Soul destroying

So I was at work flipping through Vice Magazine and came across an interview with Lars Von Trier. He was of course being interviewed about his movies (mostly focusing on ‘Antichrist’).

What interested me was these questions about Björk in ‘Dancer in the Dark’

"Vice: In an interview some years back you described the presence of a black president in 24 as sickeningly politically correct. PWND!

Lars Von Trier: Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming, but I think it’s a very nice development. As long as they don’t go and elect a woman.

V: Right on.

LVT: I’m joking, of course.

V: Of course you are, but you do seem to like bullying women and you broke Björk. For God’s sake, man, what’s wrong with you?

LVT: Maybe it’s because I was never much good at talking to women, but when they work for me they have a contract and they have to listen to me and do what I say.

V: A revenge-of–the-nerd kind of thing?

LVT: Seriously, it’s true that I pushed Björk a lot, maybe too far, but I was also very happy with her performance. She gave everything she had. As a director you do what you can to get the performance you want, that’s your job, and sometimes you have tap into people’s past experiences and memories to bring that out. I usually have very good relationships with my actresses, but Björk and I didn’t get along.

V: And now she’ll never act again.

LVT: Yeah, and that’s not all, she even wrote Nicole Kidman a letter telling her not to do Dogville.

V: Really? What did she say?

LVT: She said I had destroyed her soul.”

Sure she cried a lot, and had to dance and sing (get up and do her thing) but I wonder what Nicole’s reply would have been after the ordeal of being abused, raped and shackled?

“Bitch…are you serious”

Now I must watch ‘Antichrist’. I get the feeling Charlotte has been but through more. Does he torture his actresses more and more as his film’o’graphy grows?