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 […]
What inspired you with this film and why did you set it in the world of 1950’s London fashion?
Paul Thomas Anderson: I had a thin story for a romance about a man, woman, and maybe third party.
Can you talk about finding this character, before you brought him to the page?
Paul Schrader: These kinds of stories — I’ve done about a half-dozen of them, stretching all the way back to *Taxi Driver* — usually come about when there’s a metaphor.
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.
You were shooting in environmental conditions that were extremely difficult. Can you talk about those challenges?
Greengrass: The first day we shot in the lifeboat was really intense.
What was it like, collaborating with director Christian Petzold for a third time?
Paula Beer: Well, working with Christian is just fun. And his way of working is different from everything I’ve experienced so far.
Can you discuss the way the film begins, and ends, with a family dinner scene?
Pascual Sisto: I think they are two very important scenes, but I will first say that, as a point of interest, they were shot on the same day because of practical reasons.
How did missing certain parts of the script before shooting influence you?
Parker Posey: I came on set thinking the film was one way — kind of light fare — and I sort of had water thrown on me by Woody: He immediately told me that she’s a suffering, lonely woman; she’s very unhappy.
How did you get involved with this project?
I came to this book as a casual reader. I got it from the same bookstore you see James [Franco] signing books in at the start of the movie.
How did you two work together on the big dramatic scenes?
Those scenes were difficult, they’re really emotional.
Katie, you’ve taken a script that had been around for several years and made it feel brand new. That must be a huge challenge — what was your approach?
Katie Silberman: We talked a lot about what made us love the classic high school movies
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.
What was your experience working with the author of the memoir on which the film is based?
Oliver Hermanus: The first thing I did, when I was certain I would tackle it, was I met with [author Andre Carl van der Merwe] a few times.
How did you develop the wonderful physicality of Greta’s character Brooke? She emotes with her entire body.
Well first, Greta was born. And grew up into that person.
The film is visually stunning. Can you talk about your approach, and how you worked with your collaborators?
Nicole Riegel: I knew the color palette I wanted to use before I began collaborating with my production designer and cinematographer.