Inside The Making Of “Call Me By Your Name” (HBO)
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging script, author Andre Aciman and director Luca Guadagnino discuss the novel and film 'Call Me by Your Name,' which tells the story of a passionate and enduring love between two men, 17 and 24 years old. Set in Italy, the narrative unfolds through the lens of a lush summer, exploring the intimate relationship that shapes their lives. Aciman shares his creative process, including a provocative scene that both shocked and captivated him, ultimately deciding to keep it for its authenticity. The script highlights the importance of capturing the raw, individual experience and translating it into a collective, emotional journey.
Takeaways
- 📚 The script is about the novel and movie 'Call Me By Your Name', which explores a romantic relationship between two individuals, one 17 and the other 24 years old.
- 🏡 The story is set in Italy, with the author using his imagination to create a vivid setting involving a house, a beach, and a pine alley.
- 🚗 The author's creative process involved envisioning a car arriving at the house, which led to the introduction of a character that made him nervous.
- 🎬 The director, Luca Guadagnino, discusses the adaptation of the novel into a film, emphasizing the importance of the setting and the characters' relationship.
- 📝 The author, André Aciman, shares his initial frustration and inability to travel to Italy, which sparked the beginning of the novel.
- 🍉 A key scene from the novel and film involves a sensual moment with a fruit, which the author initially questioned for its plausibility but later confirmed as possible.
- 🎨 The film aims to make the individual experience of the characters a collective one, dealing with the rawness and beauty of their relationship.
- 🌟 Both the novel and the film are praised for their lack of sensationalism, focusing instead on the genuine connection between the two main characters.
- 🚫 The script mentions the absence of accidents, death, or any form of sexual prohibition in the story, highlighting the natural development of the characters' relationship.
- 💖 The relationship in 'Call Me By Your Name' is presented as a model for a happy romance, emphasizing the importance of genuine love and connection.
- 🎵 The transcript is punctuated by music, suggesting an emotional and atmospheric tone to the narrative.
Q & A
Who is Andre Osman and what is his connection to 'Call Me by Your Name'?
-Andre Osman is the author of the novel 'Call Me by Your Name'. He also appears in the script discussing the story and his creative process.
What is the central theme of the novel 'Call Me by Your Name'?
-The central theme of the novel is the love story between two individuals, one 17 years old and the other 24 years old, which develops and stays with them for the rest of their lives.
What was the inspiration behind the setting of the novel?
-The author, Andre Osman, was unable to go to Italy and was unhappy and frustrated, which led him to start writing a novel set in Italy, incorporating elements like a house, a beach, and a pine alley.
How did the author decide on the characters' arrival in the story?
-Andre Osman decided on the characters' arrival by imagining a car coming down a pine alley and then deciding who would come out of the car, choosing a character that made him nervous and intimidated him.
What was the author's initial reaction to a particular scene involving a fruit in the novel?
-Andre Osman initially found the scene involving the use of a fruit in a sexual act to be disgusting and questioned its possibility, but he decided to keep it in the novel.
What did the director and co-producer of the movie adaptation do to understand a particular physical act in the story?
-The director and co-producer of the movie adaptation questioned the possibility of the physical act involving the fruit and tried it themselves to understand and confirm its feasibility.
What is the significance of the setting during summer in the novel?
-The setting during summer is significant as it describes the place as lush with fruits, which plays a role in a pivotal scene in the story.
How does the author address the portrayal of the relationship between the two main characters in the novel?
-The author emphasizes that there is no accident, death, or banning of any sexual proclivity, and that the relationship should serve as a model for a happy romance.
What was the challenge the author faced in making the individual experience of the characters a collective one?
-The challenge was to convey the brutality of the images and make the individual experience of the characters a collective one without resorting to a postcard imagination of the setting.
What is the author's view on the importance of the setting in relation to the characters in the novel?
-The author believes that the setting is crucial and that moving the action to his hometown allowed him to investigate more deeply the relationship between space and the characters.
How does the script reflect on the process of adapting the novel into a film?
-The script reflects on the process by discussing the author's creative process, the director's and co-producer's approach to understanding the story, and the challenges of making the individual experience collective in the film.
Outlines
📚 Inspiration Behind 'Call Me By Your Name'
Andre Osman, the author of the novel 'Call Me By Your Name,' discusses the origins of the story, which centers around a romantic relationship between two individuals, one 17 and the other 24 years old. The story unfolds in Italy, a setting that became the backdrop when Osman was unable to travel there. He describes the process of envisioning the house, beach, and the iconic pine alley that leads to the house, and how the characters came to life, including one who was based on someone who intimidated him. The narrative delves into the exploration of space and the characters' relationship, emphasizing the importance of authenticity over a picturesque imagination.
🎬 Adapting the Novel to Film
The director and co-producer of the movie adaptation of 'Call Me By Your Name' share insights into the adaptation process. They discuss the challenges of translating the intimate and personal experiences of the characters into a collective experience for the audience. The director recounts a particular scene involving a fruit, which initially seemed implausible but was later confirmed as possible through personal experimentation. The film strives to present a brutal and honest portrayal of the characters' relationship without censorship, aiming to serve as a model for a happy romance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Andre Osman
💡Call Me By Your Name
💡Love
💡Nino
💡Italy
💡Space and Figure
💡Fruit
💡Ethylene D
💡Physical Act
💡Collective Experience
💡Banning of Sexual Proclivity
Highlights
Andre Osman is the author of the novel 'Call Me by Your Name'.
The novel explores the love story between two individuals, one 17 and the other 24 years old.
The love story unfolds unpredictably and has a lasting impact on their lives.
The novel was inspired by the author's inability to travel to Italy in April 2005.
The setting of the novel is Italy, with a house, beach, and a pine alley.
The author introduces a character who was intimidating and older, which adds complexity to the story.
The author's hometown is used as the setting for the movie adaptation.
The relationship between space and character is deeply investigated in the adaptation.
The adaptation avoids a postcard-like imagination of Italy, focusing on the lush summer setting.
A scene involving a fruit and its symbolic use is described, which was initially questioned by the director.
The director had to personally verify the physical possibility of a scene involving the fruit.
The challenge of making an individual experience collective through the film's imagery is discussed.
Both the novel and the film avoid accidents, death, or any banning of sexual proclivity.
The story serves as a model for a happy romance, emphasizing the relationship between two individuals.
The film's music adds to the emotional depth of the narrative.
Transcripts
[Music]
I'm Andre Osman the author of the novel
call me by your name I am look at
weather nino i am the director and
co-producer of call me by your name the
movie call me by your name is a novel
about the love of two individuals one is
17 years old the other one is 24 years
old
it happens sort of unpredictably and yet
it blossoms and it develops and it stays
with them for the rest of their lives
it's April of 2005 I'm supposed to go to
Italy I just find out that I'm not gonna
go to Italy I'm very unhappy and very
frustrated so I start writing a novel
that is going to be happening in Italy
and I begin to think of a house I think
of a beach and I think of a pine alley
that leads to the house and sure enough
if you have a pine alley then you have a
car coming in and when the car comes in
I have to decide who is going to come
out of the car
and there was always someone that made
me very nervous so who intimidated me
who was older than I was and suddenly I
said why not bring this character back I
go nice to meet you le the idea and the
concept of moving the action to my
hometown my new the place is so well
that I could investigate more deeply the
relationship between space and figure
and making sure that we were not going
for like a sort of postcard imagination
of ethylene D AIDS in the summer the
place is lush with fruits there are
cents all over the place and the boy
takes the fruit in his bedroom and
begins to eat it and as in the movie
there's juices all over him
and basically he applies the fruit in a
place of his body that we will not name
and he ejaculates into it and then I
said okay Andre I cannot believe that
you wrote this see this is disgusting
but I I decided to keep it I like to
joke about the fact that sometime that
during the process of making the film ie
also questioned the actual physical act
that it cannot happen I did I thought it
wasn't possible and so I had to try
before in order to understand and I
understood that it was possible actually
my problem was how do you make that
individual experience a collective
experience with the brutality of the
images and it really was torn I think
that both the novel and the film do one
thing that is so essential there is no
accident there is no death there is no
banning of any sexual proclivity all
right but these are two individuals who
have a relationship and I think it
should serve as a model for essentially
a happy romance
[Music]
you
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