Second,
Third,
Muchas smoochas and a great big peach to dear, dear
|
|
|
|
|
|
Movieline: How were you cast for the film originally?
David Bowie: [Director] Jim Henson set up a meeting with me while I was doing
my 1983 tour in the States, and he outlined the basic concept for Labyrinth and showed me some of Brian
Froud’s artwork. That impressed me for openers, but he also gave me a tape of The Dark Crystal, which really excited
me. I could see the potential of adding humans to his strange world. I’d always
wanted to be involved in the music-writing aspect of a movie that would appeal
to children of all ages, as well as everyone else, and I must say that Jim gave
me a completely free hand with it. The script itself was terribly amusing
without being vicious or spiteful or bloody, and it also had more heart than
many other special effects movies. So I was pretty well hooked from the
beginning.
ML: Were you already a fan of Jim Henson’s "Muppet Show" on TV?
DB: I suppose I was. Who wasn¹t a fan of Kermit and Miss Piggy? It would be a
pretty stone-hearted person who could deny them!
ML: How do you see your character Jareth, the Goblin King?
DB: I think Jareth is, at best, a romantic, but, at worst, he’s a spoilt child,
vain and temperamental: kind of like a rock ‘n’ roll star! I think he has
inherited his
Connelly]: she’s pretty strong-willed, pure and, psychologically I guess, the
Virgin Mary figure that some guys seem to yearn for.
ML: Will you talk about the songs you have composed for the film?
DB: One of them was "Chilly Down," a little swamp-type number
for the "Chillies" or "Wild Things," strange woodland
creatures who waylay Sarah on her travels: they’re a bit cruel, but infectiously
hilarious, and I thin they’re going to prove to be very popular. With
"Dance Magic," the song for Jareth and the baby, sung by them
and the goblins in the castle throne room, I had problems. The baby I used in
the recording studios couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put more than two gurgles
together, so I ended up doing the baby gurgle choruses myself! It’s an up-tempo
song and visually exciting.
ML: How did you find working opposite Hoggle and other puppet goblins?
DB: I had some initial problems working with Hoggle and the rest because, for
one thing, what they say doesn’t come from their mouths, but from the side of
the set or from behind you or wherever because that’s the way it’s done. Once I’d
overcome the disorientation, we all got along great…The goblins were terrible
company at lunchtime, though!
ML: How did you get along with Jim Henson?
DB: Jim is undoubtedly the most unflappable guy I’ve ever encountered in any profession!
I just can’t believe his capacity for work. For instance, he would finish
shooting for the week on Labyrinth in
London, catch Concorde to New York, work on a new production, TV series or
whatever over the weekend, catch Concorde back to London on Sunday night, and
be at the studios early on Monday morning to resume filming on Labyrinth. He’s desperately work-conscious,
but he seems to love it all.
ML: Are you a movie fan?
DB: I’ve always been fascinated by the early German filmmakers, such as Pabst,
Murnau and Lang, and I¹ve got a pretty good collection of their films. However,
my taste is catholic, to say the least, everything from Gorman to Eisenstein to
Godard. I like Jerry Lewis movies, for instance.
ML: Do you want to direct films?
DB: I’ve been directing my own videos for many years now, but I’ve never had the
initiative or guts to create a big movie. I like to think that I’ll get it all
together one day and do that, but not in the foreseeable future.