I found an article where luke talks a bit about Masked & Anonymous. I'm hoping to be able to see it soon
www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/6425566.htmUnmasking meanings
By Mary F. Pols
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO - Writer/director Larry Charles and actor Luke Wilson are in town to explain themselves. Or rather, to explain their new film, "Masked and Anonymous," and why it's OK if you miss 85 percent of its hidden meanings.
The movie, which opens Friday and stars Bob Dylan as a faded rock star named Jack Fate, tends to leave audiences baffled. Neither man denies this, although Charles will tell you that in his experience, most viewers seem to be "baffled in a good way."
"It's a purposefully confounding movie in many ways, and there are some people that are not going to want to do the work that's required to get the film," said Charles, who conducted the interview in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms, a habit he formed when he was so busy directing the NBC sitcom "Mad About You" he didn't have time to dress himself properly.
"It's not as if we were trying to make a romantic comedy where everybody is all on board for the same old thing," Wilson continued.
Such as "Alex and Emma," the tepid Kate Hudson vehicle Wilson co-starred in earlier this summer?
"Exactly," said Wilson, without a hint of resentment. "That's what I'm thinking."
Set in a fictional, decaying America, in the midst of a civil war and run by a dying dictator (Richard Sarafian), "Masked and Anonymous" centers around a televised benefit concert featuring only one performer, Jack Fate, who must be sprung from a crowded prison cell for the gig. Whether the benefit is for the rebel forces or to foster peace is not clear.
Fate turns out to be the son of the dictator, who in turn seems infinitely preferable to the man who will replace him (played by Mickey Rourke). Other actors who roam in and out of the story line include Wilson as Fate's loyal sidekick, Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Bruce Dern, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Cheech Marin and Giovanni Ribisi.
Out of the loop
Wilson clearly relished making a film outside the typical Hollywood economic model, and listed the advantages: no rewrites, no notes from studio executives, no concern if it would make a ton of money. Both he and Charles describe the experience as "spiritual." A far cry from the actor's appearances in two summer blockbuster sequels, "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Legally Blonde 2," where he did little more than stand around looking cute.
"So much of it now has come down to thumbs up, thumbs down, how many stars out of five," said the boyish Texan, known for dating co-stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore. "This is just one of those movies where you never even thought about stuff like that, you just thought about your character and the story."
And about Bob Dylan. The draw of working with a legend like Dylan, who hasn't appeared in a film since 1987's "Hearts of Fire," had something to do with the caliber of cast Charles pulled together.
"That's the initial lure, no question about it," he conceded. "That's a very exciting prospect for a lot of people."
Charles included. Best known for writing and producing "Seinfeld" and now directing the other Larry (David) on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," he met Dylan through producer Jeff Rosen, who told him the musician was interested in making a film. They met near Dylan's offices in Santa Monica, immediately hit if off and began tossing around ideas. (They had no automatic "Seinfeld" kinship, though: "I don't believe he's ever seen an episode of 'Seinfeld,'" said Charles.)
"It was like a first date. He walked me to my car afterward, and I was trying to get someone's attention on the street as they were driving by, like, 'Hey, I'm with Bob Dylan!'" Charles said.
"Before we knew it we were working on something. We didn't know what it was, we never had a plan, an agenda or an ambition for it, we just said, 'Let's see what happens.' And it developed all organically like that. We were like two farmers just tilling the field."
Hard rain's gonna fall
The script is credited to Rene Fontaine and Sergie Petrov, presumably pen names for Charles and Dylan. The musician showed up at the film's Sundance premiere, but so far hasn't been part of this publicity tour. That's in character, said Charles.
"You never make a plan with Bob. He doesn't make plans. He might show up, he might not. You never know. He could walk in this room right now, or I could never see him again."
Dylan's music plays throughout "Masked and Anonymous" in various contexts. Jack Fate and his band (actually Dylan's band), perform during the film; Spanish rap versions of Dylan songs play over some scenes, and then, more subtly, Charles scatters bits of Muzak derived from Dylan in the background to play off his pervasive influence on our culture.
"I think everybody feels this way who loves Bob's music, is that you can go back to it over and over again, like classical music, and depending on where you are in your life, it's going to say something different to you," Charles said. "I really believe it's one of the few things about modern American culture that will survive the crumbling of the empire. People will still be listening to Bob Dylan music long after America is something discussed in history books."
If that seems like a rather apocalyptic statement, then you take Charles' meaning as intended. He and Wilson share a bleak view of contemporary America -- they talk about politics for a good 10 minutes after the interview is technically over -- and they see the movie as suggestive of what lies ahead for us. It was shot entirely in Los Angeles, but watching it, you'd think it was set in South America.
"That was just us with a camera driving around downtown L.A.," Charles said. "If you look toward the ocean, you see Malibu and Beverly Hills; you turn the other way, you see Third World America that people just don't want to really deal with. ... We're presenting an alternate America that exists today."
From blues to the Bible
A weird but interesting movie that aspires to be about everything might seem like a strange thing to come from a guy who became famous for his contributions to a sitcom about nothing. Yet Charles said it all fits together.
"I have a lot of profound failures in my resume as well, and those things probably resemble this more. If you go by my full body of work, you see that there is actually a connection."
The movie's themes echo, but are not exclusive to, Dylan's two most recent albums, "Time Out of Mind" and "Love and Theft." Charles said there are ideas about decay, mortality and destiny in both. Some viewers of the film recommend listening to those albums for clues as to what is going on. But there are layers upon layers of information one barely catches the first time, from building signs with Biblical or William Burroughs' references, to Cruz's mysterious "333" tattoo. All are meant to keep fans entertained into the future, and many have sources beyond Dylan's lyrics.
"The Bible," Wilson said.
"It's true. The Bible. Shakespeare," Charles said.
"Blues, bluegrass. Hank Williams' life. Elvis' life," Wilson chimed in.
"Townes Van Zandt. Greek mythology," Charles countered.
But first and foremost, Charles and Wilson recommend baffled viewers see the film twice. These guys may view America as irredeemably corrupt, but capitalism isn't dead.
"Even George Lucas wants people to go back and see 'Star Wars' more than once, and I'm no different than he is," said Charles