Mark Cousins is a prolific filmmaker who was born in England, raised in Northern Ireland and now lives in Edinburgh. He was a director and programmer for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, as was his interviewer at this event at the Book Festival, Hannah McGill, some years later. He rejects the label ‘critic’, saying that for critics, there is a danger of them seeing what they do not as creating art but as commenting on art, whereas he thinks that any form of writing should be art.
He read the title essay from his new collection Dear Orson Welles and Other Essays—described as “a series of ‘conversations’ with the artists, poets, directors, and filmmakers who have most influenced and inspired him, from Orson Welles to Tilda Swinton”—which is an imaginary letter from him to the late film director. While his writing is finely honed, his speech in response to questions is just as carefully considered and filled with easy, informed references to all forms of art, from the popular to the literary.
He said that after creating films with a big crew and lots of expensive equipment, he questioned whether he deserved to be on the screen that the likes of Monroe and Garbo have graced and decided, “I can’t do this any more.” Then his partner bought him a Flip Video camera, and the simplicity of shooting himself with this basic device brought him back to filmmaking. For him, the image always comes first, but he finds the words harder.
He said he could possibly be the only director to have ever asked for a film's budget reduced, because a lower budget would give him greater intellectual and creative freedom.
While he said he loved this year’s blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine more than most critics, he objected to the fact that it was being shown on 104 screens in Edinburgh in a single day, which he said is a form of bullying.
Later in the discussion, he brought out the props he often carries to events: a boot that belonged to Orson Welles—which he bought from eBay, though from Welles’s daughter so he knows it is genuine—and neckties that belonged to filmmakers Emrich Pressburger and Michael Powell.
Dear Orson Welles is released on 1 October, but now available for pre-order.