Michel Hazanavicius inspired by ‘classics’

(Cover) - EN Movies - Michel Hazanavicius thinks many American movies from the 20s are “classics”.

The director helmed The Artist, which is an homage to silent movies. It’s been the breakthrough film during awards season, receiving ten Oscar nominations including for best picture.

Michel has discussed what inspires his work.

“My biggest idol is [Austro-Hungarian director] Billy Wilder. And I was inspired by [German director] Ernst Lubitsch. But for The Artist I watched American movies, which were made between 1925 till 1929. In this time many films were made that are still classics today,” he told bild.de.

Michel’s love of movies started when he was a child. He used to spend hours watching all kinds of releases at his local cinemas.

“There were two cinemas in the area in Paris I grew up. One showed classics, the other blockbusters. So I watched everything, especially spaghetti westerns, French comedies, but also old Hollywood classics,” he explained.

Although he loves retro pictures, Michel doesn’t hanker after a bygone era. He’s happy living in the here and now and finds it easy to separate his work and home life.

“No, I'm not [a nostalgic]. I'm happy to live today. I've got four children, so I have to trust the future,” he said.

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