The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Hold Your Fire. The film took place in my old neighborhood—I lived a block and a half from where those events took place, right on the J line. It’s a major intersection, a very busy hub. To me, this is […]
Can you talk about working with your cast?
You have to have great actors. You have to cast great people to get great performances.
How did you find this story?
David Lowery: It was a true story about this guy whose life was too good to be true in terms of a narrative.
For a summer blockbuster, this film has some really nice, quiet character moments.
I don’t think you can watch a film that is full of explosions and care about it if you don’t have some care about the people that it is happening to.
What drew you to this material and inspired you to direct the film?
Sian Heder: I came to this because it was originally a studio film, and Lionsgate was looking to do a remake of La famille Bélier, a French film that came out in 2014.
Around 2004, you were doing research about curry during Queen Victoria’s time, and it seems you ended up finding much more than expected?
Shrabani Basu: I knew that that Queen Victoria loved her curry and she had so many Indian servants that cooked for her.
When did you first start noticing a disconnect between Yogi Berra’s reputation and the player the stats showed him to be?
Sean Mullin: I think that’s what this was all about. When I started doing the research, I was like, wait, this guy was criminally overlooked.
What was your experience like coming to this project?
Jason Segel: I had made a decision that I wanted to do something entirely different than what I had been doing.
Can you talk about making the transition from athletics to a visual and creative artist?
Savanah Leaf: In a way, I think a film is this combination of working in a team environment.
Can you describe your approach to adapting the novel, and to making the story so cinematic?
Sarah Polley: I think I always thought of the story as somewhat of an epic.
How did you shape the story of the documentary?
Sam Feder: It’s such a dance, when telling any story.
What was it about the riverboat casinos in Iowa that compelled you to write this story?
It was really interesting to see the anti-glamorous version of a casino. There was a story in there somewhere that we hadn’t seen on film before.
What was it like bringing a production of this size to Thailand?
Ron Howard: That was the big question I was asking of myself, going into the movie. I knew there was a genuine hurdle there.
Can you discuss your inspiration for writing this story?
Robert Machoian: It was really motivated, to some degree, my own life in the sense that I’ve been married for quite a while, and I have children, and coming to this period in life where many friends of ours were starting to separate.
What were your first thoughts, after reading the script?
Simon Rex: I was just like… whoa. Whoa. WHOA!