German director Werner Herzog has had quite a week

Werner Herzog

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...home-headlines

By Chris Lee, Special to the Times

Joaquin Phoenix has plenty of reason to celebrate this week, and not just because he scored a best actor Oscar nomination for "Walk the Line."

Last Thursday, the 31-year-old actor overturned his car on a winding road in Laurel Canyon. And in an only-in-Hollywood twist, German director Werner Herzog was one of the first responders who helped Phoenix out of the wreck.

According to police, the accident occurred about 3 p.m. when Phoenix's brakes gave out. The actor said he was forced to swerve into the mountainside to avoid hitting another car, and the driver's side air bag deployed.

Phoenix said he was thrown into the passenger seat when his vehicle rolled onto its roof. In the aftermath, the actor said he felt "a bit confused."

"I remember this knocking on the passenger window," said Phoenix. "There was this German voice saying, 'Just relax.' There's the air bag, I can't see and I'm saying, 'I'm fine. I am relaxed.'

"Finally, I rolled down the window and this head pops inside. And he said, 'No, you're not.' And suddenly I said to myself, 'That's Werner Herzog!' There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice. I felt completely fine and safe. I climbed out."

Herzog, 63, the temperamental auteur responsible for such strange but fascinating films as "Fitzcarraldo" and "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" — who won best documentary for 2005's "Grizzly Man" at the Directors Guild Awards on Jan. 28 — has a home near the accident scene.

A publicist for Lionsgate, "Grizzly Man's" DVD distributor, confirmed that Herzog had attended to Phoenix after the accident. The director was unavailable for comment.

"I got out of the car and I said, 'Thank you,' " Phoenix said. "And he was gone."

Police said no charges were filed.

Phoenix recently won a Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy for portraying country legend Johnny Cash. And on Tuesday he was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a best actor nominee for "Walk the Line."

"Frrraawwrrraarrgh!" said the actor, 31, shortly after the announcement. "That's the sound of me being speechless. I'm looking for something witty and profound to say, but I'm awestruck. I have marbles in my mouth."

"So it's an amazing week."


http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/3478770

By WENN| Friday, February 03, 2006

HOLLYWOOD - German director Werner Herzog was shot by a crazed fan during a recent interview with the BBC.
The 63-year-old was chatting with movie journalist Mark Kermode about his documentary Grizzly Man, when a sniper opened fire with an air rifle.

Kermode explains, "I thought a firecracker had gone off.

"Herzog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, said, 'Oh, someone is shooting at us. We must go.'

"He had a bruise the size of a snooker ball, with a hole in. He just carried on with the interview while bleeding quietly in his boxer shorts."

An unrepentant Herzog insisted, "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid."

:eek:

And I thought Chuck Norris was tough.

I agree with Joaquin about Herzog's voice. It's mesmerizing. One Saturday morning I sat in my car (outside my son's apt...there to help him move) listening to Werner do an interview about Grizzly Man w/ Scott Simon (NPR Weekend Edition).

He makes these remarkable films about very unusual people.

the same Werner Herzog responsible for Heart of Glass, the story of a glass blower who dies, taking with him his secret, which forever haunts the town?
the same who directed Stroszek, the story of a German man who escapes to the mountains of Wisconson, only to discover he is out of place, and loses everything?

never heard of him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MrCinatit

never heard of him.

---

He's no Volker Schlöndorff. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MrCinatit

the same Werner Herzog responsible for Heart of Glass, the story of a glass blower who dies, taking with him his secret, which forever haunts the town?
the same who directed Stroszek, the story of a German man who escapes to the mountains of Wisconson, only to discover he is out of place, and loses everything?

---

Oh, THAT Werner Herzog.

I always liked him when he was managing the Cardinals. ;)

I always envisioned Herzog as looking like this...

http://www.ms.uky.edu/~sills/dieter.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by westofyou

He's no Volker Schlöndorff. ;)

---

but is he a Luis Bunuel

who i've also never heard of.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MrCinatit

but is he a Luis Bunuel

who i've also never heard of.

---

But he ain't no Murnau eh? ;)


We could go on... I took a german cinema class in college.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by westofyou

But he ain't no Murnau eh? ;)


We could go on... I took a german cinema class in college.

---

i didn't, but i have way too much free time on my hands, and absolutely no life at all. :p:
never heard of Murnau either. nor Ekman nor Schreck - but Mike Myers did a great job.
i should really stop now.

Savafan - thank you for posting these articles. Werner Herzog is a fascinating man as well as a filmmaker whose approach to storytelling, the natural world and movies is protean and informed by a natural curiosity about the world. Has anyone seen "julian Donkey-boy" - the Harmony Korine film where Herzog plays the father in a very disfunctional family? His character drinks codeine-laced Robitussin from a ladies' pump while listening to the blues. I just saw the movie "invincible" last week(one of his recent movies) and was reminded of his talents, again.
AGUIRRE, FIZTCARRALDO, THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER are all films everyone should see.

Little Dieter Needs To Fly and My Best Fiend (about crazy Klaus Kinski) are a couple of my favs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by westofyou

But he ain't no Murnau eh? ;)


We could go on... I took a german cinema class in college.

---

Me too... He's no Rainer Fassbinder and no Dan O'Binder.