COLOURING OUTSIDE THE LINES

Despite having only recently turned 53, it’s been 27 years since RICHARD STANLEY completed a narrative film, DUST DEVIL. His career took a turn when he was fired as director from THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU by New Line studio – the string of catastrophes that led to his leaving the project are recounted in the 2015 documentary, LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. It was perhaps the most calamitous making-of story in film history, but it did not slow the filmmaker down. After almost three decades spent making documentaries, music videos, and various art projects, RICHARD STANLEY triumphantly returns with a H.P. Lovecraft adaptation starring Nicolas Cage, COLOR OUT OF SPACE. As we sit down, Stanley apologizes for his slight lateness and tells us he has just flown into London. When we ask where he’s come from, he explains he’s arrived from his home in Montségur, a small commune in the mountainous southwest of France…

- Laura Potier

STARBURST: That does sound like the kind of writing environment that would produce a Color Out of Space screenplay.

Richard Stanley: Generally, living there is classic expat behavior. What happens is that a couple retires – usually city people – buy a big farmhouse in France that has some structural defect, and they always have some kind of scheme involving raising Angora goats to make sweaters or keeping ostriches.

And you’re not quite there yet?

No, that’s usually folk who are coming out of accountancy or white-collar occupations. Usually, the couples don’t know each other well because they’re not used to spending time together, and on average, drinking problems set in within the first twelve months, then within three or four years there’s some form of domestic violence. Then in a small but significant number of cases, a murder happens within the first decade. The gendarmes are very used to it; it’s a classic battle with British retired expats, drunk and irrational behaviour, then the wife’s body is found in the hydroelectric barrage on the river or something. That was kind of at the back of my mind when I was first writing the script.

It really sounds like you have a whole murder-mystery planned out.

I heard it so often from the gendarmes in the area. It was almost expected that, as an expat, you’d get to the area and start drinking heavily. Somehow there’s always Angora goats involved or a mini-golf course, some kind of ridiculous business venture tied into it.

I guess that sounds kind of relaxing, in a weird off-the-grid way.