MOVIE NEWS – “I’m a masochist, I always find the fifth gear” – says Margot Robbie (Me, Tonya, Suicide Squad, Once Upon a Time… Hollywood), adding that his new film, Babylon, almost caught him.

He had never participated in such a painful shoot in his life, he revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Magazine, and by the end he was completely exhausted. Set in 1920s Hollywood, Robbie plays an aspiring actress who she says is inhabited by the spirits of two animals: the octopus, because it’s sleek and adaptable, and the bee badger, which is like a weasel, always ready to fight and thick his skin.

Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle (California Dream) was delighted with the Australian actress firstly as a person and secondly with her performance in front of the camera: “ A completely animalistic creature, predatory virtue resides in him. Anyway, he is as talented and prepared an actor as a director can only dream of.”

The 37-year-old Chazelle seems to be preparing to crown his masterpiece, as he presents an incredible parade of stars – with Brad Pitt in the lead – 189 minutes long (!) in his film, providing a broad social overview. “I wanted to make a panoramic film like some of Fellini’s works, for example Sweet Life, the Godfather films or Robert Altman’s Nashville also floated before my eyes is. These are old-school epics that show big social changes, so by the end of the story we’re already in another world.”

Previously, it was a matter of keen interest how much the studio censorship had a say in the film’s final cut, because Babylon is very long and the first half hour is so eventful presents an orgy that you’ve seen on the mainstream silver screen a long time ago. In the end, the director’s will prevailed, everything is presented to the audience as he originally imagined.

(Babylon – domestic release: January 19, 2023.)

Source: UIP Dunafilm