Herzog practices Vulcan death grip on Demme.Photo: Getty Images
Werner Herzog: I Can Live With Death Threats
What is it about Werner Herzog that makes him such catnip to the crazies? In Cannes, Abel Ferrara hoped Herzog’s streetcar would blow up after learning he was refilming Bad Lieutenant. And recently, Herzog told us last night at the Museum of the Moving Image, a woman just released from an eight-year murder sentence in a mental ward came to his house with a loaded gun in her purse, accusing him of leading a worldwide conspiracy against her. “I have no idea why, but I can live with it,†Herzog said. “It’s fine. So of course I can live with the fact that Ferrara is ranting and raving. Wonderful! Can’t get any better.†But he said that Ferrara was wrong to believe Herzog’s movie will be a remake. “It’s a completely different story and a completely different setup, so the films have nothing to do with each other,†he said. “But it doesn’t matter. I heard he has a good face. Maybe he should play a gangster in the movie.†—Andrew Goldstein
This post has been edited since its initial publication.