Damien Chazelle Pays Tribute to William Friedkin in Moving Speech at ‘The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial’ Venice Premiere: ‘He Was Fearless’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Damien Chazelle paid tribute to late great director William Friedkin on Sunday in a moving speech at the Venice Film Festival where Friedkin’s last film “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” premiered out-of-competition to warm applause.
Friedkin, who died on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles at age 87, completed the film – which stars Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Commander Queeg who stands trial for mutiny for taking command from a ship captain he feels is acting in a mentally unstable way that is endangering both the ship and its crew – shortly before passing, “When I first became aware of the name Billy Friedkin I was a child, and the name itself filled me with fear,” said Chazelle, who is presiding over this year’s Venice jury. “I probably had ‘The Exorcist’ in my mind.
I hadn’t see the film yet, but I’d seen the letters written in that typeface, and the sound of the word “Fried-kin” seemed to suggest to me the darkest, most forbidden recesses of the imagination.
The kind of things that inspire nightmares for the rest of your life,” Chazelle added. “So to me William Friedkin meant fear.
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