‘I WAS LIKE A KID WITH HIS FIRST SUPER 8 CAMERA'
inary visions
Cult writer, cartoonist and illustrator Charles Burns talks to Miles Fielder about his ' work on a new French animated horror anthology '
he wildly imaginative and scary animated French portmanteau horror movie Fear“) of
the Dark was made by six European and
1 American cartoonists working with professional
1 animators. The most notable of those cartoonists is
Charles Burns. who is a legend in the world of comics. Born in Washington DC in the mid-1950s (the decade that informs his work), Burns got his
; start in comics in 198] on Art Spiegelman’s
groundbreaking alternative ‘comix’ anthology, RAW. Over the next decade Burns refined the high-contrast black and white artwork. His creepy horror. § hardboiled crime and teenage melodrama-themed storylines were distilled in his opus, Black Hole which was published in twelve chapters between 1994 and 2005. The Harvey Award-winning graphic novel has since been issued in hardback and is to be made into a movie by David Fincher. Meanwhile. 3 Burns himself has taken a shot at tilmmaking with Fear(s)0f the Dark.
‘lt was an unusual proposal.’ Burns explains, ‘I got involved through a small French production company, which had started out representing illustrators and so
knew my work. The premise for their film was a : duotone animation, a group of artists they liked. and
the themes of hearts) of the Dark. They wanted each artist to be involved in every part of the process, where usually in the commercial animation world everything is devolved to specialists. To me. it was ideal to have that much creative control. The things I‘m comfortable with — creating a story and
’ characters — were the easiest part. The part that was '
- most difficult was translating that into moving
44 THE LIST 16—30 Oct 2008
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pictures. There are what seem like obvious f similarities between comics and animation. but the
storytelling is very different because you have
movement and sound and the whole language of ' cinema. which comes out in the editing process. At : tirst,’ Burns laughs, ‘I was like a kid with his first I
Super 8 camera.”
Burns’ contribution, a queasy tale about a woman who becomes host to an intelligent insect. is based on '
a story he did when he was 21 called I]! Bred. “I cringe when I look at it now.‘ Burns says, ‘but there are elements that are fun, so I went back and played
around with them. Personally, I like Richard _
McGuire’s piece the most.” In it, a man explores an old dark house with nothing but a box of matches for illumination. ‘1 translated a comic into film.’ says Burns, “he approached his section in a much more inventive way. You‘ve got radically different styles
from each artist, but the subject matter and the mood ,
and the monotone give the movie unity.‘
Will Burns make more? Is he involved with the Black Hole film? ‘l‘m not really involved.‘ he says. I ‘but I’m very happy Fincher is directing it. I’d rather .
move ahead with my own work. My skills lie in
combining pictures and words. I’m currently working i on my first colour comic, which is based on my life in . San Francisco in the late 1970s and has a lot of
William Burroughs and Tintin in it.’ The mind boggles.
Fear(s) of the Dark, Cameo, Edinburgh
(matinees only) and selected release from Fri 24
Oct. See review, opposite.
www.list.co.uk/film
LIST
THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
* La Zona Ambiguous and multilayered Mexican vigilante thriller set in an upmarket gated community on the edge of an impoverished community. See review. page 46. Cameo, Edinburgh and selected release from Fri 77 Oct.
3!! YoungOHeart This tear- jerking TV documentary about an old people’s choir gets a minor re-edit and a limited release after causing a stir at this year’s Sundance festival. See review. page 46. Selected release from Fri 24 Oct.
* Pearls) of the Dark Excellent animated horror film anthology from six of the world’s greatest illustrators including Blutch, Richard McGuire and Charles Burns. See preview, left and review, right. Cameo, Edinburgh (matinees only) and selected release from Fri 24 Oct.
* Times and Winds Adolescence Turkish style in this stunning table. See review. Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 77~ Thu 23 Oct (matinees only).
=1: Gomorrah Mafia epic unlike any other. GFT, Glasgow and Cameo, Edinburgh until Thu 23 Oct.
3!: Unrelated Measured and thoughtful tale of grief and seduction in Tuscany. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 17- Thu 23 Oct.
* Africa In Motion Back for its third year. this brilliant festival delivers up the best films, old and new from Africa. www.africa-in-motion.org.uk Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh and selected venues from Thu 23 Oct.
3!: Babylon Long overdue DVD release of Franco Rosso’s incendiary 1980 drama about the lives of working class black youths in South London. See review, page 56. Out Mon 13 Oct (Icon).
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