- 6 weeks ago
Connect with Deadline online!
https://www.facebook.com/deadline/
https://twitter.com/DEADLINE
https://www.instagram.com/deadline/
https://www.youtube.com/Deadline
https://www.facebook.com/deadline/
https://twitter.com/DEADLINE
https://www.instagram.com/deadline/
https://www.youtube.com/Deadline
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Once I landed, I heard that Julia Roberts had read the script and she was interested into it.
00:05And that was for me a very big sparkle because I really love Julia very much, as we all do, I guess.
00:13And then I met her and I met an incredible woman.
00:21My name is Diana Loderhose. I'm the international features editor here at Deadline.
00:26Next up, I'm really delighted to be here with Amazon MGM title, After the Hunt.
00:32It's the latest feature from acclaimed director Luca Guadagnino.
00:36The film stars Julia Roberts, Ayo Edeberry, and Andrew Garfield.
00:42And it's a gripping psychological drama about a college professor who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads
00:49when a star student levels an accusation against one of her colleagues,
00:54all while hiding a dark secret from her own past, which threatens to come to light during the film.
01:01Please welcome to the stage the film's director and producer, Luca Guadagnino.
01:16Writer Nora Garrett.
01:17Cinematographer, Malik Hassan Saeed.
01:29And casting director, Jessica Ronan.
01:37Luca, you are at a stage in your career where I'd imagine you have the pick of anything you want to work with,
01:44any kind of script, you know, and I'm curious as to, you know, why Nora's script?
01:50How did you stumble upon it?
01:51And what was it that compelled you to kind of go, this has to be my next project?
01:59Good morning.
02:00I think this was great work from my agents, I would say.
02:04They sent me the script.
02:05I was kind of flying from my home in Italy to Los Angeles for a work where I met Malik.
02:14So that's more later.
02:16And they gave me the script as I read it on the flight.
02:19So I read it on the flight.
02:20And it struck me the way in which Nora's could bring together a very particular story in a very specific place
02:30and make it in a way sort of the stage for idiosyncrasies and impulses that could speak to everybody from my perspective.
02:42I love the setting.
02:43I love the characters.
02:44I love the dialogue.
02:45So that was my initial real strong pull toward it.
02:50Then once I landed, I heard that Julia Roberts had read the script and she was interested into it.
02:56And that was for me a very big sparkle because I really love Julia very much, as we all do, I guess.
03:04She's such an incredible actress, incredible star.
03:07And then I met her and I met an incredible woman.
03:10And so once we started talking, we both agreed on compelling each other, pushing each other to do something as, let's say, provocative in a good sense as this script.
03:26Yeah.
03:27Nora, this is your first script.
03:30And it's unbelievable.
03:32Congratulations.
03:33Congratulations.
03:33To, I mean, tell us a little bit, before you, tell us a little bit first about the inspiration you had to write this,
03:44but equally, and kind of where you were at your life and what led you to write this story.
03:48And equally, you know, kind of having your first script directed by Luca, starring this incredible cast, working with this incredible crew.
03:57What has that been like for you?
03:59Difficult to put into words, mainly just because it all feels, I feel so lucky and so grateful.
04:10And it's really difficult to feel like you deserve any of this, this embarrassment of riches, you know, and everyone is so talented.
04:18And I think, you know, Luca is so much the reason for everybody on the stage, but also everybody in the film, you know.
04:25I mean, and I, that was just such a massive gift.
04:32And I, I mean, I was, I was very broke when I was writing this.
04:37Very broke, very sad.
04:39But I, I, yeah, I, the inspiration really came from the character of Alma.
04:46And I, I was really interested in, in someone who had such a powerful mechanism of self-denialism.
04:52And that mechanism is what supported their effort towards external success in, in, in a way that, um, was, was powerful and propulsive, but hampered them in, in an emotional, integritous way that at the exact moment of them sort of reaching the tipping point of that success, the very thing that was helping her reach it is the thing that hampered her.
05:15And, um, and then I was interested in, in, in the, in setting that in sort of the, the cloistered, incestuous, slippery power dynamics of, of higher education.
05:27I mean, it's, it's interesting because these are themes you explore a lot in, in many of your films, desire, conflicts, internal and external.
05:34Maybe, because you speak, and you know, this is, as you say, a film about conflict and grief and, and desires.
05:42Um, why, why are you both driven to those, to those themes?
05:46And maybe.
05:47I think in this movie, the desire or the agency of wanting the other is more about suppressing the other.
05:53And, of course, there is, at the center of this movie, uh, the hope of the, of the, uh, completely generous love of Frederick for Alma that somehow gives a hope.
06:07Uh, but because this was more about, like, setting yourself onto a sort of, uh, uh, performance on the stage of life and, and trying to show yourself in a way that does hide who you are really inside.
06:20In a way, the dynamic of desire were the dynamic of power.
06:23And it was interesting to me to explore that.
06:27I, I agree completely.
06:28And I think that, I think that there's also something, um, I don't know.
06:33Uh, the, the dynamics of desire as located in power.
06:39I feel like, to me, what was so interesting about someone who is so nakedly ambitious, especially someone who's a woman and so obviously ambitious,
06:47is this, is, is that kind of grasping for something that is ultimately ephemeral, you know?
06:53This feeling of, like, the desire to shore up your identity with this kind of external validation that, that is so prevalent in society, you know?
07:02And, and especially in our capitalistic society.
07:04And the idea that, um, the closer you move towards it, the further it moves away from you.
07:10It's a mirage.
07:11And the things you're left with that are real are the, the love that Frederick has for Alma or, or the, um, the narratives that you tell yourself about yourself, um, and those relationships.
07:23Malik.
07:25Hello.
07:25Hello.
07:26You have had such an interesting career.
07:29You were in the film game working a lot as a DOP with, uh, Spike Lee.
07:34And then you've pivoted to more music videos.
07:38Commercials.
07:38Commercials.
07:39Short forms.
07:40What was it about this project that brought you back into the film space?
07:43What did you do, Luca, to persuade him to come back?
07:46And what, what, how did you come to this project?
07:50Oh, well, I met Luca and he mentioned the project, he mentioned the story and the story was intriguing to me.
07:56And for me, it was, it wasn't that I was specifically not trying to do feature.
08:01I just wanted to do the right one and this one sounded like the right one.
08:07Um, and it was the right time and it's timely and relevant and, and important.
08:13And I, I just wanted to do something if I'm, you know, commit to something like this, I want to do something important.
08:18And to me, this was incredibly important and timely.
08:21Yeah.
08:22What about, I mean, it's visually, it's, it's so beautiful.
08:25You know, the, the tone and the, the palette and, uh, the look of the film.
08:30Um, how, can you maybe tell us, uh, a little bit more about the technical elements of it?
08:36The, the two of you maybe could tell us how you kind of, the lenses you used and how you came to the palette, the inspirations and all of that.
08:45Uh, well, uh, it starts with Luca.
08:47He's very precise and, um, um, masterful, um, at, at his craft.
08:54And I think it was a, it was a, it was amazing pairing for us.
08:58Um, and there was a lot of restraint, which I liked.
09:01Um, we use a single lens.
09:03We wanted the film to look like it was shot in the eighties.
09:05We used equipment only from that time in technology.
09:09And we had two references.
09:11And I think that, that, uh, precision allowed us to nuance, uh, allowed a lot of nuance inside of that space, which makes it, um, very poignant.
09:24Um, so, yeah, uh, it was very exciting to work with Luca on this project.
09:29Do you want to add anything?
09:30Um, well, I, I saw a clockers in 1996 and I said to myself, I must work with this incredible director of photography.
09:40So it took a little bit of a time.
09:42I did.
09:43I feel I, I accomplished.
09:45Yes.
09:46Thank goodness you did.
09:48Jessica, tell me what a cast, um, what are you looking for?
09:53I mean, Luca mentioned Julia was kind of a board, um, when he came to the project, but what are you looking for?
10:00What were you looking for, for each of these characters?
10:03It's cast so brilliantly.
10:05What were you looking for, for each of these characters when you were kind of going through the casting process?
10:11Well, I think working with Luca, it's the term precision is really correct because, um, Luca loves actors and knows actors and their work really well with a lot of detail.
10:27And I think that, um, getting into his mindset and trying to understand, trying to kind of click into, to what, what he's, what he's hoping to achieve with this cast, how they could work together, what are the right, you know, what are the right tones?
10:44What is the world that he's creating along with, with Nora and, and the rest of the crew?
10:49And I think that's a kind of journey at the start.
10:52Um, and then it kind of makes perfect sense as each ingredient and each piece of the jigsaw, you know, merge.
10:59Um, and then I suppose the world of Yale is, you know, just kind of the, the detail of that world and the young people and who would they be?
11:09Who are those kids?
11:11You know, what, and, and, and wherever they come from.
11:14And, and then I, I think as a casting director, you kind of, you get to, um, kind of collect actors that, that you are excited by.
11:24And I remember meeting Thaddea, he plays Katie years ago and admiring her so much for, for a myriad of reasons.
11:31And then when you start to find, you can introduce those ideas that they're less known people and you can, you can create, um, the beginnings of a relationship with a, with a, with an outstanding team.
11:43That's just a great responsibility and a great thrill.
11:46So yeah, finding those actors, helping to try and, um, get, you know, just assemble them correctly was the, was the workload and it was really, really thrilling.
11:59Jessica is tireless in, in, in making sure that you balance your cast in a way that is so wide and deep and the way she can find people.
12:08It's astonishing to me.
12:10And Will Price and Thaddea Graham, who plays the two, uh, students, they are now playing in my new movie and I would have not done that if I had not met them through Jessica.
12:22And I love, I love that for, for actors, um, when you introduce them to a director who, who appreciates their uniqueness and that's sometimes the beginning of what can be a lifelong relationship.
12:33Um, and then the search as well is really special for me.
12:37So looking for, um, Leo Neal, who plays Alex was, was great kind of privilege and, um, getting to know Leo was, was really special.
12:47Um, and along the way we met a lot of other fantastic actors who actually, you know, I, I know I will save and hang on to for the next opportunity.
12:56And I think that with any process and working repeatedly with any director, you just get better at trying to, uh, deliver, you know, uh, it makes you, it makes you better at your job, actually.
13:08I wish we had more time, but I'm afraid we're out of time.
13:11Thank you so much, everybody.
13:12Thank you so much.
Be the first to comment