It is obvious from the first frame that a tremendous amount of work went into this film, even by the high standards of feature animation. Can you discuss the seven year process?
Tomm Moore: The story development went hand in hand with the art development.
What was the process of you discovering the source material and trying to get it produced?
DeCaprio: As soon as I read the novel I thought, “This is like a modern day Caligula.”
Stephen, you’re no stranger to bringing musicals to the big screen, and you’re no stranger to stories about teenage longing and discontent. How did you get involved in the project?
Stephen Chbosky: I saw the show about three years ago, on Broadway. And I loved it. I didn’t know anything about it when I saw it. And I loved the show.
Sacha, the original Borat was a tremendous success. Why did it take so long to make a sequel?
Sacha Baron Cohen: Well, we just assumed it was impossible to make.
We spent three years filming, and we went to twenty five countries with Quincy.
Can you talk about genesis of the film?
Kazuo Ishiguro: I can tell you about the origin story of this film, before the real work started. I can take credit for having the original idea, because it was kind of an obsession of mine for years. It was partly because I was a Japanese kid growing up in England and I was always very interested in any Japanese film that was shown in England.
here did this idea come from, and how did the project get moving?
Max Walker-Silverman: Umm… that’s the most reasonable question in the world, and I’ve never figured out the cleanest answer to it.
Ms. Varda, you say very early in your film that “chance” is your assistant. JR, would you say that you agree with that philosophy?
JR: Yes, definitely and that’s why we got along well.
Can you talk about what it was like to craft these characters?
James Mangold: I’m a big believer in hanging out. I am not a big believer in rehearsing.
Your character experiences some of the darkest things a person can experience. During your preparation and filming, was there anything in particular that helped you connect with him?
Ejiofor: I think I wanted to find out about who he was. I thought there was something about him that was too remarkable.
Can you talk about the collaboration between the two of you in terms of writing, producing, and performing this?
Rafael Casal: Yeah, Diggs, can you?
Daveed Diggs: I mean we’ve been working on this for ten years at this point with our two producing partners the whole time, Jess and Keith Calder.
Can you discuss the archival material you have in this film? It’s incredibly comprehensive.
Daniel Geller: One of the things, I think, that came later in the process…Leonard began to understand what Dayna and I were trying to do with the movie.
Mr. Kauflin, what was your reaction when you were approached about being in this film?
Kauflin: When Al asked me that, we had already known each other for a few years; he was a good buddy of mine. I knew he was a great drummer, and apparently he’s a good surfer as well.
Sophie, let’s start with the genesis: how did this project begin?
Sophie Brooks: It really does feel like a miracle when an indie gets made. We almost made this movie in 2020 and thought, “this is easy,” but it ended up taking another four and a half years.
Anora is such an intense and ferocious character, but there’s an understated vulnerability. How did you weave that into the performance?
Mikey Madison: I always saw her as someone who was deeply vulnerable on the inside but is constantly protecting herself by covering it up with anger and spunk.