Exclusive Interview By Jenny Halper in New York City

Atom Egoyan’s adaptation of Rupert Holmes’ potboiler novel “Where the Truth Lies” has incited the kind of controversy a movie hasn’t stirred since Paul Verhoeven had to tame down “Basic Instinct.” Alison Lohman stars as Karen O’Connor, a young journalist investigating- sometimes intimately- the murder of a beautiful hotel worker (Rachel Blanchard) by two has-been stars (Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth).

A pivotal ménage a trios (between Blanchard, Bacon, and Firth), may detract attention from Egoyan’s stellar style, but I’m betting one thing- it will fill theater seats. The acclaimed Canadian director and Cannes Film Festival legend (“Exotica” won the International Critics Prize; “The Sweet Hereafter” walked away with three awards before famously netting two Oscar nominations) took time to talk on the phone about his latest film.

CINECON.COM: One of the main characters in “The Sweet Hereafter” is a father who molests his teenage daughter. Did that spark the sort of controversy this film has?

ATOM: No, it didn’t at all. The controversy this film has been getting is really surprising to me, it came out of the blue. It’s the first time I’ve had to deal with a ratings issue- I don’t quite understand how it actually pushed those buttons. I think I’ve always been interested in material which deals with transgressive situations, but I’ve always avoided NC-17. It’s weird to stumble into it with this movie.

CINECON.COM: Do you think Americans see NC-17 and think ‘pornography’ right off the bat?

ATOM: I do, I think that’s the problem, that’s why we’re doing unrated. I think the MPAA would like to think that NC-17 can be regarded as a rating just like any other, but unfortunately it still bears the stigma of porn. And certainly that’s the case with a lot of the theater chains, and a lot of the newspapers that will refuse to run ads for NC-17.

CINECON.COM: Oddly, the film has more violence than sex, but that’s not what’s getting everyone’s attention.

ATOM: That’s the hypocrisy of it, right? There’s no specific code that the MPAA has, there’s no rhyme or reason to it. I’ve seen very violent films that are able to secure an R rating, but the moment you deal with sexuality that’s more of a taboo.

CINECON.COM: The book is pretty explicit. Was it your job, as a writer and director, to translate that element of the story to the screen?

ATOM: It’s an important part of the story. Because of their celebrity, the characters allow themselves…it had to feel unbridled, and it had to feel like anything was possible. But that being said, I had to deliver an R rated version of the film, and I knew what the parameters were, so I had to…it was a problem. I think most people who see the film, they’re also surprised by the rating.

CINECON.COM: Did you cut scenes that you didn’t think were gratuitous?

ATOM: Absolutely. There were four scenes that were a problem. We resubmitted the film twice, with the altered scenes, but ultimately the one scene that persisted as an issue is the core dramatic scene in the film.

CINECON.COM: The ménage a trois?

ATOM: Yeah.

CINECON.COM: They didn’t have a problem with Karen O’Connor and Alice being photographed by Vince?

ATOM: No, they did, and we did have to alter that scene as well, which we did, and when they persisted with the NC-17 rating, we reconstructed the whole thing from how it was originally intended.

CINECON.COM: In the book Vince and O’Conner strike a deal – sex.

ATOM: That was cut, yeah. It became an unnecessary plot line. We did shoot that scene, but we ended up cutting it.

CINECON.COM: Your early films are noted for their extremely personal content. Was there anything personal about this one?

ATOM: Oh yeah, my relationship to celebrity culture. As a kid I remember waking up on Sunday morning and watching the tail end of a telethon, and just being amazed by the superhuman nature of it. We all have a fantasy relationship with certain celebrities, I certainly did, it’s a part of who we are living in this country, living in North America. Our relationship to certain celebrities becomes an essential part of our own personality, and I wanted to examine that.

CINECON.COM: What celebrities made an impression on you?

ATOM: It’s thrilling because I’m actually about to use his music, but I remember as a kid being totally in awe of Carlos Santana, he was like my God. I remember begging my father to take me to San Francisco to visit his vegetarian restaurant, totally expecting that he’d be there and I’d finally get to meet him. And being profoundly disillusioned when he didn’t serve me my bowl of hummus. He was very important to me and. All of these bands that are still popular, these singers…you have fantasy relationships with these individuals, and then sometimes you have contact with them in a setting where you feel like you deserve to have access to them but you don’t.

CINECON.COM: I read that you also worked in a hotel growing up.

ATOM: That’s also been an interesting profession where you have contact with people because of your job, you’re in other people’s lives, and you’re cleaning their room, or delivering a meal to their room, you have a window into another person’s life. But then what goes on in a hotel room, what people allow themselves to do in hotel rooms they would never do in their own house. It’s an interesting theme, it’s come up in a couple of my films, actually.

CINECON.COM: Vince and Lanny have been described as boy/girl act. Do you see it as having a homoerotic element?

ATOM: No, but I think it is a marriage.

CINECON.COM: Who depends on who more, Lanny or Vince?

ATOM: It’s an interesting thing, in the act it’s Vince who’s always trying to control Lanny, and Vince seems to be the one who’s civilizing that aspect of the partnership. But (in real life) Vince needs Lanny.

CINECON.COM: Do you see this film as a turning point in Alison Lohman’s career?

ATOM: For sure, it’s the first time she’s actually got to play her age. She’s an extraordinary actress who has often been identified by her ability to play adolescents, but I think this is a role that allows her to play, in an extreme way, both that childlike quality she has, but her actual age. She’s playing herself as a 25 year old.

CINECON.COM: What was the reaction at Cannes?

ATOM: It was a very different reaction than my other films, it was the first film that I’ve presented that’s more of a genre film. So there were critics who completely loved it because of the fact that it was a departure, and some critics want you to do what you always do. So it was a divided response.

CINECON.COM: What are you working on now?

ATOM: I’m working on a big opera project that we’re doing in Toronto. It’s a ring project- Wagner’s rings, I’m involved with that, and we’re opening a new opera house next September.

CINECON.COM: Do you prefer writing adaptations or original material?

ATOM: I’m writing an original script now. I love writing, but you ultimately have to go with what you’re most excited about. I’ve written a lot of original scripts, but sometimes I don’t feel the need to make them films. Sometimes you read a book that completely bowls you over, and that becomes your next project. You don’t really know what you’re next project is going to be until the time you’re able to commit yourself. I need to write all the time, but I don’t know if what I’m writing is what I’ll be filming.

CINECON.COM: When you were reading Holmes’ book, was there a point when you thought ‘this is going to be my next project?’

ATOM: From the very beginning I was just excited about it. I knew it was the opportunity to present a world that was completely outside of my own, but that bore the themes and subject matter that’s been interesting to me.

CINECON.COM: Peter Travers has described your films as “plumbing the violence of the mind.” Do you think this movie does that?

ATOM: Yeah. I think that I’m interested in presenting characters who think they know themselves but who remain a mystery to themselves, and are trying to figure out the nature of their own identity. So there’s a constant investigation these characters are doing, both to maintain the myth of who they are, but also to reveal who they might become.

“Where the Truth Lies” opens on October 14th.