The Film Forum

Back in 'Black': Q&A With Josh Hartnett (cont'd)

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Speaking of those grey areas, Bucky is drawn to both the wholesome girl played by Scarlett Johansson and the femme fatale played by Hilary Swank. Which type do you personally prefer?
I don't prefer people with too many secrets, especially ones that could come back to haunt you. But, you know, there's a certain allure to the femme fatale. The dangerous woman has a certain allure. But I'm more interested in people that have a certain kind of inherent honesty about them.

What's your favorite Brian De Palma flick?
Well, the one that I've seen most I wouldn't say is my absolute favorite. I don't know if I have an absolute favorite -- but I love this movie nonetheless. 'The Untouchables' was the first VHS I owned when I was a kid, and I watched it just incessantly. I watched it all the time. My little brother actually watched it all the time as well. My little brother -- one of the first things he learned how to play on the piano was the 'Untouchables' theme.

How old were you guys when you were watching this?
We were young. We were really young, man. There's something about it. I think my grandma gave it to me. There's just something about it that's just so cool and timeless. You know, there's violence in it -- yeah. And it can be pretty intense. But I don't know. There's something so timeless about it, you can't be scared of it.

What was your favorite scene to film in 'Black Dahlia'?
I like that first-person perspective scene.

Right, where you enter Hilary Swank's house and we experience the whole thing from your point of view. Were you actually there right next to the camera the entire time that scene was being shot?
Oh yeah, that's me. That's my foot stomping out the cigarette at the beginning. I'm right next to the camera -- as close to it as I can be, trying not to be distracting because everyone had to look right into the camera.

Are there any movies -- other than your own -- that are on your must-see list right now?
I can't wait to see Sofia [Coppola's] new movie. 'Marie Antoinette' looks pretty interesting. But other than that I haven't seen any previews lately that have rocked my world.

Have you kept in touch with Sofia since 'Virgin Suicides'?
A bit. She hasn't really had any roles for me, so I haven't worked with her in a while. I was supposed to be in 'Lost in Translation' briefly, but it got cut because it was too expensive to do.

What was your role supposed to be?
I was supposed to be a billboard. At the beginning, when Bill Murray is driving into town and he sees that billboard of himself that he hasn't shot yet and he rubs his eyes, that's where it was supposed to be. Before it was the billboard of him that he hasn't shot yet, it was supposed to be a billboard of me for a sake campaign.

Are there any roles you've played where you've really identified with the character you're portraying -- one that's been really close to you?
I think I'm probably a little bit more like Slevin than I am like Bucky. I'm not deadly earnest. I like mixing it up a little bit. I don't really see myself in all my characters. I see what I hope that they should be. I see myself in other people's characters. I watch 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and I think how great it would be to turn out with the latter-day sense of humor, the late-in-the-day sense of humor that Gene Hackman has. He's genius in that film.

Big Wes Anderson fan?
Oh yeah -- more like Max Fischer than anything else.