Simon Verhoeven, Director
“So my old white man, Hein, played by Jan Josef Liefers, doesn’t want to be an old white man and tries to do everything right. But it’s not that easy either.”
Heinz Hellmich is threatened with losing his job after a few missteps in the company. To prove that he is not an “old white man”, he invites his boss and other guests… even during the preparation he gets lost in the depths of the zeitgeist.
Josef Liefers, actor
“When Simon Verhoeven called me and said, listen, I have a film idea “old white man” and I thought, oh no, please don’t, it’s already time. I’m still very young, I still have my life planned me. But then I looked at my ID and it wasn’t true at all.”
It’s a comedy with an all-star cast. Premiere in Berlin. The film is a dance on the minefield of political correctness.
Nadia Uhl
“There were moments when I would have said to my daughter: “Eh, relax, old lady! Well, that’s what they say now.”
It’s necessary to relax because you can quickly make a mistake – in the film, of course, all the time.
Meltem Kaptan, actress
“Somehow everyone revolves around themselves, but actually noticing the other person’s point of view doesn’t happen enough. I think when it comes to language, I think it’s good that it’s inclusive, but we shouldn’t get tense and stuff like that “We’re afraid that we won’t even go into the meeting anymore.”
Times have become more diverse and sensitive.
Josef Liefers, actor
“We are people who have been making mistakes for millions of years. We are the crown of creation and we are also the crown of idiocy. We do both at the same time.”
Simon Verhoeven, Director
“You have to be careful not to put people too quickly into pigeonholes, no matter which ones – there are many. Old white man is one pigeonhole, but do-gooder, climate brat are others and many people are put into pigeonholes too quickly and I want to get them out of there with humor.”
In some cases it seems to be a generational conflict about the right choice of words, the right behavior and the right way of dealing with people.
Nadia Uhl
“The young people, I experience them differently. Even on set. There’s so much, there’s more volume behind everything, not such a narrow corridor of opinion, neither with my young fellow actors nor with my own children. Evolution is happening yes, also forward.”
To be right or not is not the question here. It’s about more: calmness, humor and goodwill towards others.
Simon Verhoeven
“I mean, such a slippery dance floor that we all find ourselves on is, of course, wonderful for a comedy and I think many developments are right, but the way they sometimes present themselves vehemently scares even normal people away. And then achieve the opposite, which is perhaps not what you want.”
Author: Theresa Majerowitsch
