't think about it. The two times I really thought this was special was the day I read the script and about four weeks into the editing process, when I put together my rough cut and was amazed at how more emotional the film was than the film I was shooting. Those were the times I thought that I had something special."

CNN: Why do you think the movie struck a chord with viewers?

Mendes: "I suppose once in a while, a filmmaker makes a movie that's more than just a sum of its parts, more than good acting or good filmmaking. It's something else that has nothing to do with what you've done. This is in 1999, made by people in 1999 for people in 1999 about people in 1999."

CNN: Are you still in touch with the cast?

Mendes: "The nice thing is, because the movie has been a success, there's the occasional party, the occasional premiere, opening. I see a lot of Kevin and Annette. Annette is pregnant so I haven't seen her that much, but Kevin is a one-man publicity machine for this movie. He's unbelievable -- I mean, how does he have the energy? Annette can't really fly, and they just ask her about (her husband) Warren (Beatty) the entire time, but Kevin has been on the campaign trail."

CNN: How do you follow up a project when you make such a big bang with your film directing debut?

Mendes: "I think I'm going to wait another 20 years to have this happen to me again. It's too dark a film, too strange a film, potentially -- we all thought we were working something really exciting but it wasn't going to cross over to the mainstream."

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'American Beauty' official site
Internet Movie Database: Sam Mendes

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