LYON, France — Joel and Ethan Coen may be among the most celebrated filmmakers of their generation, but the Oscar-winning brothers were in a self-deprecating mood at the Lumière Film Festival on Friday, sharing laughs, anecdotes and tributes to the collaborators who have helped bring their films to life.
“I always feel I am not worthy,” Ethan joked at the start of the masterclass, ahead of the brothers receiving the festival’s lifetime achievement Lumière Award later that evening.
The filmmakers behind “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski” and “No Country for Old Men” spoke warmly about their four-decade partnership and their remarkably straightforward creative process.
“We’ve always written together,” Joel said. “Ethan once said the way we adapt a book is that I hold it open and he retypes it into a computer.”
“That’s why we prefer to adapt hardcover books, because of the spine,” Ethan deadpanned, drawing laughter.
Asked by festival director Thierry Frémaux, who also heads the Cannes Film Festival, whether they ever argued, Joel described a process of bouncing ideas off each other. “Burn After Reading,” he recalled, emerged from a conversation about a movie they would never make – one opening with the typewritten words appearing: “CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia.”
“And then we thought, well, why don’t we make that?” he quipped.
The brothers were also keen to share credit with their longtime collaborators, repeatedly stressing that their films were the product of a collective effort.
“Us being up here, we’re taking credit for what a lot of other people have done,” Ethan said, acknowledging DoP Bruno Delbonnel, who was in the audience. The French cinematographer worked with the brothers on “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” and with Joel on “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
“Something emerges out of the collaboration with somebody else,” Joel said, explaining that the same principle governed his partnership with Ethan. “The secret to that kind of collaboration is knowing when the other person is right and you’re not.”
“I think we’re pretty pleasant to work with,” Ethan ventured. The reason, he joked, was that they had “very big egos” and weren’t threatened by other people’s ideas.
Frémaux turned to producer Eric Fellner, who was also in attendance, to ask whether the brothers really were so easy to work with.
“We’ve made nine films together, so I think the answer is yes,” Fellner replied. “But beyond easy, they are by far and away the most joyful people to make films with in the industry.”
Frances McDormand, Joel’s wife of more than 40 years, was also in Lyon. Joel recalled meeting the actress while casting their 1984 debut “Blood Simple,” when she was fresh out of drama school.
Thrilled with her audition, they asked her to return later that day to read with another actor. She declined, explaining that she had promised to watch her boyfriend appear on a television soap opera.
“We were like, wow, okay, that’s cool,” Joel recalled, to laughter.
Asked about working with streaming platforms, including Netflix on “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and Apple TV+ on Joel’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Joel acknowledged that home video had helped launch their careers by opening up new markets for independent films. But he defended the theatrical experience.
“The joy of sitting in a movie theater with a crowd of people, there’s no substitute for that,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any filmmaker that enjoys the idea of working on ever diminishing platforms. ‘Oh, I saw your movie on my iPhone.’ That’s very disheartening.”
He praised the Lumière Film Festival for bringing large audiences together to watch films on the big screen, something he said had become increasingly difficult in the U.S.
The brothers also reflected on Cannes, where “Barton Fink” won the Palme d’Or in 1991. Frémaux recalled how “No Country for Old Men” left empty-handed 16 years later, despite subsequently winning four Oscars, including best picture.
Asked how they felt about missing out on prizes at Cannes, Joel recounted a Billy Wilder joke about an elderly man who complained to his doctor that he was having trouble urinating. Told the patient was 75, the doctor replied: “Well, you’ve peed enough.”
Ethan turned the punchline on their host: “Joel and I agree that your graciously having us here was your way of telling us ‘You’ve peed enough.’”
Frémaux, backed by enthusiastic cheers from the audience, assured them that the festival was eagerly awaiting their next film.
Asked which screenwriting rules they most enjoyed breaking, Ethan insisted they were barely aware of any.
Joel had some advice: “If you’re a screenwriter, you should break as many rules as you can.”
As Frémaux wrapped up the masterclass by reminding the brothers that Lyon would be celebrating them that evening, Ethan had the last word.
“We are not worthy.”