Jane Campion

I’ve been a big fan since her first movie, Sweetie. She’s from New Zealand. I can just relate to her really well, her point of view. She seems a very down- to-earth, no-bullshit kind of woman, but at the same time quite spiritual, I guess. It all sounds like clichés when you say it, but I think I got a certain comfort from her because I was just getting pissed off with women moaning and complaining about everything, and she happened to be a woman director who was quite happy to be so, and quite proud to be so, and made a strong film with feminine strength in it.

I mean, I hate the majority of feminist movies. If I had the right opportunity and could get away with it, I would easily burn all that. But Jane Campion’s also pretty cool with guys as well, ’cos another pretty pathetic thing was women attacking blokes all the time, like it’s their fault. So that’s cool.

But at the end of the day, I just like Sweetie and An Angel At My Table. I’ve been too busy to see The Piano yet. I can just identify with her energy. It’s positive, matter-of-fact, but sort of spiritual, I guess. A lot of people have compared her to David Lynch, which I think is completely unfair because I think all his weirdness is done with a brain, it’s all clever and planned. It’s like, ’Let’s put a dwarf here, eating spaghetti’. It’s pretty cheap. I mean, I respect him, but with Jane Campion, things like that are so earthy and natural. You don’t think she’ll be happy to be put in the same category as a soup ? No, I think she’ll understand.

New Musical Express, 26 february 1994