Filmmaker Michael Tolkin

Ingmar Bergman Created the Best On-Screen Depiction of Religion

Michael Tolkin is a novelist and filmmaker best known for the 1992 Robert Altman film The Player based on his novel of the same name. He also wrote and directed The Rapture, about a woman’s conversion to Christianity and belief in an imminent Judgment Day, which brought him to the Zócalo/Getty “Open Art” panel discussion entitled “How Do We Depict Religious Experiences?” Before the event, he talked in the Zócalo green room about sushi, scripts, and The Seventh Seal.

Q:

What’s the best ever on-screen depiction of religion?


A:

The Seventh Seal.


Q:

Do you have a favorite childhood memory?


A:

No.


Q:

Tacos or sushi?


A:

It depends how long it’s been since I last had sushi.


Q:

Hardest thing you’ve done this week?


A:

A story meeting on a script I am working on.


Q:

If you had to spend an entire weekend locked up in a store, which store would you pick?


A:

A food store.


Q:

What book in your home would you want to hide from visitors?


A:

None.


Q:

Worst thing about L.A.?


A:

The traffic.


Q:

Are you a player?


A:

No.

Then, as he walks away, looking over his shoulder:

Actually, I really am.


*Photo by Jake Fabricius.