Interviews with Hal Hartley

This chapter presents two interviews of Hal Hartley. The first, conducted by Justin Wyatt, was originally published in the fall 1998 issue of Film Quarterly. The second, conducted by Robert Avila in 2007, originally appeared on SF360.org, the San Francisco Film Society's online magazine. Topics covered in these interviews include the darker tone of the film Henry Fool; Hartley's views about the label “independent” after being heralded as one of the most important voices in American independent cinema; whether the conflicted attitude toward technology and the corporate world seen in his films reflect his own ambivalence in these areas; whether he is concerned that his films may be straying too far to the side of self-consciousness and self-reflexivity; whether he sees a of Hollywood movies; and whether there are times when he finds writing difficult.