When Bernie, the Jack Black-starring biopic of mortician/murderer Bernie Tiede, finally hits cinemas this week, it will have been 363 days since it went on release in the US, and over 18 months since it first screened in the UK at 2011’s London Film Festival.
In the meantime it has been critically lauded, and picked up a slew of nominations and awards, including a Golden Globe nod for Black. And while it’s certainly not without its flaws, it was certainly worth the wait. Back in October last year, while Black was in town as a part of his comedy rock-duo Tenacious D, he took time out of his schedule to chat to us about the film.
Back then, we weren’t quite expecting to hold the interview for so long; consequently we spoke about the Oscar buzz that was, at the time, surrounding Shirley MacLaine, as well as the possibility of award recognition for Black.
We also discussed the career impact of a sympathetic portrayal of a convicted killer, as well as the possibility of the real Bernie seeing the movie. Check it out below.
