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.
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!
What was the process of making this film?
Meryl Streep: It came together very quickly because Steven Spielberg was making another film with everything ready to go in Italy, except the lead wasn’t cast yet.
Baz, I read that you were not setting out to make a biopic. Tell us a bit about that approach and how that informed the film we saw today?
I love a good biopic as much as anyone, but they tend to be formulaic… someone is born, then this happens, then that happens
The way you build tension throughout the film is incredible. How did you approach that?
n a very organic way, it’s a girl against time. Suspense comes naturally from that premise, by using the DNA of the true story.
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.
A.V. Rockwell: I really wanted to tell a story, especially for my first film, that recognized my coming of age experience in New York City…
What draws you back to these Western stories? What is it like when you develop a project over the course of many years, as you’ve done here?
Kevin Costner: I think it’s the idea that it’s not a part of Disneyland: it was part of our history.
Speaking of actually having a greater scale and a greater budget, what was the coolest special effect that you got to deploy in this film?
JS: I mean, I loved making the monsters. From the very beginning, I remember thinking, for the next film? Let’s go monsters.
Congratulations on this powerful and sensitive film. When did Alexandra Fuller’s book first come to your attention, and what made you want to adapt it and take on so many roles?
Embeth Davitz: I read the book when it came out in 2003, and it just stayed with me.
It’s such a beautiful film with no false notes. I wasn’t surprised to hear it was influenced by personal experience. What was it like to write this and then find someone to portray the protagonist?
Carla Simón: For me, the writing part was quite organic because I had done two previous films that already were inspired by my own story and my family. This was a bit like another chapter. It was interesting because the film was born out of my frustration of not being able to remember my parents because they died when I was a kid.
New York, NY (December 6, 2023) – The National Board of Review (NBR) announced today their 2023 honorees