Being English definitely gave me some insight into these eccentric Brits puttering around Hollywood.
Sacha GervasiWhen you take on Hitchcock you know it's gonna provoke some sort of controversy, because there were so many people talking about the book [Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho] and wanting it to be the film about the making of this movie [Psycho]. But that's been done. That's been done in the book, and Stephen Rebello himself was like, "I want a movie which is an entertainment for the audience." So we made the conscious decision.
Sacha GervasiI think everyone who saw Alfred Hitchcock Psycho movie, as I did when I was young, was impacted. The shower scene is nuts. It still is, and I think what's wonderful about it is that it's universal. People understand the darkness and the violence, and it's shocking.
Sacha GervasiI think Alma Reville was the only one Alfred Hitchcock trusted. When it came to issues of taste or what the audience wanted, down to editing, script and casting, he would turn to her first. She was his partner.
Sacha GervasiThe good thing about the Anvil school of filmmaking was that it was fly by the seat of your pants. There was no safety net.
Sacha GervasiI went to film school and studied Alfred Hitchcock. I knew of Alma Reville existence, but had no idea really who she was or how influential she was on him. She stayed in the shadows. Go online, and there are hardly any images or film of her. She really stayed out of the limelight on purpose. She didn't want it, and I think that's one of the reasons that she's really lost in the shadows of Hitchcock's history to a degree.
Sacha Gervasi