Luca Guadagnino and André Aciman with Hunter Harris: Call Me By Your Name | NYPL Author Talks

NYPL Author Talks | Recorded live at the New York Public Library, Celeste Auditorium, November 2017.
Celebrating the release of the new film Call Me By Your Name, a melancholic tale of first love and youthful exploration, director Luca Guadagnino and novelist André Aciman take to the NYPL stage. The two will discuss the making of the story, first in the form of the original acclaimed novel by Aciman, and now as a major feature film by Guadagnino. Vulture's associate editor Hunter Harris moderates the discussion.

[@ErikaKodama]

Andre Aciman is such a beautiful human being

[@onlykismet]

I'm totally amazed by the fact that Mr. Aciman put into words exactly how I felt with some of the scenes in the movie, like he basically explained why I felt the way I did when I watched the movie.

[@xz9376]

Best interview I’ve seen ever. All three people were focused, truthful, candid, polite, elegant, I could watch this forever.

[@DemocritusWept]

So agree. This was indeed a great interview. She was informed, engaged, interested and able to let them speak. A bit like the film the ideas and conversation were allowed to breathe.

[@emblalo]

”Slim, nervous and passionate” perfect description of Timmy!!

[@2424dianne]

I could listen to them talk for hours. They're so brilliant.

[@Who-qn5fl]

i am in love with the legend "Luca Guadagnino". i guess no other person could be equivalent to the ingenious André Aciman other than luca.

[@roxyredrose1]

andre aciman seems like such a lovely man

[@karinregnell]

I completely agree with Aciman on his description of the impact the final scene had on him, a perfect ending in my opinion.

[@astraldimma]

I really like this interviewer, she did a great job!

[@ZoeMeg12]

Follow her on twitter (Hunter Harris), if you have one! She tweets about CMBYN a lot and is super funny!

[@astraldimma]

Thanks for taking the time to tell me! Her style of tweeting is right up my alley

[@bowhunter8235]

..saw the movie for the 10th time tonight (solo we time and no have not she'd 1 tear). I've watched Many interviews as well. I love the voices, the music, the story, ... everything about the movie. I cannot delete, edit or cut anything out as to say; 'this can do without'. The movie makes me want to buy a Fiat and speak Italian.

[@laraclaveras2681]

I agree, but I still have trouble understanding some parts of the book ... The last pages broke my heart.

[@kdelioncourt]

thank you for posting this. it's always interesting and fascinating to hear from the author and the director! especially Luca and André are so wonderful and intelligent they make me fall more and more in love with the book and the film

[@avidreader2316]

That one woman who said that casting Armie was a bad choice because he didn't look "Jewish enough" was so rude! Like, how is a Jewish man supposed to look like? Anyway, it was very awkward to listen to her. Aciman and Guadagnino did a great job correcting her though.

[@thanostsarbos1197]

avidreader 231 Can you write the exact minute she said that ? Thanks

[@mrd4518]

Agreed. I was so pissed when she said that and I'm glad that they didn't let her off the hook for her awful comments. And she was also incredibly rude saying that the element of religion made no sense in the movie! As if there needs to be a explicit reason in the plot to have Jewish/minority characters exist!

[@mrd4518]

+ MyName IsRamen Her question starts at 38:40

[@thanostsarbos1197]

Did this woman really say "He doesn't look Jewish ?" what the fuck does that even mean...man some people need to get proper education

[@mrd4518]

Yep. Unfortunately a lot of people think like this. People are often shocked when I say that I'm Jewish because I "don't look Jewish". I have even had strangers comment that I have too small of a nose to be Jewish -_-

[@rennnyka]

You have one of the greatest directors and one of the best fiction writers of this generation together. It's amazing hearing them talk about their work.

[@yonggrey6407]

But the interviewer didn't realize that. Or maybe, she didn't even care!

[@thanostsarbos1197]

For some reason I can't believe that Andre Aciman's inspiration to write such a sexual, intimate and passionate novel about gay love, was just a cancelled trip to Italy....

[@thanostsarbos1197]

Gabriel ML I mean love and lust are universal regardless of orientation. but this man really gets gay love/lust/longing. He really gets it.

[@mash12372]

I love your interpretation! I imagined him to be Elio- I guess since it was written in the first person and his emotions are so well captured but it's fun to imagine it the other way around.

[@rogermcall]

MyName IsRamen: Do you find it difficult to believe that Edward Albee, who is gay, could have written such a searing play about the collapse of a heterosexual marriage as he did with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"? Or that W. Somerset Maugham, who was also gay, wrote a series of novels about women in love? Or how about the famously gay Oscar Wilde, whose plays invariably deal with the joys and pitfalls of heterosexual love? My point is that artists are capable of immersing themselves into the psyche of others unlike themselves. They manage to replicate experiences which they may not have enjoyed-- exactly-- but which resonate because they are universal experiences. Aciman has been well acquainted with love, with the slow ascent to love, and with the despair which often accompanies love. He did not have to be gay in order to write CMBYN. Perhaps we all fall into the trap of believing something is true simply because it would satisfy our own romantic notions if it WERE true. To disbelieve that Acimon could write such a gay-explicit novel without being gay himself is tantamount to believing that the chemistry between Hammer and Chalamet in the film must have been a reflection of their actual passion for each other. Again: artists are capable of creating lives which transcend their own experiences.

[@tuuliamoors4134]

@@rogermcall I just re-watched the interview and then also saw this wonderful comment you had made here since my previous viewing of the video. I just wanted to applaud you, it's weird and kinda sad that so many people really don't get it, and you put it so well. A lot of people want to believe fiction to be a document of real life, to be "true" in the sense that the artists actually lived it - instead of accepting it as simply a "true" depiction of human feelings and emotions that exist in the world, and that artists are supposed to create to be able to tell stories. It's unfortunate that when artists do their jobs really well, then many people no longer genuinely give them credit for doing their jobs brilliantly, but choose to believe it has to be their actual life if they depicted it so well - oh, the writer is writing about himself, oh, the actors are actually having an affair... because they were "too good." The talent gets denied, and the job of the artist (creating) gets denied.

[@rogermcall]

@@tuuliamoors4134 I thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment. Your insights are deeply appreciated and have extended my own love for this amazing film and the novel upon which it is based. I cannot believe that a year has passed since my initial viewing of CMBYN, as both film and novel are so well entrenched in my memory that I still replay lines of dialogue in my head. Again, my thanks go to you for reviving the experience with your kind response.

[@DemocritusWept]

This author is entirely lovable. Many great writers can be so distant and curmudgeonly but he has such warmth.

[@cesarwycoco2267]

I was so enthralled when I saw the movie, that I had to go back and see it again. It's been called a 'gay film; but for me, I'd call it a 'love film'.----beautifully filmed, interpreted, photographed with an end-product that could easily pass for a masterpiece. Another result is that I cannot picture the film without Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer in the title roles--and, on the same vein, without Luca Guadagnino as the director. BTW, I'm now going to read the book; meantime, I'm watching, on the internet, one after the other, the videos on the film, the actors, the director, the author. Looking forward to watching "Oscar night'--and Timothee Chalamet named "Best Actor. C. Wycoco, 14FEB18.

[@marta9127]

Question about lgbt is not so relevant. In my opinion it is a very universal story, very humane and beautiful. And it says something about every one of us regardless our sex or sexual orientation and even it passes, transends the political views ans religious convictions, I guess. And it can move equally young and old audience... I really like to think about this story, especially the film, as a profound journey through art, music, history and philosophy, touching the emotions and moral aspects that we all can relate to. It takes us deeper and deeper but again it says something important about our bodies and the senses too. That's the source of this great impact of the story. It makes you ask new questions, makes you dare to explore the teritories you've never thought of visitting before. Thinking about the book or the film ONLY in the respect of the bisexual/gay theme is just the worst simplification. It is more to "CMbYN" than just that, it is only one of the layers. Every part, every scene in the book and the film appears to me as a russian doll - you can find unexpected :)

[@BMWPorscheBMWPorsche]

I tottaly agree with your comment! I immediately fell in love with the characters and the plot and the music, the direction, the pace the story developed, I mean Everything was so perfect that I bought the book and cried a river... it's Magnificent!!!

[@lianikolaou]

Thank you so much for the upload so we all can get interesting facts from the process of writing the book and filming the movie. I first saw the film, a month ago and keep watching it again and again for days. It intrigued me to buy not only this particular book by Andre Aciman,, but every book of his I could find in Greek! Now I have only one thing to say : Thank you to both Mr Aciman and Mr Guadanino.

[@TehKhronicler]

Finally a really great, tactful, thoughtful, respectful, and interesting interviewer.

[@alalulu4503]

Oh my god, I found this interview after 5 years, and this is GOLD.

[@DanielPierce]

"he invent, we go into the trenches" I love Luca!

[@lamtwentythirteen]

what a stellar q&a/interview. so much insight

[@mfmxecal]

Mr André Aciman is so cute!

[@patientcultivated753]

You can't always please everybody in the crowd, but if majority is in cloud 9, that is all that matters Mr.Guadagnino, Sir, you probably not anticipating this kind of attention in your job, now I know you and your face and your body of works, we'll be looking forward to more of Armie and Timothee's movie together... thank you

[@flourdom]

Her voice is soool soothing 😍 and I love listening to Andre and Luca. They're so perspective and intelligent 👏

[@johnpaulfajardo2368]

Thank God, an interview with Andre and Luca gives me consolation after reading the book and after watching the film. The interview also made me understand and appreciate different aspects of the book and the film itself. Thanks to The New York Public Library! I hope to know more background stories of Marzia and Chiara, and their relationship with Elio and Oliver. Were Elio and Oliver bisexual in some way, or was the simultaneous male and female relationship just part of the sexual awakening process? Why did Oliver decided to marry still after having that intimate connection with Elio? It makes me realize that some men before would likely practice the norms even if they are actually against it.

[@BvirtuallY]

Also, Andre has numerous emotional affectations (expressions), genuinely accurately shared between Andre and Timothy Chalamet his acting portrayer!

[@xelakram]

Great book! Fabulous film! Interesting conversation!

[@wildbluemich]

They are such interesting wise people with so much wisdom. To listen to them is so insightful.

[@curly2387]

Massively enjoyed the interview!🍊

[@korneliafeher2794]

It was an amazing conversation! ♥️

[@BvirtuallY]

He truly is a beauty of a being. I adore luca too.

[@alanbiernacki639]

After watching the movie, and seeing this a video( and many others) I bought book. Reading, and like it a lot.

[@daisy_iv]

I haven't seen the film yet but this book is so beautiful.

[@MrsGamgee977]

Interview that among other things introduced me to the lovely and hilarious Hunter Harris. :D

[@carlyfaiith]

Still sooo obsessed with these two. ♥️ I need to finish Find Me. The reason I haven’t picked it up again is bc the last day I was reading it was when I was sitting next to my grandpa the afternoon before he died BUT I’m going to make myself read it. I have to. It makes me so happy. As if I’m there on that train, myself.

[@krzysztofjanicki1049]

Great interview. I also believe it's easy shortcut when filmmakers use "internal" voiceover to tell the story. You should be able to tell it in 3D theatrical not just flat words written way.

[@rockohunter9633]

I love this epic(movie). Indian are waiting for its release in India. Please do so.

[@balanchine2000]

Thank you so much for this upload, I love those 2 genius talking about process...

[@MultiSUPERLATIVO]

7:25 That is exactly the same thing that author Annie Proulx said when she first watched Brokeback Mountain on the big screen: 'This is what writers always refuse to accept, that a movie is stronger than the written words!"

[@D__03]

Such a wonderful and funny interview. Bit weird that that woman would say Armie is Scandinavian-looking. He is blonde, there are other countries with blonde people.

[@jabrown1978]

The funny thing was when I saw the peach scene in the movie I thought of the emoji.

[@linnaeusshecut3959]

Picture this: "Memoirs of Hadrian," book by Marguerite Yourcenar, starring Armie Hammer as Hadrian and a buff Timothée Chalamet as his lover Antinous. Luca Guadanigno can get the financial backing now due to his success with "Call Me by Your Name," especially if the deal includes the Hammer/Chalamet package. James Ivory would of course write the screen play. As before mentioned, Timothée would have to have a gym trainer to buff up for the role. Armie Hammer on occasions could be his workout partner. (What a publicity event that would make: Hammer pushing Timmy to complete that final rep.!) You would be guaranteed at least the same audience as CMBYN. Luca does not hate Hollywood though he has never worked there. Hollywood has the technical know-how to create this period drama. What a love story of the great world leader and a beautiful young man. Think of Hadrian's accomplishments. (Everyone recognizes the Pantheon.) Think of the great estate he built near Rome. www.bing.com/videos/search?q=antinous&view=detail&mid=BABFF1376E1CC4CC26C7BABFF1376E1CC4CC26C7&FORM=VIRE

[@daisyvalencia7990]

I love the question about what they were like at 17.

[@pretty312]

Andre, who is Albio?!! :)

[@usernamemaybe]

Yeeees! This! :P

[@chentristan]

sorry i dont get it. pls enlighten me

[@chentristan]

Oh right! I just checked the book. It's written: For Albio, Alma de mi vida. So it's not only Albio:-)

[@flourdom]

I REALLY NEED TO KNOW THAT TOO!

[@weasley2o13]

@@gabo4zul he could also be his brother or his cousin or his son, it doesn't have to be romantic.

[@nusratpopy8724]

I need the sequel of the book by Andrew Aciman and of the movie "Call me by your name" ... where Oliver will call Elio by Oliver's name without Elio remininding Oliver this heavenly attitude of love to call each other by own name that they used to do somewhere in northern Italy in the mid-eighties during summer.

[@danielueblacker9118]

16:53 I love it, what a great adolescent scene.

[@Ducky_logan]

Where was the city B in the book? I couldn’t figure out what he said.

[@andrei2734]

Thank you for asking this question. I couldn't figure it out myself too.

[@vvdik]

Bordighera

[@ismaelgarcia159]

Well, actually André Aciman said it was both Bordighera and Bogliasco, since he used both of them to get inspired.

[@liamwhitney509]

Nice interview. I like hearing them speak about their personal approaches and attitudes to the creative process. So, my question would have been.......does Oliver have a last name? And what was the title of book he had just published?

[@estelle3005]

Liam Whitney oh my God ......I just realised that he has no last name. How did we all miss that?

[@tuuliamoors4134]

@@estelle3005 His last name wasn't important, there was no need to invent one. (In the book Elio's family's name wasn't mentioned, either. Or the parents' names. Or the town's name.)

[@estelle3005]

Tuulia Moors that’s a true assessment. Where did the Perlman surname come from then?

[@tuuliamoors4134]

@@estelle3005 I don't know if that, and whose idea it was, have been mentioned anywhere. There was just "P." in the book, so that had to be the first letter, and they would have most likely indeed chosen a Jewish name (not that one couldn't be Jewish without a specifically Jewish name, but anyway). The name could have been André's pick, too, but I don't know. Having that surname in the movie could have been avoided as well, of course, had they chosen to. The parents' first names as well. But it was also entirely natural to have them named in the movie - when you introduce yourself you say your name, when you call out for someone you use their name. (Or they could have done the scenes a bit differently, and avoided the names.) When someone talks about their parents (=the book) they usually don't use the names (but rather "my mother" and "my father" etc.). Similarly, it was more natural for Elio to refer to Oliver only by his first name in the book, and there was no natural (or necessary) place for Oliver's last name to be in the movie, either, so it wasn't.

[@fishermann1102]

It must be my computer, the volume is low.

[@danielueblacker9118]

Not you, it picks up I think I'm at 1439 and it picks up...

[@Laura-zo4ue]

The interviewer is not only awesome and well spoken, but incredibly cute. I couldn't stop looking at her smh. Also, I wish this was 232123 hours long.

[@Jocular64]

It's almost inaudible. Can you correct this!

[@Ebee2]

anyone know what movie he mentioned at 21:35 ? I love andre, i'll gladly watch anything that influenced him

[@sydtud4080]

Emma Buchanan i believe it’s the movie “teorema”

[@ranncarlos]

April 5 2005.

[@weasley2o13]

What happened then?

[@mariminu8819]

I don't know what's Mr. Guadagnino's problem with Italian actors , but the one thing that really sounded wrong in the movie were the non Italian actors playing Italians, it was so evident that they were not, their accent was so strong

[@sailingsam3815]

Low volume

[@victorteboul8886]

No sound !! Something is wrong !!!

[@markojascastro3514]

I can't hear

[@eiram31]

I wish people stop trying to make Judaism a race, it's a religion just like any other. For that woman to say armie doesn't look Jewish enough is so ridiculous. My maternal grandmother is Jewish and paternal grandmother Catholic. I'm neither and would be ridiculous to consider myself that just bc of my grands.

[@teammmx]

Wonderful conversation, except for the woman who wanted Armie to look "more Jewish"

[@weasley2o13]

I'm Jewish and to say the family was hiding the fact that they were too because they weren't wearing starts of David is just hysterical to me. I don't wear it either because I don't see the point in saying "hello I'm Jewish", I think it's more effective for me to say hello I'm human and so are you so let's connect, and I couldn't be more proud and lucky to be a part of my religion, I just don't think that physical expression of your faith makes you more or less of a believer, no matter what religion you belong to. I read the comments before I heard it and thought I was going to be angry but her comment is just so dumb I started laughing instead. I feel sorry for her kids, though.

[@marta9127]

Question about lgbt is not so relevant. In my opinion it is a very universal story, very humane and beautiful. And it says something about every one of us regardless our sex or sexual orientation and even it passes, transends the political views ans religious convictions, I guess. And it can move equally young and old audience... I really like to think about this story, especially the film, as a profound journey through art, music, history and philosophy, touching the emotions and moral aspects that we all can relate to. It takes us deeper and deeper but again it says something important about our bodies and the senses too. That's the source of this great impact of the story. It makes you ask new questions, makes you dare to explore the teritories you've never thought of visitting before. Thinking about the book or the film ONLY in the respect of the bisexual/gay theme is just the worst simplification. It is more to "CMbYN" than just that, it is only one of the layers. Every part, every scene in the book and the film appears to me as a russian doll - you can find unexpected :)

[@aransamsan]

what I wouldn't pay to know WHO is Albio

[@kcwatkins4377]

S O U N D! It's NOT rocket science.

[@didierduplenne2325]

isn't she the worst interviewer ? lol

[@grazynaborowska9917]

I think yes. I felt it and observed reactions o Luca. He knew this too and try to manage this situation.

[@weasley2o13]

You mean the best.