I'm imagining there's a particular audience out there that's younger and older, too. It works on two levels. Do they exist? I don't know. I had to make it to find out if it does. When you do something this experimental, that's part of the process and part of the risk. I only spent my own money, so that I'm the only person that gets hurt, if it fails.
Joseph M. KahnEven the way the kids react with media today is so completely different than what most movies have. We just wanted to make a movie that challenged them.
Joseph M. KahnI don't turn Britney Spears into a star. I have to spot that these people are going to be stars, in the future, and say, "Okay, these guys have cultural validity and they're going to pop."
Joseph M. KahnI don't think the film is going to work for everybody, period. It wasn't meant to be done for everybody. I didn't four quadrant this movie, like Hollywood did. I knew it was a very specific audience that was there. We're also taking a shot in the dark.
Joseph M. KahnI still have every record company sending every new, hot track to me, to do music videos, so I'm chained by the foot to pop culture. I still know what kids dress like and speak like, and I still hang out with them. It's just the nature of my day job. I am a freak of nature that has to understand them.
Joseph M. KahnIf you look at Cinderhella, from a production design aspect, I tried to find an interesting, iconic character, having her face wrapped up in bandages. That was funny. On the dream logic level, you'll see the parallels of that interesting connection that I made. There's a reason why she's called Cinderhella.
Joseph M. KahnKids today are sold so much, by corporations and media and commercials and advertising and music videos, that I do. A lot of times, they retain that stuff and wear it, and that's the concept of a hipster. It's about owning it and redefining it, on your own level. It's a way of retaining control and meaning, in a world where you're being told to think in a certain way.
Joseph M. Kahn