Steven Soderbergh names his most frustrating movie: “I didn’t have the skills to do it”
Some filmmakers experience rather stereotypical career trajectories, such as sticking to indie movies or starting off small and graduating – and sticking to – blockbusters. Then there’s Steven Soderbergh, who seems unable to be put into a box – not that he wants to be. The filmmaker began making movies when he was just a teenager, although his debut feature didn’t come until 1989, when he released Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
The movie, starring Andie MacDowell and James Spader, was a hit. Made on a budget of $1.2 million, Soderbergh’s debut proved that there was significant profit to be made from quirky low-budget indie movies, something that was echoed when Quentin Tarantino released his indie classic Reservoir Dogs a few years later.
Soderbergh has since released a wide array of movies, becoming known for his experimental streak, despite also making movies that many would consider, at least on the surface, conventional Hollywood movies. Not only has Soderbergh made movies like The Girlfriend Experience, in which he cast pornstar Sasha Grey, and Unsane, filmed on an iPhone 7 Plus, but he has also made commercial hits like Ocean’s Eleven, Contagion, and Magic Mike.
Soderbergh’s love of unique techniques that you’d typically find in an indie movie – while still working with a larger budget– has made him one of the most fascinating filmmakers of his generation. Recently, the filmmaker has opted to make movies for HBO Max, such as Kimi and No Sudden Move, emphasising his restlessness when it comes to filmmaking. He’s always working within new frameworks and genres, from heist movies to horror.
Still, there have been times when Soderbergh has looked back and realised that perhaps he shouldn’t have made a certain movie. Should you ever regret a piece of art you’ve made? After all, these pieces of art, no matter how good or bad you believe them to be, shape your perspective as an artist. While it’s often unhelpful to look back and scold your previous self for making something that you don’t like anymore, reconsidering your past mistakes so that you can improve on them can sometimes be rewarding.
His 1991 film Kafka is one that he finds “frustrating” to look back on. “I think an opportunity that was botched. Again, if I could make it today I could turn it into something more compelling. It was a really good idea on Lem’s [Dobbs] part to mix these things, but I was not enough of a filmmaker to balance all of them. It’s frustrating because I may never get to make another black and white movie again, which I’d love to do. I had a terrific cast. I had everything I needed to make a memorable movie, and I didn’t have the skills to do it yet.”
The film was a blend of fact and fantasy, with Jeremy Irons playing iconic writer Franz Kafka. Made on a budget of $11m, the film only managed to gross $1.1m, which was a crushing blow for Soderbergh. It was an ambitious idea for a film, and to Soderbergh, it just wasn’t executed well enough.
