WEBVTT - Ep38 - Scott Cooper / "Hostiles" 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.000 You're listening to play back a Variety podcast. I'm your host, 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:25.600 Variety Awards editor Chris Tapley. We've got director Scott Cooper 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:27.920 in the house today. Scott made a big splash with 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.080 his two thousand nine directorial debut Crazy Heart, which one 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.440 Jeff Bridges a long overdue and well deserved Oscar. He 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.040 went on to make what I think is a highly 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:38.960 underrated film two thousand thirteens, Out of the Furnace with 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:44.200 Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Willem Dafoe, Woody Harrelson, the late 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:46.920 great Sam Shepard, an embarrassment of riches on that cast. 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:50.280 He followed that up with Black Mass starring Johnny Depp 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.960 as Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. His new film is the 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:58.360 emotionally draining Western Hostile, starring Bailee Rosamond Pike, and West 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.319 Study among many others. The film will premiere to Tell 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.160 You Right Film Festival later this weekend before heading up 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:06.959 to Toronto in about a week. Scott, thanks for coming 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:09.400 on the show man. Thanks Chris, great to be here. 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.000 I want to start with your past life as an actor. 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:17.800 Yatch watch your X Files episode this morning. What I 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.480 would love to show my Kids that titled rush as 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.520 I recall, Yeah, it's heavy actually that you get to 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:25.120 play an X files villein at the height of that 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:29.720 show's popularity. Yes, uh, as I recall young serial killer 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:35.200 who um has daddy issues and and uh, David Dukovany 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.640 brings him to justice. That was. Yeah, that was that 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:39.760 was a lot of fun. Actually, I think Vince Gilligan 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:43.319 maybe I wrote that episode really certainly was was a 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:47.760 writer on the show. Yeah, two Virginians. Yeah, totally. Well, 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:49.680 you know, just your life as an actor. You're an 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:54.080 actor for about ten years or so. Uh, and and 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.880 what I guess did you retain of that that helped 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:02.000 you parlay into your career as a filmmakers The question, Well, 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:06.520 it's a good question and one that I'm asked often. Um. 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.800 I did have an unremarkable career as an actor, but 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.880 out of that came a lot of great relationships. One 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:18.520 of them would be my work with Robert Duval, who 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:23.960 has become a great friend and confidante, and um, someone 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.080 who sees early cuts of my films, reads early drafts 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:30.960 of my screenplays. And we had done a film just 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:33.840 after that called Gods in Generals, and we talked a 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:39.240 lot about the craft of of acting, and Mr Duval 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:47.200 always felt that even great actors overly complicated their characters 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.840 and what they thought they needed to bring to each 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:54.160 part and more importantly, to each moment. And he always 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:57.639 said to me that acting begins at zero and ends 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.480 at zero. Have no idea where you're going to take 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:05.400 the scene. If you come to a scene with preconceived 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:07.360 notions that you've worked out in your trailer or in 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:10.160 your hotel room the night before, then you're going to 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.399 give a very emotionally stunted performance and you aren't going 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.280 to be open to listening to other actors, which is 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:19.840 the most important part of acting, certainly is is listening 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:27.040 and responding, and to do it in a very subtle fashion. UM. 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:31.400 He also recommended that I watch a lot of documentaries, 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:37.000 certainly older documentaries that that before people became really comfortable 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:40.080 with the camera, because now everybody has a camera and 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:43.400 everybody's essentially on and there's so many reality TV shows 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:47.960 that are anything but but real. UM. And one of 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.320 them that's probably one of my all time favorite films 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:55.920 was UM Barbara Copples Harlan County, USA, and I just 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:58.920 thought the behavior in that film and stakes of that 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.360 film are incredible, a masterpiece, and and really I just 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.560 have taken what little experience I had as an actor, 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.520 but most importantly that with Mr Duval and channel that 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:16.040 into my work and never really over complicating my direction 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:20.440 to actors. And I also like to give direction two 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:24.880 actors when nobody else can hear that direction. I think actors, 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:30.120 as most performers are, sometimes can be can be insecure. 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:33.120 So anytime that a director and I've had them do 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:36.400 that bark out direction the entire crew to here, I 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:38.600 think is is the wrong way to do it. And 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:42.480 I really revere actors. I respect actors immensely. It takes 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:48.640 a lot of artistic courage to really bear their souls 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:53.760 for the lens and hopefully for a receptive audience. Um 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.479 So I take great pains to make sure that actors 0:04:56.480 --> 0:05:00.440 are very comfortable. Is that unusual too? It's to do 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.880 private kind of counsel like that. I found it to be. Yeah, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.320 But but I think it's certainly the way I like 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:09.200 to work. Um So that I have a very genuinely 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:12.240 intimate relationship with the actor because as an actor, I 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:16.720 know the difficulty in trying to bring a character to life. Uh. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:20.359 And certainly the material that I have have chosen to 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:26.599 make and to write is sometimes psychologically more challenging than others. 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:32.640 And I ask a lot of actors on an emotional level, um, 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.000 and in some way an intellectual level, UM, because they 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:38.520 the actors that I that I that I work with, 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:42.680 tend to embody their characters in ways that maybe other 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:49.320 actors don't, and through that their character stays with them 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.520 even after I call cut. I really like to do 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:53.960 most of my work obviously between action and cut. But 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:58.360 but um, once we call cut, and sometimes the work 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:00.000 stays with them when they go back to their hope 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.760 tells or to their homes. And and that can be 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:07.120 taxing for an actor. And uh, and I'm very cognizant 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:11.320 of that. And and again I really revere them. Have 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:14.880 you ever been tempted to cast yourself any of these movies? No, 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.279 I haven't. I mean, I think it's enough to direct 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:23.680 and produce them. Funnily, Jeff Bridges asked me when we 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:26.760 were he and I were reading through the script of 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:31.560 Crazy Heart if I would play his son. At one time, 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.200 Heath Ledger was going to play that and Heath unfortunately 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:39.800 passed and and um, and I said, Jeff, they're far 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.440 better choices than I. I said, and you know, having 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:45.120 never directed anything, this is this is gonna be enough 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.760 for me just to to direct the film right at 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.880 producing it didn't have much money. And um, and then 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.520 Duval has asked me a couple of times too, being 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.000 some things with him. But I I really feel like 0:06:56.080 --> 0:07:01.640 I've found what I'm best at, what I'm better at. Yeah, well, 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:03.960 when you set off to this new career and and 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:08.240 and uh, you know what, just broadly speaking, I'm what 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:12.920 I'm curious about is like what where your inspirations films specifically, 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:17.160 filmmakers specifically, but also like what was not out there 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:18.720 in the world that you wanted to put out there 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.960 in the world. Well generally, I UM, even when I 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:24.480 was an actor, I tend to respond more to world 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:30.080 cinema than American films, UM, because I think those films 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:32.680 tend to be deeply humanistic, which is I hope what 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:37.040 my work is. Um. The dar Damn Brothers really influenced me. UM. 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:42.560 I love Karasawa's work, Michael Hannikey's work, and there's a 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:47.640 real humanity, uh saget ray in their work. Uh, that 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.120 that I wanted that I felt like, certainly as an 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.280 actor that was speaking to me, and then as a 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.360 filmmaker and then one who became the father you you 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.040 feel like you want to show an uncompromising and an 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:05.240 unvarnished truth that maybe is underrepresented in cinema. And I 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.240 felt that I could take some of the things that 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:12.000 I was feeling after I think we were all feeling 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:16.480 somewhat of a post traumatic stress disorder after nine eleven 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:21.120 in this this type of loss and harrowing loss, that 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.760 that for some reason it affected what I was reading, 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:29.880 what films I was attracted to, UM, what I ultimately 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:33.560 thought that I wanted to express UM. And then the 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:37.080 economic crisis, which led to in a sense, out of 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:43.679 the furnace, UM, people who who were really, really suffering, UM, 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.040 who don't live in Los Angeles and New York, and 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.439 I've spent a lot of time, and I'm from an 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.599 area that's certainly not Los Angeles or New York, and 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:53.959 I wanted to tell their stories. So I thought I 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:56.400 could do that in a in a a very genuine 0:08:56.400 --> 0:09:00.280 way and and UM, and hope that I've ad shoot 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:04.680 that hostiles. Uh, you know you know my affinity for 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:08.199 this genre. Uh, you were kind enough to invite me 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:09.719 up to the set, which was a great time. I 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:11.760 think it's really special to spend some time on a 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:13.440 Western set because I just don't make a lot of 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:18.439 these up there in Georgia O'Keefe country, the gorgeous landscapes, 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:22.280 northern New Mexico coast ranch, yeah, about an hour north 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:24.640 of Santa Fe. What does being in that environment do 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:27.160 for you? Kind of put you in the zone, right, Well, yeah, 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:31.959 I have um ever since Crazy Heart, it's been critical. Actually, 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.319 I won't make the film if if I don't shoot 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:36.960 where I think the film either does take place or 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:40.880 should take place. I did shoot in New Mexico and 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:46.360 Texas for Crazy Heart, uh still country of western Pennsylvania 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.840 for Out of the Furnace, of course, Boston for Black Mass, 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:52.880 And I felt that in telling this story, this journey 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:56.920 from New Mexico to Montana, that I could shoot in 0:09:56.920 --> 0:10:00.360 New Mexico and then we went north into call Rato 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:04.400 and it really abuse the production with a sense of place, 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:07.680 the actors with a sense of place, because literally where 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:11.959 we were shooting at times twelve thousand feet above sea level, 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.280 you really feel it, and you can see it in 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:17.880 even the horses. Um, you can certainly see it in 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:21.360 the actors and and at times quite a punishing shoot. 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:26.360 But I think compared to what I know, compared to 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:32.080 what people had to live through, this was this was nothing, um, 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.760 but it really abused the the production with a sense 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:39.679 of place, from production design to costumes, to camera, to sound, 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.320 certainly to the performers and the animals. And then you also, 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:48.960 I mean, I haven't done myself any favors by making 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:51.640 the film and the gangster genre and now in the 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:54.160 Western genre. I think some of the best films ever 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:57.240 made or in those two genres. So you're immediately climbing 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:02.560 this huge mountain that you're in variably compared to the 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.880 best directors and best films ever made. But but for me, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:07.840 it felt like the only way to tell the story 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:09.600 would have been the way that John Ford would have 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:11.560 told the story, or Howard Hawks would have told it, 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:16.000 or Anthony Mann. So, um, I think it was the 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:17.400 only way to do it was to do it in 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:22.440 a very harsh setting that became softer as we went north, 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:27.160 but um, no, less harsh, and you're at the whim 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.840 of the elements the whole time, delays on set, whatnot, 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:33.840 Lots of lots of rain, a lot of the monsoon season, 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:40.520 lots of lightning, rattlesnakes if you bear um, psychologically challenging 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:45.320 material horses, great actors who pushed you to become a 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:51.000 better director. Um. And working again with with Christian, who's 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:53.760 you know, one of my closest friends is made it 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.679 all the worthwhile. Yeah, talk a little bit about how 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:02.160 this project came to you. It's somewhat on your dual. Yeah. Interestingly, 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.319 I received a call that that that there was an 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.240 older lady who had really liked my work and that 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:12.760 she had something she thought that I should see and read. 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.360 And of course I thought that because Out of the 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:21.640 Furnaces is a little more difficult to digest and say 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:25.600 crazy Heart, Um, I thought she was referring to crazy Heart, 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:28.600 And as it turned out she was was an admirer 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.679 of Out of the Furnace, And that kind of piqued 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:34.439 my interest, um, because that that was a film that, 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:37.960 like most of mine, that are quite divisive, but but 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:40.840 people really feel strongly one way or the other about 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.679 that film. So I appreciate that she that she liked 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:46.280 what it was that I was attempting to say with 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:50.680 with that film. And we spoke and she said, I 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:55.440 have a piece of material that I think you should see. 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.000 And I hear that often of course, um, and I 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:01.120 generally like to write my own stories or I like 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.920 to adapt things that have that that maybe can lead 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.040 me into a direction of a story that I wanted 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:08.400 to tell. And I said, well, I'd love to read it. 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:10.920 And she told me, she said, well, what's written by 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:15.240 my late husband, Donald Stewart. And it didn't ring a 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.640 bell um that he had won an oscar for Costa 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:24.360 Goss's UH film Missing with m Jack Lemon and Sissy Space. 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:27.760 And I said, well, you know, I'd love to read this. 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:31.400 So she sent it over and it had a very 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:36.079 compelling kind of seed of a story about UH, an 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:42.520 aging cavalry officer who's tasked with escorting a group of 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:49.320 Native Americans home from New Mexico to Montana. And I 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.960 felt that I could take that seed in eight two, 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:56.720 when I had set the picture and make it feel 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:00.360 more relevant and more current because of the racial vision 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:03.960 that we are feeling as a nation, and I wanted 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:06.800 to personalize the characters in the story in a way 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.559 that would make it feel very current even though it 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.440 was five years ago. And I told her us that 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.480 I think this, this is a really interesting piece. Um, 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.800 how would you feel if I took just this as 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:25.080 a as a as a launching point And she said great, 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.640 she'd love it. So Um, that's how it came to me, 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:29.960 and that's how it started. I didn't meet Donald Stewart. 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:35.600 He died and and it's unfortunate because we certainly wouldn't 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:38.840 have hostiles without him, and I think that that he 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:44.280 would be proud of what he originally envisioned. Yeah, and 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:46.720 you got into my next question there, which was, you know, 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.920 as I said, it found it to be a draining experience. 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:51.880 The emotion kind of lodges in your throat from the 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:55.920 first scene and does not relent even you know, once 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.200 the catharsis of the film is complete. Really it sticks 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.920 to your bones, as they say. But you know, the 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.840 deals and themes of reconciliation and healing that I found 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.280 to be resonant. As you say, you wanted to speak 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.440 to the modern climate, so I guess speak a little 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:13.880 bit more about that. Yeah. When we set out to 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.920 make the film, as I was writing it, I didn't 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:25.400 foresee the division that that we now find ourselves in. UM. 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:30.000 Certainly Donald Trump was was not UM. Certainly I didn't 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:34.880 take take it seriously that he would be our president. UM. 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:39.200 But I think probably what I wasn't realizing as much 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.840 as as I should have, because I lived in Virginia 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.560 a long time ago, is that if you don't live 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.760 in New York or l A or San Francisco or Boston, 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:52.400 just just how deeply people are suffering and just how 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:56.800 why the divide is between those people who have and 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.320 those who don't. And I'm not quite sure or why 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.480 I didn't understand it as fully as I as I 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.600 thought that I did. But as I was working on 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.480 the screenplay and starting casting, and certainly as we were shooting, 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.560 it became more apparent that these type of division, this 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:17.640 type of division was was really really vast and and 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:21.600 was um the topic of the day, and it certainly 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:23.120 still is if you if you look at what just 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:29.280 happened in Charlottesville, my my home state, just terribly tragic 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:33.720 and slide, Yes, yeah, terribly tragic and and and sad. 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.720 So what I wanted to do with this film and 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:38.920 it's it's always weird talking about themes and what it 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:40.560 is you want to say, because you want the audience 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:43.040 to take short away something from the film that you 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.400 don't have a director telling them what he meant. But 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.840 I saw an opportunity to make a film about inclusion 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:56.040 and understanding others, ways of lives, reconciliation, as you said, forgiveness, 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.120 all these sort of things that we as Americans need, 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:03.240 uh to better understand to make this country heal, because 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:07.520 I don't think uh we even Robert Duval and I 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:09.320 discussed this today, and of course he's much older than 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.600 I am. He said he's never seen it this bad, 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.359 and and certainly I haven't. And my father said, this 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:19.280 far exceeds even with Nixon and Vietnam, and and it's 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.320 and it's a real shame and and and it's the 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:25.560 politics of anger and hate that that's infiltrating this nation. 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:27.880 And I just hope that a film like this can 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:31.960 speak to the type of healing and inclusion that we 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:38.399 as Americans need, because I fear for my children's future 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:42.080 if if, if in fact, we don't um. So hopefully 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:47.560 this film through uh Christian Bale's character's journey of healing 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:50.720 and understanding and without giving too much away, and and 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:56.120 and reconciliation can speak to those people who have such 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:00.320 disparate views. Speaking of Christian, Uh, he's up for a 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:02.760 tribute this weekend at the Festival, much deserved. I think 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.640 that's a big coup for the festival. Actually, he doesn't 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:09.359 do those things too often. No, No, he doesn't. Christian 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:14.960 is is um probably the least selfish. And I'm not 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:16.800 just saying this because he's my closest friend, but he's 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.600 the least selfish actor I've ever worked with. He's a 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:23.840 lot like uh, Jeff Bridges in fact, where the less 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:28.320 you see of these men in public, the more likely 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.000 you're going to believe what you see on screen. You 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:34.120 don't see Christian doing television ads. You don't see him 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:40.040 unless Paparassi become very crafty in any of these magazines. Um. 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:44.439 He tries not to be photographed. He he lives a 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.360 very private life, is a wonderful husband and father, and 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:53.320 and is solely devoted to his family and to his work. Um. 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:55.760 So I was surprised that that he was open to 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.040 celebrating his his career because he hey, he's still so 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:01.960 young and he's been working though for thirty years. Um, 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.399 but he doesn't normally like to call attention to himself. 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:08.040 He likes his parts to speak for himself. UM. I'm 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:12.840 just happy that that they're honoring his work because, um, he's, 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.160 for my tim bucks, the best actor working. Yeah, we'll 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.639 talk about how that relationship sparked. I mean after Furnace, 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:21.760 you guys we're looking for something else to do together. Obviously, 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:24.399 as you say, you're close friends. Now, so just what 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.840 sparked that relationship? Both you've spoken to professionally, I think 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:30.160 your your admiration f him is clear, but just personally, 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:34.320 how does that relationship spark on that set? Well? Interestingly, 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:40.800 people often say to me, wow, he must be extremely intense, 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:44.040 Uh to work with or just just to just to 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.919 hang around with. People tend to be somewhat intimidated by Christian. 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:51.639 But he couldn't be a lighter guy. He has a 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:55.520 great sense of humor. He's very funny. I'm not afraid 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:58.000 to make fun of himself. Um, all these sort of 0:19:58.000 --> 0:19:59.840 things that people of course don't see because he's so 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:04.200 he's so private. So I know this deeply humanistic side 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.800 of Christian, and I kind of tasked myself stupidly with 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:15.560 writing for actors without even knowing knowing them. I wrote 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:17.840 Crazy Heart for Jeff Bridges. I've never met Jeff, and 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:20.640 just through a fate of luck, was able to get 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.080 him to play the part of bad Blake. And I 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:25.359 wrote Out of the Furnace for Christian long at my 0:20:25.600 --> 0:20:28.320 Christian thought that he was the only guy to embody this, 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.359 and thankfully he said yes. Um and I like to 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:35.479 see actors in ways that you rarely see them, and 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.240 I hope that that I, together Christian and I have 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:40.199 shown a side of him and Out of the Furnace 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:43.120 that that people hadn't quite seen before, and I think 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:48.879 that can speak for his part in Hostiles. UH great 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:53.320 range Um fully embodies the character. There are a few 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:56.080 actors that you see on screen that you really believe 0:20:56.200 --> 0:21:00.399 can do what you're seeing them do. Christian, there's no question. 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:03.800 And what you see him do the way he rides 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:08.800 a horse, the way he uh moves into battle, the 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:12.600 way that he takes care of his men, or Rosamund 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:17.280 Pike uh young widow whom he meets on the trail. Um, 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:21.040 because I know Christian is a deeply, deeply humanistic person. 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.240 Um and there's a sense of trust there that's critical 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:27.439 for an actor and a director, but when you're closest 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:30.080 friends as we are, UH, there's a sense of trust 0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:32.280 that Christian knows that I will only show him in 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:35.359 the light that he intends that I intend, and in 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:40.199 a way that will fully embellish the character in a 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.760 way that that that I perhaps didn't write. And that's 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:47.000 what great actors do. They take they take writing, whether 0:21:47.000 --> 0:21:49.359 it's good or not, and they completely elevated. And Christian 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:52.199 does that with every moment, and I know that he's 0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:55.480 going to do that. UM. And there's just a sense 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:59.040 of trust that we have as as close friends that 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:03.119 it comes from spin ending countless hours together when we 0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:08.960 aren't working in our families, vacation together. We we spent 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:11.960 a lot of time together as families and UH. And 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:15.280 it certainly makes the work UM that much richer. And 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:18.119 certainly what another thing I learned from Jeff Bridges is 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:21.439 it's it isn't the result of the film. How it 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:23.640 does is that the box office I thought that really 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:25.840 means a lot to me. But certainly with awards and 0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:27.879 those sort of things, it's it's about the experience that 0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:31.080 you've had and I've had two incredible experiences with Christian 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:35.879 that that will not be easily surpassed. You mentioned Rosamond there. 0:22:35.920 --> 0:22:38.200 I think some people might think it was Gone Girl 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:40.960 that led to this casting decision, but it wasn't talk 0:22:41.000 --> 0:22:42.760 about that because I think this is interesting. No, I've 0:22:42.800 --> 0:22:48.040 always admired her work. US incredible actors, lots of range, 0:22:48.119 --> 0:22:52.320 and you can see this very fierce intelligence um that 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:57.080 radiates on screen. But I happened to come across a 0:22:57.119 --> 0:23:02.480 massive attack video and and I was mesmerized by her performance, 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:06.000 very fearless performance. And however long this video is six 0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:09.040 minutes long. Of course, I was well aware of her work, 0:23:09.200 --> 0:23:12.680 and I sent it to Christian. I said, I think 0:23:12.680 --> 0:23:15.520 this is our Rosalie, almost certain this is our Rosalie 0:23:15.880 --> 0:23:19.960 character she portrays in Hostiles. And Christian wrote back, oh 0:23:20.000 --> 0:23:23.159 my god, it's perfect. She's incredible, And it was just 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:26.160 in those moments. Of course, no dialogue, and there isn't 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:29.399 a great deal of dialogue and Hostiles um that you 0:23:29.440 --> 0:23:35.080 could see a real resilience and strength, but in a 0:23:35.160 --> 0:23:38.159 very odd way that doesn't quite jump out at you 0:23:38.640 --> 0:23:42.040 in this particular video. So then I asked to skype 0:23:42.040 --> 0:23:45.280 with her a center whatever my latest draft was, and 0:23:45.280 --> 0:23:47.880 and she really responded to that. But while we were skyping, 0:23:47.880 --> 0:23:51.560 she lives in London, her children, her young her young 0:23:51.600 --> 0:23:55.440 boys were climbing all over her. And what I loved 0:23:55.480 --> 0:23:58.439 is that she didn't have them sequestered away somewhere, but 0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:02.960 allowed them while we're skyping, to just play with her. 0:24:03.000 --> 0:24:04.760 And she would talk to them while we were skyping. 0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:07.440 Of course, we've never met, and she was so maternal, 0:24:07.840 --> 0:24:09.919 and I could see her that this deep love that 0:24:09.960 --> 0:24:12.040 she had for her children, as you know, as most 0:24:12.119 --> 0:24:14.239 mothers would. But I just happened to see that in 0:24:14.280 --> 0:24:19.600 this particular skype session, and I thought, for someone who's 0:24:19.640 --> 0:24:24.000 going to suffer great loss as she does in the film, um, 0:24:24.040 --> 0:24:28.160 she clearly exhibits that, not only in her other work, 0:24:28.240 --> 0:24:32.239 but certainly in these few moments skyping. And then of 0:24:32.240 --> 0:24:35.479