In this episode, we’re joined by film director and screenwriter Ole Bornedal, the man behind hit films such as ‘Så længe jeg lever’, ‘Nattevagten’ and ‘Skyggen i mit øje’. We talk about the film industry, his creative goals, Hollywood, AI and creating success.
Ole describes himself as a professional in his work and as a man who pushes himself to the limit, as far as his talent will take him. In private, he is highly sensitive to how other people are feeling, and he finds it hard to be around lazy, unprofessional people who don’t care about what they do.
Freedom doesn’t work
The creative goal
Ole has known he wanted to be a director since he was 14. In the episode, he talks about where that interest came from and why becoming a director wasn’t a common path in Denmark. Ole explains that he has always had a leadership gene and has always liked staging things.
He grew up in Nørresundby with his older brother and his mother. He moved to Copenhagen to follow his big dream, but was turned down by the National Film School of Denmark. So he ended up doing film studies and, by chance, landed at Danmarks Radio, the Danish public broadcaster, which turned out to open a lot of doors for him. Ole says that ever since the Film School rejected him, he has been driven by revenge, because he wanted to prove his talent. He believes that wanting to be the best is a very strong motivation.
‘What’s the point of making films if you don’t have an audience?’
Ole has been behind a long list of significant Danish and international films, and his big breakthrough came with ‘Nattevagten’ in 1994. In the episode, Ole talks about how he comes up with ideas for new films and what goals he sets himself. Even after great success, Ole still finds things to fix in his films. He stresses that his most important goal in making films is that the audience finds them exciting, because what’s the point of making films if there’s no audience?
Ole is also frustrated that some people think being a director is easy, when in reality it’s a process with many factors and challenges. That’s why he describes the process as extremely difficult and often painful.
Too arty-farty for Hollywood
‘Nattevagten’ wasn’t only a success in Denmark; it also opened doors for Ole Bornedal in Hollywood. He talks about how he was offered the chance to direct ‘Scream’ but said no, how he was hired by Miramax as a script supervisor, and what working at the heart of Hollywood taught him. Ole describes himself as a bit too arty-farty for Hollywood’s taste and frustrated by the industry’s pragmatic and cynical nature, and he missed his family back in Denmark.
Ole admits that for the first time in his life he felt lonely, especially when he was making films in Vancouver. He stresses that while it’s fine to dream of Hollywood, it’s also important to be aware of the industry’s darker sides and its superficial relationships.