In Conversation with Michael Oblowitz Director of Confidential Informant

Ever since Micheal Oblowitz was about eight in Cape Town, South Africa, he nagged his Dad to buy him an 8mm movie camera… This was back in the 1960s. Eventually got one and Michealbegan making family home movies. “Some of which I still have today”, says Micheal Oblowitz. “When I was eighteen I went to art school, in addition to studying English and Philosophy and Art History at University. Though I studied painting and drawing there, I soon became enthralled with photography and continued to make 8mm films”.

Eventually, after a short stint in uniform watching people get shot, I draft-dodged the South African Army and went to live in New York City in the late 1970s, during the Punk Rock New Wave music and film era. I started making the earliest Black and White New York New Wave films along with Amos Poe, Jim Jarmusch, Scott B and other friends.

All our early films ended up in the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Modern Art after the famed Club 57 group show along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and others amongst the denizens of the late night New York City drug, sex, and art scene of that time.

The Official Trailer for Confidential Informant directed by Michael Oblowitz

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indieactivity: How did you get into directing? How would you describe your style?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): My filmmaking has always been heavily influenced by the Film Noir of American titans like Sam Fuller and Abraham Polonsky, and the Japanese Noir geniuses like Seijun Suzuki and Ozu… So I think my style is very much a Neo-Noir style of filmmaking – especially in films like This World, Then The Fireworks and Confidential Informant. I was also inspired by Jean-Luc Godard and Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films..

Do you hire a casting director, or cast yourself? If so, what criteria go into your casting?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): I like to use a casting director. I’ve worked with Mary Vernieu a few times. I’ve also done casting myself. I have ongoing personal relationships with actors, who you will see recurring in my films, as Fassbinder did in his films. Actors like Dominic Purcell, Jon Lindstrom, Dianna Camacho, Will Patton, Rico Simonini, and Rosemary Hochschild have had recurring roles in many of my films.

What went into the casting process for Confidential Informant?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): My longtime rep and producing partner on Confidential Informant, Dave Fleming of Atlas Entertainment, suggested Mel Gibson. I brought in Dom Purcell, and Mel’s agent (Jim Osborne at APA) rounded it out with Nick Stahl, Kate Bosworth, Russel Richardson, and Erik Valdez.

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Without giving anything away, tell us a little bit about the script, how did you come up with the idea?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): Mike Kaycheck, a former longtime New York Undercover Narcotics detective, wrote the original script which was given to me by Rico Simonini. It was a long and convoluted text of great brilliance and about 180 pages long. I worked on turning it into a viable feature film for a couple of years as the project went through development at a few different production entities.

Eventually, when David Zelon at Mandalay had the project, we brought in Brooke Nasser, who had worked with Kathryn Bigelow. Brooke and I really pared it down to the version that inspired Mel Gibson to come aboard. This greenlit the project with Bondit Media Capital. Kaycheck and I did a revision before filming and here we are.

Who is Confidential Informant for? Who do you think would enjoy it the most?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): Confidential Informant is for any lover of 1990s gritty neo-noir cop films — especially if you love 1990s era hip hop. There’s a terrific score by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill collaborating with Roy Hay of the Culture Club.

How long did it take to shoot the entire film?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): It took two months of pre-production, about a month of production to shoot the film, and around six months of post-production… so almost a year to make it from prep to the cinemas.

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How long was the post-production process?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): My longtime collaborators, cinematographer Chris Squires and editor Bobbie Ferretti, have worked with me for over twenty years, going back to the days when I was directing movies like The Breed for Starz and Steven Seagal for Sony Pictures. These guys are magnificent veteran craftsmen who have worked on many terrific movies. Jeff Katz, our second editor, had edited features for my son Orson Oblowitz, also a great indie director. Together they produced The Queen of Hollywood Boulevard, a contemporary indie masterpiece.

The film had a lot of talent working behind the scenes as DPs, sound designers, composers, etc. Why is diversity important both in front of and behind the camera?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): I’m always working on a bunch of things… commercials, music videos, art/photography exhibitions—I’m finishing a new surfing documentary—and starting a couple new feature films soon.

What are your goals with Confidential Informant?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): Confidential Informant is opening in cinemas across the USA, distributed by Lionsgate, so it has achieved the goals I set for it.

What’s next for you? What are you working on right now?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): My favorite directors are Seijun Suzuki, Sam Fuller, Godard, and Fassbinder—all for their dark malevolent despondent world view.

What would you recommend to a new director at the beginning of his/ her journey? Any special courses, workshops,  helpful books they can read?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): It’s a tough world to be a young movie director. I can only offer my son, Orson Oblowitz, as a shining example of how to make it as a young director in this environment. Go see his films and read about how he got them made. It wasn’t using his Father’s money – that’s for sure!

What advice would you give directors around the world?
Michael Oblowitz (MO): Write a good script and remember the immortal words of Jean-Luc Godard quoting D.W Griffith: “ …a film is a girl and a gun…”

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