You all shot for a few nights on the actual BART platform where this tragedy took place. Can you talk about that experience?
Diaz: It was one of the most intense things. You can still feel the ghosts there, the presence of the pain and violence and fear and everything that went down that night. That day was special. We started off with a prayer. It was powerful.
Can you talk about the research that you did, and about the consultants that you brought in to make sure you got it right? I was so impressed with how authentic this story was.
Reinaldo Marcus Green: So, I’ll start with the consultants. We had a gentleman by the name of Neville Garrick, who we represent in the film. He had done the album art work, and he also did the lighting for all of the shows.
The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Rebel Hearts. How did the project begin and how did you two come together? Shawnee Isaac Smith: I’ll start since it was twenty-one years ago when I met one of the Immaculate Heart sisters and was so inspired by their […]
Can you tell us about the origins of this film?
Paul Greengrass: I think the origins of it lie in the last film I made, actually, 22 July, which was a pretty tough film about violent right-wing extremism in Europe.
Michael, how did the script find its way to you?
It came to me through Arlie [Day], our producer and casting director. What I like to think she saw it in for me was that the great subject of the film was empathy. It’s about how to look at other people’s lives and experiences uncolored by any sense of judgment.
Did you set out to make a film about Stacey Abrams? How did this story come together for you?
Liz Garbus: For us it started when Stacey reached out.
What was your emotional reaction as a filmmaker while telling this story?
Part of the impetus for me in making a project is that I’m already emotionally affected by something.
Let’s start by talking about the unique backstory to making this film.
Salerno: I grew up in a house where Salinger was a church. My mom was a huge fan and turned me onto his work, but like everyone, I had no idea about the man, I just knew the work. I started researching this project and found out that J.D. Salinger landed on D-Day, that Salinger participated in these horrible battles, that he lost the love of his life, Oona O’Neill, to Charlie Chaplin.
This film was created with something of a new genre in mind: the “IMAX music experience.” Can you talk about that decision?
Brett Morgen: I have been doing biographical documentaries for the past twenty years. And when I finished Montage of Heck, I just… kind of feel like, for music documentaries… I love these speakers [gesturing around the theater]. I don’t think facts need to be delivered through these speakers!
Was the El Capitan free solo climb always the thing, or were you interested in Alex more generally?
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi: We were interested in Alex and interested in his process and interested in who he is as a human.