Werner Herzog shot at during interview

February 10, 2006 8:40 AM

Werner Herzog shot at during interview Film critic Mark Kermode was chatting to the director of new film 'Grizzly Man' a few weeks ago for the BBC's Culture Show when someone with an air rifle took a few shots at them. If you think its a hoax you can hear Kermode talking about what happened, during this radio broadcast from a few days later. [sorry everyone but this requires Real but you could try an alternative] [via]
posted by feelinglistless (64 comments total)

if someone shot at him, it was probably kinski...
posted by dorian at 8:43 AM on February 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

This guy is everywhere:

Oscar-nominee Joaquin Phoenix was rescued from his car wreck last week by German cult director Werner Herzog. The 31-year-old Walk The Line star overturned his car on a canyon road above Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood after his brakes failed and he collided with another vehicle. Phoenix was saved because he was wearing his seat-belt, but has revealed he was helped from the wreckage by the 63-year-old, who has a home nearby. The actor says, "I remember this knocking on the passenger window. There was this German voice saying, 'Just relax.' There's the airbag, I can't see and I'm saying, 'I'm fine. I am relaxed. Finally, I rolled down the window and this head pops inside. And he said, 'No, you're not.' And suddenly I said to myself, 'That's Werner Herzog' There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice. I felt completely fine and safe. I climbed out. I got out of the car and I said, 'Thank you,' and he was gone."

(from imdb)
posted by ORthey at 8:45 AM on February 10, 2006

Herzog's pissed people off?
posted by iamck at 8:45 AM on February 10, 2006

I said, 'Thank you,' and he was gone."

And like that, he vanished...
posted by iamck at 8:46 AM on February 10, 2006

Your third link is broken
posted by srboisvert at 8:48 AM on February 10, 2006

Apparently, he was hit with an air rifle, but refused to press charges.

Oh, and a few days ago he helped Joaquin Phoenix from a car wreck.
posted by signalnine at 8:49 AM on February 10, 2006

I said, 'Thank you,' and he was gone."

And like that, he vanished...

Werner Herzog is really Keyser Soze?
posted by unreason at 8:49 AM on February 10, 2006

ORthey -- Kermode mentions that in the radio bit. Apparently it happened just a night or two before the incident with the air rifle. I imagine some day, someone like Joaquin Phoenix is going to appear in a biopic of the director's life and really people are not going to believe it. Apparently (just to save people listening to the podcast', after he sat in a chair, talking about the film, bleeding out the chest he refused treatment when Kermode asked because he said 'It was not a significant bullet.'
posted by feelinglistless at 8:50 AM on February 10, 2006

'It was not a significant bullet.'

Okay, that's just one of the most awesome quotes ever.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:55 AM on February 10, 2006

Admittedly, it was just an air rifle producing a tiny, superficial wound. I've been shot with air rifles plenty of times and never needed to seek medical attention.
posted by signalnine at 8:56 AM on February 10, 2006

Is there any doubt whatsoever that Herzog is the man?
posted by stinkycheese at 8:58 AM on February 10, 2006

The story is misrepresented.

There's evidence that the bullet actually bounced off his chest, just before he ran off like a speeding bullet to save Joaquin Phoenix from that car wreck.

He can also fly.
posted by slimepuppy at 8:58 AM on February 10, 2006

signalnine -- well impression I got from listening to Kermode on the radio was that he could see a significant amount of blood.
posted by feelinglistless at 9:00 AM on February 10, 2006

Werner Herzog is a great filmmaker.
posted by NationalKato at 9:01 AM on February 10, 2006

It was the ghost of Kinski.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:02 AM on February 10, 2006

To read about this air-rifle incident and the Phoenix accident is grand in the aspect that I'm not particularly surprised.

Herzog is in class all his own. Watching his interactions with Kinski, I was convinced that one of them was god and one the devil, but couldn't tell which was which.

Even Dwarves Started Small
posted by isopraxis at 9:02 AM on February 10, 2006

Wener Herzog doesn't have a chin behind his facial hair, there is only another fist.
posted by sciurus at 9:07 AM on February 10, 2006

So why did Warner get shot in the junk with a BB gun? Is this a Theo Van Gogh type thing, or a "Hey John Malkovich, heads up" type thing?
posted by dgaicun at 9:09 AM on February 10, 2006

When will the first Werner Herzog Top 100 Facts page appear?

on preview, damn it sciurus, you beat me.
posted by rabbitsnake at 9:11 AM on February 10, 2006

I too, was really, really looking forward to a Kinski joke.
posted by goodglovin77 at 9:18 AM on February 10, 2006

Herzog shows the wound at 7:10 on the video.
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:20 AM on February 10, 2006

Hawt!:





I predict a surgence in pinky-purpley underwear for men.

Yeah, sorry, 'surgence' is a word now.
posted by dgaicun at 9:24 AM on February 10, 2006

Herzog: [When faced with the jeering and hollering of the 1,500 booing patrons who despised his Lessons of Darkness at the Berlin Film Festival] "You are all wrong."

Kinski on Herzog:

Herzog is a miserable, hateful, malevolent, avaricious, money-hungry, nasty, sadistic, treacherous, cowardly creep...he should be thrown alive to the crocodiles! An anaconda should strangle him slowly! A poisonous spider should sting him and paralyze his lungs! The most venomous serpent should bite him and make his brain explode! No panther claws should rip open his throat--that would be much too good for him! Huge red ants should piss into his lying eyes and gobble up his balls and his guts! He should catch the plague! Syphilis! Yellow fever! Leprosy! It's no use; the more I wish him the most gruesome deaths, the more he haunts me.

Nobody is going to buy the book if I say nice things about you, Werner.



One of my heros, it was not a significant bullet indeed.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:26 AM on February 10, 2006

So if Warner Herzog and Clint Eastwood were in a fight, who would win?
posted by five fresh fish at 9:26 AM on February 10, 2006

Priceless.

Herzog unzips his pants and reveals the wound in his groin, his boxers red with blood.

Interviewer: "Someone shot at you and created a wound in your abdomen!"

Herzog: "It's not significant."
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 9:28 AM on February 10, 2006

FFF, we would.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:28 AM on February 10, 2006

Mr MoonPie/dgaicun thanks for that -- my dial-up gave up the ghost before then, but the opening narration and Kermode's description seemed like enough for me to post it.
posted by feelinglistless at 9:31 AM on February 10, 2006

Borrowing from an old SNL skit, Werner Herzog is a 10'-2" tall Son of a Bitch. His real name is Bill Brasky.
posted by tfmm at 9:36 AM on February 10, 2006

"He once breast fed a flamingo back to health."
posted by tfmm at 9:38 AM on February 10, 2006

"I believe the common character of the universe is not harmony, but hostility, chaos and murder."

-Herzog (from Grizzly Man

He was expecting it man, just waiting, belly muscles already tensed.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:42 AM on February 10, 2006

Herzog did indie films when indie films weren't cool.
posted by bardic at 9:45 AM on February 10, 2006

So if Warner Herzog and Clint Eastwood were in a fight, who would win?

Chuck Norris.
posted by sexymofo at 10:16 AM on February 10, 2006

All those stupid Chuck Norris v. Mr. T jokes should be Werner Herzon v. Klaus Kinsky jokes. That way, they would be believable.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:24 AM on February 10, 2006

Herzog financed his first films by smuggling weapons across the Mexican border, IIRC. Also, anybody ever see Little Dieter Needs to Fly? Herzog, the fucker, made this Vietnam vet retrace his steps through the jungle exactly as it happened when he escaped from a POW camp. He even gets the Vietnamese kids to hold guns and push Dieter around. The dude is whack. I love him very much.

And the reason why Herzog ate his shoe is because of bet with Errol Morris. Herzog claimed that if Morris ever made any of the films he was always talking about, he'd eat his shoe. Morris made Gates of Heaven, which is one of the best films ever made, and Herzog kept his word.
posted by billysumday at 10:46 AM on February 10, 2006

Argh. Right, Chuck Norris. Damn Internet memes.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:51 AM on February 10, 2006

He gives great DVD commentary too. Probably the best I've heard.
posted by stinkycheese at 11:09 AM on February 10, 2006

Herzog, the fucker, made this Vietnam vet retrace his steps through the jungle exactly as it happened when he escaped from a POW camp

And the poor guy already was a bit whacked (Dieter, not Herzog...actually, both)
posted by iamck at 11:11 AM on February 10, 2006

His hilarious performance in Julien Donkey-Boy was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreary and mediocre film. I also think his voice is very soothing.
posted by gigawhat? at 11:20 AM on February 10, 2006

"His hilarious performance in Julien Donkey-Boy"

Hilarious? Good lord, that movie and his performance creeped me out like nothing I've ever seen.
posted by 2sheets at 12:07 PM on February 10, 2006

I have never, prior to today, heard of the man. I fear I shall have to become a fan.
posted by Ryvar at 12:40 PM on February 10, 2006

Also, Grizzly Man is an extraordinary film. It's indescribably beyond "Dude, this guy went to live with bears and the bears ate him".
posted by Hogshead at 12:42 PM on February 10, 2006

Actually, that's the perfect description.

Hey, what was that fucked up Herzog movies about dwarves?

Oh yeah. Even Dwarves Started Small.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:46 PM on February 10, 2006

Grizzly Man is a despicable film about a despicable idiot, shot in a despicable manner. Completely self-serving, the worst film in Herzog's oeuvre.

I much prefer his earlier works, particularly with Kinski or with Bruno S
posted by seawallrunner at 12:49 PM on February 10, 2006

My friend Jordan Hoffman implores me to add the following fun Herzog facts to the discussion:

His feature "Even Dwarves Started Small" has a cast entirely of dwarves.

His feature "Heart of Glass" features a cast that was under hypnosis for 95% of the production. The only scenes where the actors are not under hypnosis is when they are making glass near flaming hot ovens. The insurance companies sent a man in to make sure they were all under full consciousness.

His features "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" and "Stroszek" star a man named Bruno S., a mental patient who spent most of his life in asylums.

I could go on, but 3 is the magic number.

posted by muckster at 1:05 PM on February 10, 2006

Thanks for this link!!

Over 20 years ago ... Fitzgeraldo ... sigh ... my first real 'indie' film experience. I went back to watch it the second night (indie films only got two nights showings back then). I dragged my kids to it (they still groan about that). Herzog's jungle monologue, "fecund ... violence", flashes into my mind whenever I am hiking. Herzog is more than a man. There are no other men.

Oh yeah -- the pink-purple boxer thing is such the perfect ... umlaut!
posted by Surfurrus at 1:13 PM on February 10, 2006

When I was watching the Culture Show on telly the other night, it was only after the Herzog segment ended that I though, 'Fucking hell, he just got shot!'. When Herzog was on screen, it just seemed a perfectly reasonable thing to be happening. (And he'd certainly kick seven shades of shit out of Mr. Norris.)

seawallrunner said 'Grizzly Man is a despicable film about a despicable idiot, shot in a despicable manner.'

I'd say it's a rather brilliant film about a despicable idiot shot/edited in a despicable manner. Obviously not a patch on the Kinski or Bruno S. stuff, but still, not bad at all.
posted by jack_mo at 1:37 PM on February 10, 2006

Why diss on Wim Wenders, ed? His new movie Don't Come Knocking is a much better Broken Flowers--his first collaboration with Sam Shepard since Paris, Texas. It's art, not German director deathmatch.
posted by muckster at 1:50 PM on February 10, 2006

Yeah, but Wenders made that film with Bono. But obviously Paris, Texas is really remarkable. Too bad Fassbinder isn't around anymore. The three of them should all be living on an island together somewhere, making movies about cowboys and nature and immigrants.
posted by billysumday at 2:08 PM on February 10, 2006

I'm two degrees away from Herzog via a couple of screenwriter buddies of mine, and I can completely vouch for the fact that Werner Herzog is a total badass. A real man's man. I wouldn't fuck with him armed with anything less than an M-1 tank, and I feel sorry for the dumbass with the airgun when Werner finds him.

And he will find him.

Of course, this could be a publicity stunt. That's how badass Werner is, it's possible he'd take a bullet with a smile for a bit of sensational press.
posted by zoogleplex at 2:12 PM on February 10, 2006

I like the Yahoo news version. They cut out all the news and just left funny quotes:

"Herzog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, said, 'Oh, someone is shooting at us. We must go.'
posted by p3t3 at 2:21 PM on February 10, 2006

if someone shot at him, it was probably kinski...

My Best Fiend
posted by me & my monkey at 4:37 PM on February 10, 2006

His line from Julien Donkey-Boy still cracks me up: "Don't shiver! Be a winner."

Damn good advice under any circumstances, I'd say.
posted by John of Michigan at 4:51 PM on February 10, 2006

Herzog is a god.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:15 PM on February 10, 2006

Joaquin Phoenix was, of course, also raised in the Family. Although at a later date than River, so who knows what his chlidhood was like.
posted by dhartung at 9:24 PM on February 10, 2006

My brother in law once shagged Werner H.'s girlfriend.
posted by Mocata at 7:14 AM on February 11, 2006

Never saw so many school girls gushing in one place before.
posted by Goofyy at 8:40 AM on February 11, 2006

The Herzog-hatred Kinski professes in his autobiography All I Need is Love is just so completely, awesomely over the top! Man, I love it.

That said, there are many people who hate Herzog. Anyone ever see Burden of Dreams, Les Blank's documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo? I mean, for chrissake, he made a bunch of natives drag a fucking ship over a fucking mountain!!!

That and Grizzly Man would make such a kick-ass double feature.
posted by ghastlyfop at 12:35 PM on February 11, 2006

Funny that the interviewer's name was Kermode

And Grizzly Man was a brilliant movie about a very strange, interesting man.
posted by Rumple at 1:10 PM on February 11, 2006

And the bears that ate him!
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:03 PM on February 11, 2006

Never saw so many school girls gushing in one place before.

You musta' missed the Prince thread.
posted by dgaicun at 4:03 PM on February 11, 2006

Speaking of the Prince thread, I have yet another apropos Beware of the Blog gem. Yesterday they hosted a short film, Please Kill Mr. Kinski, director David Schmoeller's tribute to working with the man. (perhaps less fuzzily titled than Herzog's own tribute: My Best Friend!)
posted by dgaicun at 10:13 AM on February 12, 2006

That's okay. He's seen violence like this before on the set...
posted by muppetboy at 11:43 AM on February 12, 2006

I was downtown just last week and I had to run in to Kinko's to Xerox some stuff for an acting class and while I was in there, the meter maid started coming down the street. I ran out to plug the meter, but I could see I was too far away and I was never going to cross the street in time. Then this guy walking along stops, sees the situation and plugs the meter for me. I walk up to him to thank him, when I realize /who he is/... Werner is everywhere, apparently!
posted by muppetboy at 11:49 AM on February 12, 2006

So the big question is this. Werner kicks ass. But so does Chuck Norris. If the two met in a dark alley, who would walk out alive? Keep in mind that Werner would have a small film crew with him as well as the cruel biting wit.
posted by muppetboy at 11:52 AM on February 12, 2006