Fragen noir an …
… den Schriftsteller Ray Banks.
Starting
Name?
Ray Banks
What are you doing besides writing?
Day job. Dullsville.
Film released in the year of your birth?
Rolling Thunder
What was your initiation in the noir-subject (film or book)?
Probably the first Jim Thompson omnibus, which had The Killer Inside Me, The Getaway, The Grifters and Pop. 1280. Movie-wise, it was probably Thompson-related again – The Killing. I could only be disappointed after that.
What books can we find in your bookshelf?
Lots of Guthrie, Faust, Woodrell, Willeford, Cain, Himes, Ted Lewis, Hubert Selby Jr, Richard Yates, Ken Kesey, Charles Bukowski, John Fante, Jim Thompson, Charlie Williams, Philip K Dick.
Which noir cliché do you like the most?
The ironic punishment. Your criminal gets away with one crime, but is punished for one he didn’t do.
Some of your favorite film noirs?
Blast of Silence, The Killing, Touch of Evil, Pickup on South Street, Double Indemnity, Born to Kill, Le Samourai, Sweet Smell of Success, The Honeymoon Killers.
And films beside noir?
Off the top of my head: Up, The Great Silence, Taxi Driver, Stalker, Army of Shadows, The Long Good Friday, Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, Point Blank, Sonatine, The Thing, My Neighbour Tortoro,The Last Detail, The Taking of Pelham 123, Down by Law, Mulholland Drive, Bringing Out The Dead, Il Divo, The Conversation, The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, Dog Day Afternoon, Fargo ..
Which fictional character (book or film) would you favor to kill face-to-face?
Jack Reacher. Bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Internet?
www.thesaturdayboy.net
Questions noir – Your life a film noir
1. Which would be your part in the movie?
The sweaty, chain-smoking stoolie in the greasy sports coat.
2. Your nickname in the movie?
Why, The Saturday Boy, of course.
3. Which author (living or dead) should write the script?
Clifford Odets or Allen Baron. Actually, both. Get them collaborating.
4. Famous quote in your movie? (Exmaple: Scarface = The World Is Yours, White Heat = Made It Ma, Top Of The World)
“Excuse me, but you’ve got shit shoes on, you shitty-shoed bastard.”
5. Shot in black and white or in color?
Black and white, and the cheapest stock you can find.
6. Soundtrack by …
Scott Walker
7. Which femme fatale would lead you to your doom?
Probably Gloria Grahame. After the coffee incident.
8. Your getaway car?
Definitely a cab.
9. Your weapons?
My dukes and a roll of nickels.
10. Book for your prison sentence?
On The Yard, Malcolm Braly.
11. Finally: Epigraph on your tombstone?
“Why, I oughtta …”
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