The Once and Begin Again director talks his next music-infused movie Sing Street.
Few filmmakers have captured the experience of being in a band or making music as Irelands John Carney.
Den of Geek: Is it fair to say thatSing Streetis your most autobiographical movie so far?
John Carney:No, I dont think so.
Id sayOncewas more autobiographical in a way.
In terms of tone and what I really believe in, itsOnce.
This is an escapist, fun film.
There are elements of memoir in Sing Street, but really only as jumping off points.
Its not supposed to be taken massively seriously.
I think I met your older brother Kieran when we spoke for Zonad years ago?
Yeah, I remember meeting you with Kieran.
Were threatening to write something together so were in the early stages of that.
Was he a similar influence as your older brother as Conors brother Brendan is to him?
Both my brother and my sister.
I mean, Im the youngest in my family and that I think is an enormous privilege.
I really do believe that.
I think this film explores that to a degree with the brother relationship.
How did you find Ferdia to play Conor?
Yeah, hes a great kid, that kid, isnt he?
We just did these big open casting calls.
It was almost wrong, but over the callbacks, he toned it down a little bit.
Do you feel thats very representative of yourself when you were attending the Synge Street School?
Do you feel you were that confident?
When I read my diariesI kept a band diary from those daysI cant believe my confidence.
I think there was an alter-ego, in a sense.
I meet my old friends and theyre like, You didnt give any of that off.
If anything, you were annoyingly confident and sure of yourself.
Makes me a good poker player, in a sense, if you might bluff a lot.
I was trying to put a band together, basically.
I was trying to make a band that looks plausible.
Did any of these kids play instruments proficiently beforehand or did you have to teach them that?
Yeah, they all played instruments.
Did you have the kids shoot that themselves?
No, I shot one camera and Yaron Orbach, our DoP shot the other camera.
They did not shoot that themselves.
That was the point ofOnceas well.
I didnt want my voice to appear in any of those films.
I wanted it to seem like those kids were making those films themselves.
It works so well and feels genuinely like something that might be someones first attempt at a video.
Can you talk about how you approached the music for this one?
I dont know how entertaining a film about a bad school band would be.
I think it might be funny.
All the songs came out once we established those rules.
It is the arc of a good band, theyre not supposed to be a bad band.
If they were bad bands or the music was bad, then it would be a very different experience.
What about getting the songs from Motorhead, Duran Duran, and The Cure?
Was it easier to get stuff because ofOnce?
There was a bit of that.
There was a little bit of people knowing the films Ive made before, but I dont know.
Theres a lot of greed between record labels and publishers and that area.
I dont think its fair, in a way, actually.
I think they should pay a fee for it.
I think its fair game after a certain period of time.
They are my friends and people Ive met through people.
Like Gary Clark was somebody I just wanted to work with.
It wasnt like I went through a list of my favorites.
He was specifically the guy I thought would get this film.
Has that band played any shows together live?
No, just the two kids.
By the way, what was the deal with Eamons rabbits?
Do you know someone who liked rabbits that much?
Yeah, I just knew someone who liked rabbits, its just as simple as that.
Theyre just from rabbits.
Theres no story to it.
You have a lot of challenges on this movie already but then you brought in the animals as well.
Children and animals and music, and so many moving parts.
Ive explore enough of that for now, thats for sure.
Certainly the story of how music was in my early life is done with the three films.
That sounds like it could be very funny.
Is that something youre actually directing and might start soon?
Yeah, that is definitely true.
He was a legend.
Sing Streetopens in select cities on Friday, April 15 and will expand wider over the coming weeks.
(The amazing soundtrack for the film will also be available on Friday.)
