Purple Magazine
— F/W 2011 issue 16
Gummo
interview by OLIVIER ZAHM
Harmony Korine’s sister found these pictures in a closet, under a broken skateboard and a pile of socks. They were used for the costume fittings of Harmony’s first film, GUMMO, a selection of wild vignettes set in a fictional southern US town destroyed by a tornado. Gummo became a cult film, with the famous “bunny boy,” and the styling of Chloë Sevigny, who also acted in the film and was Harmony’s girlfriend at the time. This feature is a flashback to the quintessential ’90s movie.
OLIVIER ZAHM — You made Gummo — your first feature film — 15 years ago, after writing the script for Larry Clark’s film, Kids. Could you describe the ambiance on the set of Gummo?
HARMONY KORINE — The whole thing was like one long anecdote. The filming of it came together like magic falling from the sky. I remember being alone with my cinematographer in a kitchen, filming a guy who was wrestling a broken chair, and thinking how great it all was. At one point my entire crew abandoned me. They were disgusted with the locations and the people and they just walked away.
OLIVIER ZAHM — What was Gummo about?
HARMONY KORINE — The story takes place in a small town a tornado has destroyed. It follows two teenage boys who sniff paint and kill cats, which they sell to a Chinese restaurant. It also follows teenage sisters who wander around the town. But the story is really held together by a small boy who wears pink rabbit ears and rides around on a little yellow skateboard. The film is about these — and many other — people in the town.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Chloë Sevigny acted in the film. What was it like directing a girl you were in love with?
HARMONY KORINE — It was great — we had a great time. I was really young then. It all seems like a dream to me now.
OLIVIER ZAHM — What direction did you give Chloë, in terms of costume design?
HARMONY KORINE — We based the looks on those of real kids in the neighborhood in Tennessee where we filmed.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Why did you shoot Gummo in Tennessee?
HARMONY KORINE — Because I grew up in Nashville.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Was the film well received?
HARMONY KORINE — A lot of people reviled Gummo, something I’ve never understood. For me it’s just a simple love letter.
END
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Anonymous Paint Sniffer Girl
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Jacob Sewell as Bunny Boy
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Carisa Glucksman as Helen
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James David Glass as Tummler’s dad
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Jacob Reynolds as Solomon
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Anonymous Sleeping Woman
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Chloë Sevigny as Dot
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Chloë Sevigny as Dot
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Daniel Martin as Jarrod
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Nick Sutton as Tummler
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Lara Tosh as Girl in Car
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Charles Matthew Coatney as Eddie
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Ellen M. Smith as Ellen
