Don't hesitate, send it to me. :-) My email address: j.fischer@tykwer-online.de. If you'd like to send any attachments, please ask me in advance before sending them.
All of this in case you'd like to contact me, Jan, the one who maintains this homepage. If you'd like to contact Tom Tykwer instead, please read question 1.1.!
0.2. Where can I buy dvds, videos, soundtracks etc of Tom Tykwer's films?
First of all, in your local video/cd shop. If they don't have the article or have never heard of it, there are lots of online stores, some of the usual suspects being:
1.1. How can I contact Tom Tykwer? Do you have Tom's snail mail / email address?
- I am not Tom Tykwer.
- I am not Tom Tykwer's management.
- I do not have any direct connection to Tom Tykwer or his management.
- I do not have Tom's personal (email) address.
The only address I know of is the one of X-Filme, the production company of his films:
X-Filme Creative Pool
Bülowstrasse 90
10783 Berlin
Germany
E-mail: info@x-filme.de
Webpage: http://www.x-filme.de
phone: +49 30 2308 3311
Fax: +49 30 2308 3322
1.2. What are Toms latest projects?
Right now, Tom is working on a film called Heaven. The script was
written by Krzysztof Kieslowski and the film stars Cate
Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi.
The film is in post-production and will be released early spring 2002.
Two years ago, there was a rumour spread on the net according to which Tom Tykwer would direct the Deep Blue Sea-esque film Meg. It's not clear where the rumour came up first, even the IMDb had an entry for a few weeks, even though it hasn't even been confirmed yet that the film will be shot at all. So don't believe the hype, Tom will not direct this film.
2.1.1. Where can I find the lyrics of the Lola soundtrack?
On this site, right here ! It's in the Run Lola Run/soundtrack section of this homepage.
It is one of the two pieces not featured on the soundtrack (the other one being "What a difference a day makes" by Dinah Washington which can be heard during Lola's and Manni's escape after robbing the supermarket), it is called "The unanswered question" by Charles Ives.
2.2.1. What city was the movie shot in?
It's Berlin, Germany. Lola's Berlin is not the real Berlin, by the way: The scenes were shot to fit the plot, so the route Lola takes doesn't correspond to an actual route you can follow through Berlin.
2.2.2. What is the complete text of the sequence at the very beginning?
'Der Mensch, die wohl geheimnisvollste Spezies unseres Planeten. Ein Mysterium offener Fragen. Wer
sind wir? Woher kommen wir? Wohin gehen wir? Woher wissen wir, was wir zu wissen glauben? Wieso
glauben wir überhaupt etwas?
'Unzählige Fragen, die nach einer Antwort suchen, einer Antwort, die wieder eine neue Frage
aufwerfen wird, und die nächste Antwort wieder die nächste Frage und so weiter und so
weiter.
'Doch ist es am Ende nicht immer wieder die gleiche Frage, und immer wieder die gleiche
Antwort?'
Wachmann Schuster: 'Ball ist rund, Spiel dauert neunzig Minuten. Soviel ist schon mal klar. Alles
andere ist Theorie. Und ab!' (shoots the ball in the air)
Now, the English version would be something like this:
'Mankind, probably the most mysterious species on our planet. A mystery of open
questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How do we know what we believe
to know? Why do we believe anything at all?
'Innumerable questions looking for an answer, an answer which will raise the next question and the
following answer will raise a following question and so on and so forth.
'But in the end, isn't it always the same question and always the same answer?'
Security guard Schuster: 'A football is round, a game lasts 90 minutes. That's for sure. Anything
else is merely hypothetical. Off we go!'
(see also question 2.2.11.)
2.2.3. What does the cartoon character say at the beginning of the First Run as he wipes the screen?
The animation is apparently based on the actual croupier in the Third Run and says "Rien ne va plus" ("No more bets").
2.2.4. Why does Lola scream that much?
Her screams are one of her characteristics, a typical sign, as it were: Every time things become
tense and it seems like the chaos is near, Lola tries to gain control of the chaos by means of
screaming (by releasing the pressure, as it were). An example can be found at the beginning of the
film: Manni doesn't listen to her and she starts screaming, so that he is quiet and listens to
what she has to say. Another example can be found in the office of Lola's father (First Run). She
screams just like someone who wants to stop the noise of a group of people who all talk at the
same time to make them listen.
The casino sequence intensifies her tension: After missing her father at the bank,
this one decisive round of roulette is literally a matter of (Manni's) life and death: If it is
not "20, black", she won't get the DM 100.000 and Manni's life is lost (frankly, I would scream in
such a situation as well ;-)).
In that way, her screaming is not just a poor gag to shock the establishment at the
casino (which indeed would have been ridiculous), but, quite on the contrary, it is a reappearing
theme in the film: everytime the chaos is haunting Lola, she tries to influence the chaos /fate by
the power of screaming.
(If you can understand German, you can look up the Votivkino interview for further
information.)
2.2.5 The ambulance man doesn't look like a professional...
Not only that, but in real life Schuster would have passed away long ago if he had had to endure a
heart massage as pointless as this one, especially without artificial respiration.
But since Run Lola Run takes place in a fantasy world anyway, we don't
need to worry about that. ;-)
2.2.6. Why are there some scenes shot on video and others with a "regular" film camera?
The sequences like Lola's father and his girlfriend or the bum and the cyclist at the kiosk appear
less real than the story of Lola and Manni. Since the whole film is about chances and
probabilities, you could say that the answer to the question whether the incidences that are not
directly connected to Lola and Manni actually happen the way they do in the film is even more
uncertain. This is why these sequences appear so unreal in the film (because of the video
images).
Only the story line of Lola and Manni and everything that immediately influences them
(eg Herr Meyer, who cannot meet Lola's father because of the accident) is filmed on "real" film
because it is the most probable, as it were.
(and again: see the Votivkino
interview for further details.)
2.2.7. The theme of chance and choices in film:
The theme of the "what if" question has appeared quite often in film:
2.2.9. Where does the opening T.S. Eliot quote come from?
The quote is the German version of the fifth stanza of T.S. Eliot's poem Little
Gidding.
The original text of this quote is:
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
You can look up the complete text as well, if you like.
2.2.10. Who is Sepp Herberger? And what do those quotes mean?
Sepp Herberger (1897-1977) was one of the most important German soccer coaches of all time. He led
the German team to victory at the 1954 World Championship in Switzerland, which went down in
soccer history as the "Miracle of Bern". He was famous for his quotes, by which he wanted to
remind his team to stay concentrated on the match the whole time and to never underestimate their
opponents - hence his quotes:
(These are the quotes which can be found in the very first sequence of the film: In the first caption, right after T.S. Eliot's quote, and during the first lines of watchman Schuster, right before shooting the football into the air.
2.2.11. About the narrator in the first sequence, Hans Paetsch.
In the first sequence of the film, we hear a voice-over by Hans Paetsch, which talks of the
questionssearching for an answer.
Hans Paetsch is a, if not the German voice for the telling of fairytales. His
voice can be heard on innumberable tapes with fairytales, and it is quite certain that most
Germans between the age of 20 and 40 listened to this warm voice at some time during their
childhood.
This has an effect on the perception of the whole film, because it creates an atmosphere that
immediately indicates: This film tells a story or maybe even a fairytale, in any case it is
something that does not claim to be absolutely realistic but something that is a narration /
a fictitious story.
(see also question 2.2.2.)
2.2.12. Who is the person in the ambulance in the third version of the story?
It is the security guard from the bank, Mr Schuster. (Yes, believe me, it says so in the script. ;-))
2.2.13. Is Lola's screaming a reference to the character of Oskar Mazerath in The Tin Drum?
There was an interview with Tom during which he was asked this exact question. He said that it
wasn't an intentional reference, although he could understand people seeing the connection. But he
also said that there was at least one connection between Oskar and Lola, because "Lola's scream is
a mad, wild and hysterical expression of despair and an effort to take action against the panic
and to get things moving". So, it is a reference to "Tin Drum" in a way, although
unintentional.
3. The Princess And the Warrior
3.1.1 There is a bonus cd-rom part on the soundtrack as track 15 but apparently it doesn't work. How can I make it work?
Unfortunately, I own the German edition of the soundtrack which does not contain a cd-rom part, so I'm afraid I can't help you with this problem. But since there have been several people who had problems playing it on their computer, maybe it really is a printing error?
3.2.1. Where did they shoot the sequence at the beginning and the end of the film?
It was shot in Cornwall in the south-west of England. However, it's supposed to be Brittany (the north-western coast of France).
Tom said in an online chat that Werner Dürr is actually Sissi's father. He's the older shy guy in the mental asylum who was always happy to see Sissi again, but who also beat her up at one point so she had to tie him to the bed. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time left during the chat for Tom to explain if there is actual proof in the film for this.
3.2.3. What are the songs in the film not featured on the soundtrack?
There are several songs featured in the film that don't appear on the soundtrack. You can check out the Princess Sountrack page for details.
4.1. Do you know where I can still find the soundtrack of Wintersleepers?
As much as I'd like to tell you otherwise: the Wintersleepers soundtrack
is no longer available.
I neither have any secret information on how to still get it nor do I make copies of the CD. (One of the few moments I have to be strict about something here on this site).
And believe me, as soon as I find out anything new on this topic I will tell you about it in the
news section immediately, but for the time being I cannot help anyone in finding
or getting the soundtrack.
"Walked away, released from all my crimes...", is a song by the band "Spain", the song's title is, well, "Untitled #1". :-)
5.1.1. When will the soundtrack of Heaven be released?
Due to problems with the rights to some of the songs, the soundtrack has not been published yet. If I find out anything new, I'll put it on my homepage. However, you can check out the track listing of the soundtrack.
5.2.1. When will the film be released in the US/rest of the world?
Miramax Films has postponed the release date of Heaven in the US back to 25 October 2002. According to upcomingmovies.com, Variety reports that one of the reasons is that the plot involves a bomb that explodes in a skyscraper which is a rather sensitive issue after 11 September 2001.
Short answer: It's easier that way.
Slightly longer answer: Sometimes it's obvious that an information is useless for most people
outside of Germany, eg if a German tv channel shows something about Tom. And sometimes there is an
NTSC video release and most people in Germany will just shrug and say 'So what?'
But I don't want to decide which information to put only on the German page or on the
English page because a) I would simply get confused and b) I'd like to avoid those emails saying
'My sister is in the States right now, if only you had written about that video on the German page
as well.' Ah well, you get the idea.
6.2. Does Tom Tykwer know about this homepage?
(Proud and yet embarrassed smile) Yes. :-)
In a chat in the autumn of 2000 he even thanked me personally for this homepage. I am too old now to fall into raptures about "stars" and I believe that even celebrities can be normal people with no aura of unapproachableness surrrounding them. Nevertheless, I have to admit that this was a special and great moment. :-)
My name is Jan Fischer, I'm male (yes, Jan is a male name in German and
it's pronounced "Yunn", with a y as in 'yes' and rhyming with 'gun'... :-)) and I was born in
Bremen, Germany, Europe, and that's where I now live as well. If you'd like to
improve your geographic skills you can take a closer
look at a map of Europe and Germany (it's 90+ KB, though).
