The reporter interviewed Nick Cave, the screenwriter and music creator of the film.
Reporter (hereinafter referred to as "Ji"): How did "The Proposition" come into being?
Nick Cave (hereinafter referred to as "NC"): I have known director John Hillcoat for more than 20 years, and he has been thinking about filming Western Australia for 18 of these 20 years, and I will be responsible for the music part. I have been working with him for 18 years. In the end, he gave me an Australian Western film script adapted from the American West Story. In fact, we all know that this is not what we want. He said: "Okay, fucking fuck, you write." Just like that, I started to do it and finished the script in three weeks. I didn't want to spend a lot of time at the time, because I didn't want to spend time on things that I thought were impossible to succeed. But after years of difficulties, John still succeeded.
Reporter: When writing this script, were you heavily influenced by American Western films?
NC: I think John was greatly influenced by the anti-Western trend in the 70s. Generally, Australians have a very different view of their own history and Americans' view of their own history. We are not exposed to such things as black issues or villains and heroes. We are more resistant to history, and we feel a kind of uncertainty and even shame. I think we can basically regard our history as a process of failure and incompetence. I am very impressed with the Kelly Party. The heroes in "The Proposition" are darker. You may sympathize with a certain character and feel that another character deserves the crime, but in the end, you can’t tell which person deserves sympathy and which one deserves the crime. Sometimes you feel that you are in line with the ideas of a certain character, but then you feel that you are in line with the ideas of another character. These characters are slowly being destroyed by their stupidity.
Reporter: Can you talk more about Australians' understanding of their own history?
NC: Hmm. I don’t know if you have seen photos of black people in the United States receiving lynchings. Those whites just stood there and watched, even with their children, as if watching lynchings was a kind of entertainment. I don't think their behavior means that they are hopeless. But in terms of the central meaning of this movie, this is the story of a group of people who shouldn't stay on this land. Maybe there should be places on the earth that shouldn't be occupied by humans. I find that the fascination with violence that hangs on people's faces when looking at whipping and punishment is our most primitive instinct. I think that the more we progress, the actual result is the opposite. This is your nature and my nature. Racial hatred, racial hatred, and murder are the most basic nature of mankind. In fact, I think human beings have done more than this. The more advanced the technological means we have in our hands, it means that we have learned faster and more effective ways to destroy people.
Reporter: Why didn't you play a role?
NC: This is what JOHN means. (laugh)
Reporter: Is there a role you want to play?
NC: Actually, I don't really want to act. I have already written another book to JOHN, and I might act it at that time.
Reporter: What is the new script about?
NC: A feature film about the British seaside, starring Ray Winstone, which is very different.
Reporter: Is the process of writing this new script different?
NC: It's totally different. I finished the final draft on the computer, you just need to type on the keyboard to have everything. I am used to writing with a computer.
Reporter: As a script creator, how have you been affected?
NC: I'm not the kind that loves movies, but I watched a lot of movies. My hobby of movies cannot be compared with my hobby of music or literature. For example, when I listen to a song, I usually listen to it with an analytical eye. I will ask this song, why is it done like this? Why is the lyrics like this? I do the same with literature. I am very interested in language and its use. I treat movies more casually, come to the DVD store, buy 4 DVDs, go home, sit down and start watching, without thinking about it. I might think a certain great work is silly. You just turn on the screen and start watching. No matter good or bad, I have a lot of bad movies, general movies, and good movies in my mind. They all affect me. I often ask "Why do they want to shoot like this?" when I watch a movie, "Why would it be more interesting to proceed like this?"
Reporter: When you wrote the script for "The Proposition", were you also making the background music for the film at the same time?
NC: Yes, the process of the script and the music are synchronized. I think the script is very musical.
Reporter: Did you let a certain character in the film be your endorsement?
NC: No, but I sympathize with them. For me, the only villain in the film is the one who occupies the town and commits violence.
Reporter: That very powerful person?
NC: Yes (laughs), I want other characters to be sympathized in different ways, no matter how evil they are. The only character that makes you feel sympathetic is the one that can allude to yourself. I think they are all reflected in us.
Reporter: Did you go to the set?
NC: No, but I went there once before shooting and did a rehearsal with the actors, rewriting what they thought was uncomfortable for acting.
Reporter: The shooting location looks hot?
NC: Yes, it's very hot, close to 50 degrees, which is not something most people can bear. Many plays are done indoors, so it gets hotter. The scene was built in the desert. Due to the heat, some equipment is out of order. I don't know the specifics, but it's really fucking hot.
Reporter: Western films are a very malleable film type. Do you know which elements will appear in the film when you write the script?
NC: No, actually we don't know what will happen during the shooting. Basically, John is in the studio, and I am doing the band's record "No More Shall We Part". He brought a story about Western Australia, and I looked at it, and both of us felt it was not ideal. Later, when I recorded the record, I thought "What if I arrange three brothers?", so I have the premise of the story afterwards. I started to write, and it was obvious that the story will not develop towards a happy ending.
Reporter: There are many imaginations of violence in "The Proposition". Whose idea is this?
NC: JOHN is very interested in violence. His first two movies are very violent. I think he is very interested in topics like the consequences of violence and where violence will take you. When he shoots something about violence, he shoots very quickly and brutally. People say this is a very violent movie, but I disagree. You see that many HOLLYWOOD films are very violent, and some scripts are written to show a lot of violent elements. For example, I have never liked watching Tarantino films. So I said that John’s approach to violence is still very realistic. Violence is actually a way of telling stories.
Reporter: Composing music takes longer than writing your script, isn't it?
NC: Yes, scoring a film is a very difficult job, not as easy as building bricks. For me personally, this may be the most difficult part. When others were trying to write songs, I was still sitting in the office, trying to write something. I was exhausted by my tiring thoughts and the mess in my head. This habit of writing songs is difficult to overcome. But when I was writing the script, I just had to sit there and someone said to me: "Write a Western Australia story." I don’t need to worry too much, I just need to sit there, create some characters, and let the story Just keep going.
Reporter: Is there a tour plan?
NC: My band in my own name is touring around England on a small scale.
Reporter: Is there any difference in acting as an individual?
NC: There are relatively few members (laughs). I played with the Bad Seeds band. I don't know how many people have joined. There are only four members in the individual band. This saves us a lot of trouble on the road. We can perform at any time, and we don’t have to care about performing the songs on those albums. So we played very casually and very special.
Reporter: Do you have any plans to write novels?
NC: No.
Reporter: Why?
NC: I think once you write a script or two, you can no longer write novels, and I don't have the desire to write anymore. This is not what I want to do. It was a totally unreasonable idea when I first wrote it. Someone said to me: You should write a novel, I said okay. I just wrote a book. I have no ambition to be a writer. For me, I just want to be a singer. This is my most basic interest.
Reporter: Do you listen to a lot of new music?
NC: This new one is for me personally. I listen to many types of music, but not necessarily a new band.
Reporter: You have played an important role in the music industry for a long time.
NC: Yes. It is a very extravagant thing. I have been cared for by this relationship, so I can make music as I want. The record company also encourages me to do this. I have seen a lot of other bands leaving their original company and switching to a new company. This is really damn bad. I am very grateful for being able to release records on MUTE Records. They also gave us a lot of support.
Reporter: Is the sales volume of the record worse than before?
NC: Hmm. I didn't get a good performance before, but I think it was a problem with the record itself. We still survived the criticism on the Internet. I also listen to music online. I have IPOD. I found that I have listened to more music in the past six months than before.
Reporter: I heard that a tour DVD about you is about to be released?
NC: It's possible.
Reporter: Will you watch your own performance video?
NC: I never look at my own things.
Reporter: Why?
NC: Because this is not so fun. I prefer to live in fantasy, thinking that I did a great job, rather than looking back to see if I did a good job. So I don’t listen to my own music or watch my own videos, especially live videos.
