INTERVIEW WITH BRUNO BARRETO
How did you come up with the idea for BOSSA NOVA?
Bringing BOSSA NOVA to the screen was a lengthy project. In 1990, Amy and I were spending our vacations in the beach town of Búzios, where Arnaldo Jabor looked us up. He wanted to pitch a film to Amy, A Senhorita Simpson, based on Sérgio Sant'Anna's novel. I was immediately fascinated by the story. I confess I was dying with envy of their project, and I thought: "Why hadn't I found that book before?" Years passed, but I keep nagging Jabor about when he'd give me the rights to shoot A Senhorita Simpson. Finally, in 1997, when I returned to Brazil for the release of Four Days in September (O Que É Isso, Companheiro?), I popped up the question again e he said: "I don't know if I'll ever make a movie again, the story is yours." I immediately called Leopoldo Serran, and we started working together on its adaptation, producing a first draft of the story. Later on, I invited Alexandre Machado and Fernanda Young to write the final screenplay.

After a nine-year hiatus without shooting in Brazil, you made your comeback in 1996 with Four Days in September (O Que É Isso Companheiro?), a political thriller, based on real facts. This time around, what has prompted you to switch to a colorful, sunny, fast-paced romantic comedy, to the sound of Tom Jobim's music?
A nostalgia for Brazil, especially Rio. Sometimes, I can feel this pang in my heart. The whole production of Four Days in September (O Que é Isso, Companheiro?) was a very positive experience. I'd been living in the U.S. for nine years, during which time I only came back as a tourist. This filled me with a strong yearning to shoot in Rio... but that Rio in which I grew up in the '60s, though, a city of more cordial relations, prior to the real state boom. Bossa Nova's Rio, with its enchanting natural beauty, sung by Tom Jobim and by countless other popular music artists. Moreover, I wanted to shoot a film starred by Amy in Rio de Janeiro, recapturing the feeling I had when I told her about it.

A Senhorita Simpson's story fits like a glove in this project. Actually, there were several Brazilian successful romantic comedies shot in the '60s, including Domingos de Oliveira's Todas as Mulheres do Mundo, the best example of the genre, Nelson Pereira's El Justicero, Roberto Farias' Toda Donzela Tem um Pai que É uma Fera, and Zelito Vianna's Minha Namorada. Intelligent humor with great acceptance by the audiences.