Romain Gavras was interviewed by
'Io Donna' magazine (Italy), and talked about working with Rob for the Dior campaign (
via).
Where did you get the inspiration for the video?
Working closely with the team of Dior. Hundred lifetimes in a day and the words of James Dean: "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you were to die today." The result is a character who goes through emotions and different places. Then, with the cinematographer André Chemetoff and production designer Jean -Michel Bertin, we looked for the best visual grammar to tell this story fragmented.
How would you describe the Dior Homme man?
The man we want to represent is someone light, at ease in any situation. It could be on a deserted beach, in a luxury hotel or in an empty house in which he has just moved: he would always be himself. We wanted to move away from the stereotype of the successful, rich and arrogant, and that is why we have added details such as the eighties car that leads to a certain point. The woman is another great way to characterize a man: in the video she is a simple girl, who doesn't dress in a showy way.
Tell us story from the set?
We shot in Brooklyn, Rockaway Beach, immediately after the hurricane. Looking at the beach scene, you can note their signs, for example, the very high sand or cabins destroyed , which gave a strange, unexpected look in a video for a luxury perfume. Oh, and we also ended up in the sea with the car ... It took two boats and a tractor to bring it to the dry sand!
The main difficulty?
Probably the fact of having to film in so many places at once. We had to run all over New York with Rob, who is a big star in Hollywood, dodging paparazzi and all the rest, to not reveal the images of the campaign before the release. Also, before meeting Rob, I had no idea how it would go because we had hectic, very active schedule and sometimes actors don't like working under pressure. But he was great, he gave more than he asked, was with me one hundred percent. In addition, during the shoot, we had great fun.
What is your favorite scene
I really like the part on the beach, the first scene we shot. During the first shot there's something always interesting happening at that moment you'll know if what you had in mind will work or not. It was very nice to hear that it will work.
How was working with Rob?
Rob is extremely curious, he is leaving the phase of the Twilight "poster boy" to play more mature roles. He's already making interesting and choices. Speaking as a director, I can say that he's very easy to work with, an actor able to give so much.
