Harmony Korine
Best known both as the writer of films "Kids" (1995) and "Ken Park" (2002) and as the director of films "Gummo" (1997), "julien donkey-boy" (1999), and "Mister Lonely" (2007), Harmony Korine has been deemed as the "enfant terrible" of modern independent dramatic film. Raised in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of PBS cinematographer Sol Korine spent many of his days at revival theaters, drawing vast inspiration from a wide variety of envelop-pushing filmmakers. After reaching a break-through opportunity as a screenwriter for Larry Clark's first highly controversial film "Kids" in 1995, Korine quickly became viewed as one of America's most bizarre and inventive creative entities, especially with the release of his directorial debut "Gummo" in 1997 and the publication of his first novel, "A Crackup at the Race Riots," the following year. He has earned the recognition and respect of Werner Herzog, Gus Van Sant, Jean-Luc Godard, and others.
Since his rise to fame (or infamy), Korine has expanded his horizons in film, literature, art, music, and tap-dancing. He has directed several music videos, commercials, and David Blaine television specials; Korine has also hosted numerous exhibits of his art and photography. Currently, the man continues to release published screenplays and fanzines while caring for his wife Rachel and his son Lefty.
“The first time I hung out with [David Blaine], he took me to this condemned building, and it had a pizza oven and he crawled into the pizza oven and turned the heat on to 400 degrees or something like that, and he stayed in it for I guess a half hour. He came out, and except for one or two second-degree burns, he was unscathed. You meet a lot of musicians and filmmakers and actors, but it's rare to meet someone who can step inside a pizza oven and take the heat. I was intrigued by that.”
“A scientist shouldn't be asked to judge the economic and moral value of his work. All we should ask the scientist to do is find the truth and then not keep it from anyone.”
“If Wagner lived today, he would probably work with film instead of music. He already knew back then that the Great Art Form would include a sort of fourth dimension; it was really film he was talking about.”
“After 100 years, films should be getting really complicated. The novel has been reborn about 400 times, but it's like cinema is stuck in the birth canal.”
“What I remember myself from films, and what I love about films, is specific scenes and characters.”
“I never cared so much about making perfect sense. I wanted to make perfect nonsense. I wanted to tell jokes, but I didn't give a fuck about the punchline. ”