{"id":148523,"date":"2022-11-11T12:47:44","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T07:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/radical-dreamer-director-on-how-he-persuaded-werner-herzog-to-be-the-subject-of-his-documentary\/"},"modified":"2022-11-11T12:50:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T07:20:00","slug":"director-of-radical-dreamer-on-how-he-persuaded-werner-herzog-into-being-the-subject-of-his-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centralrecorder.com\/director-of-radical-dreamer-on-how-he-persuaded-werner-herzog-into-being-the-subject-of-his-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Director of “Radical Dreamer” on How He Persuaded Werner Herzog into Being the Subject of His Documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\tThomas von Steinaecker first reached out to Werner Herzog in 2020 about making a documentary surveying the prolific director\u2019s career. Von Steinaecker\u2019s peers told him that he would never hear back from Herzog. Afterall Herzog had never met von Steinaecker. This was almost two years ago. Von Steinaecker was then completing the task. \u201cWerner Herzog: Radical Dreamer.\u201d The 103-minute feature documentary chronicles not just Herzog\u2019s 60-year career, but also explores what makes Herzog tick as a filmmaker and as a human being.<\/p>\n
\nGerman-born von Steinaecker discovered Herzog while in his early teens. \u201cAguirre, the Wrath of God.\u201dVon Steinaecker was a member of the American Society for Engineering and Technology (ASET) from that moment forward. \u201cfascinated\u201dWith the director.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEverything about (\u2018Aguirre, the Wrath of God\u2019) was shockingly different and strange,\u201dHe said. \u201cThe music, Klaus Kinski, the story and, last but not least, the documentary-style camera. The fact that such a film had been made in \u2013 from a cinematic point of view \u2013 boring Germany, was incredible to me. I had never seen anything like it before. I was shocked, even traumatized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLater in life, von Steinaecker was inspired by Herzog\u2019s documentaries, which include \u201cGrizzly Man\u201dAnd \u201cEncounters at the End of the World,\u201dAs well as his books. \u201cOf Walking in Ice\u201dAnd \u201cConquest of the Useless.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBoth (books) left a lasting impression on me as a writer and have no equal in German literary history,\u201d von Steinaecker says.<\/p>\n
\nIn \u201cWerner Herzog: Radical Dreamer\u201d von Steinaecker interviews actors and directors including Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, Joshua Oppenheimer, Wim Wenders, Nicole Kidman, Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson about what makes Werner Werner. Interviews with Herzog, Lena, and other family members are also featured in the film. Combining interviews with Herzog and his wife Lena, as well as archival footage of Herzog at his work, the film shows a man who never stopped following his dreams.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWerner Herzog: Radical Dreamer,\u201d which is part of IDFA\u2019s Best of Fest section, made its worldwide debut at the Telluride Film Festival in September. Variety spoke with von Steinaecker to discuss film financing, getting interviews, and what he hopes viewers take away from his documentary.<\/p>\n