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In this edition of EoM Presents, Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning chats with the cast and crew of "The Umbrella Men: Escape from Robben Island," a 2023 TIFF selection. Manning speaks with director John Barker and actors Jacques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, and Bronté Snell about returning to these characters in this sequel to "The Umbrella Men" (2022). In this half-hour conversation, they discuss the film’s South African history, practical stunt work, and their memorable experience with filming complex underwater sequences.
World premiere of "The Umbrella Men: Escape from Robben Island" Saturday, September 9th, at 9:10am at the ScotiaBank, Cinema 5. #TIFF23 #TheUmbrellaMen
Official Synopsis:
After the successful Umbrella Men heist, our usual suspects, Jerome, Morty, Mila, Keisha and Auntie Val finds life is sweet. But that’s when Tariq takes a hand. And not before long, Jerome and Morty are banged up in the recently re-opened Robben Island Prison and Keisha, Mila and Auntie Val need to bust them out- and team up to take down an outa-control Tariq, who has plans of world domination and clear their names so that they can get to the Bo Kaap as free men.
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Directed By: John Barker
Written By: John Barker, Phillip Roberts
Cast: Jaques Da Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison, Bronté Snell, Kagiso Lediga, Sivuyile Ngesi, Rob Van Vuuren, June van Merch
Official Trailer: youtu.be/PdTQGoj-uaU?si=dsP9yFnKafcHuBcj
World premiere of "The Umbrella Men: Escape from Robben Island" Saturday, September 9th, at 9:10am at the ScotiaBank, Cinema 5. #TIFF23 #TheUmbrellaMen
Official Synopsis:
After the successful Umbrella Men heist, our usual suspects, Jerome, Morty, Mila, Keisha and Auntie Val finds life is sweet. But that’s when Tariq takes a hand. And not before long, Jerome and Morty are banged up in the recently re-opened Robben Island Prison and Keisha, Mila and Auntie Val need to bust them out- and team up to take down an outa-control Tariq, who has plans of world domination and clear their names so that they can get to the Bo Kaap as free men.
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095595964664
twitter.com/umbrellamen2022
www.instagram.com/theumbrellamenofficial/
Directed By: John Barker
Written By: John Barker, Phillip Roberts
Cast: Jaques Da Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison, Bronté Snell, Kagiso Lediga, Sivuyile Ngesi, Rob Van Vuuren, June van Merch
Official Trailer: youtu.be/PdTQGoj-uaU?si=dsP9yFnKafcHuBcj
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Hi, and welcome into EOM Presents. My name is Thomas Manning, Senior Interviewer for Elements of Madness, and it's always a delight when I'm able to share multiple conversations with filmmakers and actors over the course of months or a few years.
00:14And last year, you may remember, I got to speak with some of the cast and crew of the film The Umbrella Men, which was a TIFF selection.
00:22And this year, TIFF is debuting the sequel to that film, The Umbrella Men, Escape from Robin Island.
00:29So I got a chance to speak with director John Barker and actors Jacques Da Silva, Shamila Miller and Bronte Snell about their experience making the film.
00:38And it was just really just a lovely conversation hearing them speak with such passion about their creativity and about the filmmaking process and just about how much they they poured of themselves into this film.
00:54And it was just really an energizing discussion.
01:00And I enjoyed every minute of it and appreciated their time.
01:03So thank you all again for watching and listening once again as we speak with the cast and crew of The Umbrella Men, Escape from Robin Island, a Toronto International Film Festival selection.
01:15Hope you enjoy.
01:15Well, Jacques and John and Shamila, it's great to see you all again.
01:19And Bronte, it's nice to meet you.
01:20I don't believe you were with us last time, but it's really wonderful to have you all together again.
01:26Yay.
01:27Very happy.
01:28Nice to meet you.
01:30Hey, Jacques.
01:32And I'll go.
01:33Hey, Jacques.
01:34Your hair looks out of control, Jacques.
01:35We need to get you back on set.
01:40Yeah, I know, Jacques.
01:41You were looking really, really well-groomed in the movie, but you don't, your hair's a little bit out of whack now.
01:46So he's probably got a character arc that is very specific because he's on a daily.
01:52So that beard is really coming in there, buddy.
01:55Yeah, it's been cultivated.
02:01Oh, man.
02:02I love it.
02:03Well, all good and head right into it.
02:05And I guess for this first question, John, you can jump into it and then the rest of you can jump in as you please.
02:13But I'm really curious as to the production timeline for this film.
02:17It was definitely, I felt like a quick turnaround for a sequel coming less than a year after the first film.
02:23Yeah, it does seem like a quicker turnaround than it actually was because when we wrapped the first film, we had an editor who was working on the film was finishing up another feature.
02:37And so I just couldn't wait to get into the edits.
02:40And I had nothing to do.
02:41We had wrapped the first film.
02:42It was beautiful.
02:43I loved the characters.
02:44We loved the film.
02:45We thought it was going to be amazing.
02:46And I was going crazy.
02:48I was like, I need to sit with Saki and edit this film.
02:50So instead of driving myself crazy, I started writing.
02:54And I just, the characters just flowed.
02:57The ideas flowed.
02:59We wanted to use something iconic.
03:01We had worked out this idea already that let's fictitiously, let's reopen Robin Island.
03:07So I kind of, and then knew that there was a stronger emphasis on the girls.
03:10We wanted to have the, you know, the girls bust the guys out.
03:14So I had all those things in place and then just started writing.
03:20So, in fact, by the time we spoke to you last year and that we were in Toronto, we had already, it was like eight months already.
03:27We had a strong script.
03:29We had a schedule out.
03:30So we were going to Toronto with the first film, but we knew we were coming back to shoot last year, December.
03:36And then that, obviously, that got pushed out because we had a whole lot of drama with our funders, which we always have.
03:40It's always the case.
03:42But it seems sort of, it seems like it's a quick, but it's actually two years.
03:47It's like this December, it'll be two years.
03:50So not that quick, you know.
03:54And so, did you basically know from the beginning that you wanted to, you know, do a sequel and follow these characters and tell more stories?
04:06No, I guess we only really felt like doing a sequel when the response of the first one was so beautiful.
04:14Not even the viewing of the film, but like working with all these actors.
04:18We just, we had a great chemistry.
04:20Everyone had so much fun.
04:22It was, like we said before, we worked on dodgy shoots before where it just doesn't work.
04:26As much as you try, everyone's working hard.
04:29Everyone's trying to create a vibe where you're in the film, but it just doesn't work.
04:33And this just worked on every level.
04:35And so even then, myself and Joel, I remember we were shooting the guys in the tunnels on Umbrella Men 1.
04:42And we were in the tunnels under the castle for the whole day.
04:47And the actors just were going through so much.
04:50Everyone was slipping in the slime and in the tunnels and it smelt and it was hectic.
04:56But there was no drama at all.
04:58Everyone just worked hard.
04:59The crew worked hard.
05:00The actors worked hard.
05:01And myself and Joel were just like, we've got to consider doing a sequel.
05:06And let's, let's, let's, and even on that day, I said, let's go to Robin Island.
05:11Let's, let's open it and let's, let's do a sequel.
05:14And so, you know, this, the same thing is, it's felt like, so it was actually in the shooting of, not even, not even watching it when we had finished editing.
05:22But we knew that it was great and we wanted to spend time with these lovely, these lovely people you're seeing here.
05:27We want to spend more time with them.
05:28So, except for Jacques and his hair.
05:31We don't want to spend time with Jacques.
05:35Of course.
05:35And so for each of you as actors, how did that kind of fast pace and that fast production schedule, what was your experience from your standpoint, you know, in front of the camera?
05:49I mean, you know, we had a week extra to shoot this film, but it still felt like there was so much to do in so little time.
05:58So the shooting schedule was insane.
06:02But I think this time around, it's like, for me personally, there was a lot more like sense of trust.
06:10Like I trusted John, I trusted Mateo.
06:14I just trusted my entire team around me because I knew that we were all showing up to do, we had the same goal in my mind to do this amazing project.
06:23And then because of the success and how great the first film turned out, I think coming into the second film, regardless of how crazy it was to shoot, there was just so much trust that I knew that everyone was going to do their job properly.
06:37And so that like brought a calming sense to me that I was like, yeah, we are here to make magic once again.
06:42Yeah, for me, the, it also did come, there was a lot more, even though we had an extra week shooting, we had less time from knowing that we were going to be doing the film to starting to shoot it.
06:58So the, that made me quite nervous to start off with, but getting back in, also just knowing that you can, we, the relationships were established.
07:07The, the world is established and, and I think just coming into a second one, I know I personally was a lot more confident in, in my own skill and what I had to, and what I had done in the first one.
07:22And that gave me a really, I was really excited to come back and go, oh, okay, let's, let's see what happens.
07:27Let's see what happens with a little bit more trust, like Shamila said, in myself, because the, the, she's right.
07:36Absolutely, the, John and Matteo and the crew that we have is, is spectacular.
07:41I really felt like I was able to, in this one, a little bit more, back myself in it.
07:50That's true.
07:51Yeah.
07:53Yeah.
07:54What was the question again?
07:55I don't even know, but like coming back on, coming back on was, it wasn't hard, you know, like Jock said, the story's been established.
08:04Um, the characters are the, they brought in a whole lot of new characters and a lot of new fun people who are brilliant at their craft.
08:13Um, but the basics remain the same.
08:15So it was, it was good to just cling to that because the locations changed.
08:19Um, there was a lot going on every day.
08:22It was a long shoot, um, a lot of stunts involved, but, um, we were grounded in our characters and, um,
08:30the growth of our characters were, was subtle, actually not, actually not subtle.
08:35They were quite, quite a lot, but, but it was enough to know that this is actually who our characters are.
08:42We can stand in that and grow from that.
08:44And there was, there was trust.
08:45Like Shamala said, we could trust each other and go from that place.
08:49So, yeah, it was, it was great second time around.
08:54And, uh, in the first film you're working in the heist genre, uh, but this one is very much a prison break film.
09:01Um, and I feel like there are definitely some narrative similarities between those genres and they both have a lot to do with logistics and careful planning and attention to detail.
09:11Um, so what did you all enjoy about having these narrative possibilities to play around with in the prison break genre and kind of following up, you know, following up a heist film with a prison break film like this?
09:25And, um, John, if you want to take this one first, you can.
09:28Yeah, uh, Thomas, that was our research that we did after the first one is the mistake that, um, a lot of filmmakers make is when they, when they, when they do a sequel, they try and replicate the first film and, and obviously keep it in the, and like, if they're doing the Haast and they do Haast.
09:46So we really went away from, you know, I'm not, look, I'm using these examples because this is our research, but I'm not saying aliens, but, you know, aliens was like aliens was, you know, one was, uh, horror.
09:57One was sci-fi, completely different, you know, um, so we just said, let's try and, like, exactly like you said, let's try and keep some of the tropes and ideas from the first one.
10:08Um, let's create a, let's create a, let's not do Haast, let's keep it still rooted in a book up, uh, with the musicians and the Guma Club, but let's create a different genre.
10:20Let's do a prison break genre, um, bigger emphasis on the girls, uh, the guys go down for the counterfeit money, they go to jail and our girls have to get out of their comfort zone and, um, they have to really challenge themselves and have to get into the sea and, and scuba dive and learn all these crazy things, swim past sharks and whales and crazy stuff to rescue their guys off the island.
10:47So, um, we're very aware of, um, of trying to do a different genre, but keeping to our strengths and building on those characters.
10:56You know, we wanted, it's a big ask for, for, uh, for Keisha's character, who was a banker, to suddenly now go and bust guys out of, out of prison.
11:06But she had made that break already in one that she was already leaving that kind of corporate world.
11:11And she was going with, with, with Jerome, not expecting him to go to jail, but she was already getting herself ready for that, that eventuality or that, or something like that happening.
11:22So it didn't feel like when we were making the film and we were shooting it, and now that we've looked at it, no one ever goes, oh, there's no ways that she wouldn't do that.
11:30You completely believe that she had left that behind and won and she was becoming a new person, although she was allowing that possibility that that won't happen.
11:38She was now, she was now in love with, uh, um, a morally corrupt young man.
11:46And, um, she was going to get burnt in some way.
11:51I mean, he's still a musician and a cool guy, but yes, he has robbed the bank.
11:55So, you know, he's not the boy next door anymore.
11:57He was the boy next door when it started.
11:59Um, and then for, for Mila as well, her character was that, you know, she was aware now that they had done this harsh, she was involved in all of that.
12:08So it wasn't a big step up for these characters to, to now go and, and rescue the guys off, off, off, off an island.
12:15So we felt like the characters were ready to do this, this, this jump into the next genre, but the things that we had gone through in the first one gave them the skills and the ability to, to be able to do that swim and to have the contacts to go to 10 decade, to borrow the money.
12:32They've been dealing in those worlds now, and they're going to now use skills of the people in the community to help them get to the prison.
12:40So, yeah, we felt like it was, those are all the things, the strengths that we had, uh, from our characters.
12:47John, can I ask, does that mean if we're shifting genres, if we do a third, do we get superpowers?
12:54Yes, you get superpowers.
12:55Where is space?
12:58Yes, you can do this.
12:59I mean, stuff takes out your hammer.
13:01Oh, okay, okay, okay.
13:03So not a hammer.
13:04No, no, they, Mila gets the crowbar, um, you, you get the Spider-Man vibes.
13:14Except the, uh, banjo strings.
13:17Yes, the banjo strings.
13:19Yes, they're all related to our instruments as well.
13:22Yeah, exactly.
13:25That's funny.
13:28You can sign me up for that, I'll be there.
13:30Well, yeah, we were joking earlier about the third one will be set on Mars, so Mars or Seychelles.
13:39But whatever it'll be, it'll be in the studio.
13:43I'm for it.
13:44Simon's down, Simon's down for Mauritius.
13:48Yes.
13:48I will say, just to touch on the question, like, um, me coming back as Keisha and then
13:55taking, you know, taking that, like, planner or hero role in, in this film and, um, you
14:02know, being at the forefront of, um, being on the outside trying to get the guys out of
14:07Robben Island and the whole planning and the whole, like, girls group that got together,
14:11um, as a team and, like, pulled off this prison break.
14:15Like, being a part of that narrative was the most exciting thing about this film for me
14:19because it was just so interesting to explore because, you know, the first time around Keisha
14:24was the love interest.
14:25And yes, she saved the day at the end of the, well, she saved the guys at the end of the
14:28day, but, um, essentially she was still just the love interest of the film.
14:31And so in the second film for her to take more of a key role, um, in story, um, and moving
14:39forward in that way, I absolutely love that for her.
14:41I agree.
14:43It was super empowering for women.
14:46And I mean, it's also realistic though, because when we had the first meeting on Auntie Val's
14:51rooftop, it's like, okay, girls, um, we're obviously going to have to get them out.
14:56So what are we going to do?
14:57You know, and from there on, we just planned this whole prison break.
15:01Um, but it's, it's what we women would do, you know, to rescue the family and to rescue
15:06the guys in our lives.
15:07Um, yeah, we'd step up to the plate.
15:11Absolutely.
15:13And completely, you do this characters.
15:15It's so authentic.
15:15It doesn't feel like, yeah, I mean, it's.
15:18Yeah.
15:19I like that.
15:19It's, it's, it is regular people who live in the book, who are musicians like, okay,
15:25but we did gain enough, um, context in the first movie.
15:30You know, we grew, we, we became more savvy, um, but at the same time, this is the first
15:37time we're doing a prison break and we're like breaking the law, but you know, so there
15:42are these funny moments throughout the film, like what the heck are we doing?
15:44Like, how do we do this?
15:46But are we just criminals now?
15:48What are we doing?
15:49Is this our life?
15:49I think you pretty much crossed the line now.
15:54I think like it's, you know, it's a bank heist and now a prison break.
15:57You, you're pretty much in that world.
15:58We've got to.
15:59We're trying so hard to be regular people.
16:02Miller's trying so hard to be a musician.
16:04A musician.
16:06Jerome is trying to keep the guma alive.
16:08Like we're trying to be regular, but we keep falling into this other side.
16:11The dodgy writer just keeps writing you into this, this dark world, this criminal world.
16:23And, uh, you briefly touched on this a little bit, but just generally the historical significance
16:28of Robin Island, um, what did that mean for you all to have that location as a central component
16:35in the story and kind of explore that element of South Africa's history in the film and just
16:41the, the, the emotional narrative weight of that location, exploring your film around
16:46that.
16:49Um, yeah, I mean, we did all of our research.
16:52We went to Robin Island.
16:55Um, it was very important for us to be aware we were making a comedy, but that we always
17:03respected what had happened on the past, what happened on the island, what the ANC had gone
17:07through.
17:07We were in no way belittling what they had gone through.
17:11We took that very seriously.
17:13Um, and even while we, we, we were on, um, shooting this stuff in this, in the prison
17:19cells, we often spoke about that element.
17:21There was a very fine line that we were trading here.
17:24There's a, we had to be respectful and still keep it a comedy because we feel like that's
17:29a way of getting messages across about the past.
17:32So there's a lot of commentary about, um, Madiba and the struggles they went through on the
17:38island.
17:38So it's always, always done with, with the utmost respect.
17:42Um, so yeah.
17:44Hey, Jacques, I mean, being on that, in those cells, um, we spoke about that quite often.
17:50So, um, yeah, we hope that it comes across like that, that we didn't, um, we don't, we
17:56don't want to offend anybody.
17:57Uh, it's a very, very serious place, but we wanted the young, young people to talk about
18:02the island, to, to talk about what happened.
18:05And it has been, it has been a long time now.
18:07So maybe films like this help for people to, to start that conversation with, with kids
18:13and with my kids that don't know anything about Robin Island.
18:16Um, so we hope that, that this film does that.
18:19Yeah.
18:20Piques their interest also because it isn't like a struggle film about, uh, what the ANC
18:26went through or, you know, what the struggle fighters went through, but in its own way,
18:31it does highlight the history.
18:33And so it could pique someone's interest to do some more research or, you know, to look
18:38into it, or when they come to South Africa, visit a place like Robin Island.
18:41So, um, I think it's, it, it, it did so in the form of entertainment.
18:47Yeah.
18:48That's a great, that's a great point, Shemina.
18:50Sorry, Jacques, just before you go on, is that we, all, everything we do, we shoot is
18:54beautifully, like we love Cape Town so much.
18:56And we hope that in some way that the island, the castle, all these iconic places does draw
19:02attention to, to the city and to the country, you know?
19:08Yeah.
19:08And without wanting to be too dramatic or, uh, I don't know if the, whatever it's, it's
19:15also that the, the struggle continues, you know, uh, the idea that the, the, every, in
19:21our own little intimate little, uh, community, uh, this family is, is, is fighting for freedom,
19:27is fighting for, um, to be able to, to get up and get out and live free.
19:34Um, so yeah, so to, to see this little story in the context of, of this big, uh, uh, backdrop
19:42that is, that is the South African context, uh, the South African apartheid history, um, and
19:47freedom and, and fight for freedom and independence.
19:50And, um, that, to see that play out in the, in the, the nuclear scale, like for this family
19:57is, isn't, is nice for me.
19:59It, it provides a nice sort of, uh, um, it pinpoints the scale also, which was, which
20:07was nice.
20:08And, and being in those spaces, uh, is a nice reminder of, of the vastness actually, you
20:13know, as specific as it is, uh, to these characters in this context and the story, um, a luta
20:18continue, uh, you know, uh, uh, we're still, we're still fighting.
20:23Yeah.
20:24And it must have helped, I mean, for you, for your character, I mean, did you, it's a good
20:27point.
20:28Did you feel that?
20:29Did you borrow from that when, when you were in Robert Island as an actor, did you go through
20:33that?
20:34Did you go through what would have happened maybe 30 years ago or 40 years ago to someone
20:38like you who, who would have been challenging the norms?
20:42I mean, the, the big thing was, was the, the scale.
20:48The scale of, um, to, to the idea of the history, the idea of representing and saying
20:58that we're, we're, uh, that we're in this, this space of, um, that means that is hello.
21:04Um, that is so much a part of, of our identity as a country, but on a, on a small level, just
21:11to go, just to wonder what, how do you survive these spaces, uh, you know, is, is the cell
21:19is tiny, the, the, the constant threat from gods, from other thing, uh, it does require,
21:27it's like that fight or flight.
21:29It does like, are you going to hero or are you going to be a victim and cower and, and hide
21:34in a corner and just try to survive?
21:37Um, uh, so that sort of like pressure cooker kind of spaces, uh, kind of space was, was
21:44always interesting for me.
21:45And then to think about our history and Mandela and, uh, all the tumble and, uh, everyone
21:51who, who, who, who went through those struggles to go like, maybe it's no surprise that they
21:56came out, the men that they were, because, um, it's make or break.
22:02Yeah.
22:02And I, and I think that is also about your motivation for your character to get the guys
22:07off the island.
22:08Not only that Tariq was, was running a mock in Cape Town, but also that you didn't want
22:15to, you know, to survive prison, you can imagine what you have to go through, right?
22:18And how much you have to change the person to survive that, that female or male prison
22:22either way.
22:23So your thing was, your character was like, I don't want to, I don't want to have to
22:26survive this thing.
22:27I want to get off this island.
22:28I want to get back when I say the girls, but I don't want to have to go through this
22:32and be that person that survived, you know, 10 years in prison.
22:38So, yeah, absolutely.
22:40John, but as just, as you're speaking though, on the other hand, I'm going, it was also
22:44nice to, that we, that I, that one of the things that I really enjoy that we explored
22:48within this is, is to also see the humanity within those spaces, you know, like I know
22:54the, I know the, I know the, the warden is, is, is weird and quirky and, but there's something
23:00also really beautiful about seeing, seeing his humanity and seeing the choirs and seeing
23:05the different lives that, that, because these are still people in these places.
23:13It's, it's, it was, that was lovely.
23:17I know, you'll love this scene.
23:19It's crazy that you guys haven't seen the film.
23:21So, we were just talking about that just now, but there's this great scene with you and the
23:27warden.
23:28Thomas will know, there's this like really, it's like really, like you're talking about
23:31the humanity and about like what the warden goes through and his wants and his needs versus
23:36you.
23:36And it's really cool.
23:39But yeah, it's, it's really, really interesting.
23:42The comments we made about prison, I think are quite cool.
23:46Are very interesting.
23:47Sham, I'm sorry.
23:47I know you haven't watched the film.
23:49So, I don't know if you want to watch the film.
23:50Do you want to watch it on video?
23:50We're going to get to see the film, John.
23:54It's great.
23:55I can definitely tell you it's great.
23:58Thanks, Thomas.
23:59We can do a Zoom screening.
24:00It's fine.
24:00I can tell them, don't tell them about all the black and white stuff from it and all
24:04the German language and the black and white stuff.
24:07Sure.
24:08But you know what?
24:08I would rather see it at the cinema.
24:10I don't want to see a screener.
24:12So, I'll wait.
24:14It's going to be like a month.
24:16I think we're going to try and do the premieres in Cape Town, Joburg, towards the end of September.
24:22So, it's like, I would wait if you could on the big screen.
24:24I mean, the anamorphic lenses.
24:26Sorry, Thomas.
24:27I'm going to be taking this away from it.
24:28But if the film is so beautifully shot with the anamorphic lenses, when Matteo insisted
24:34on this, that it really does deserve for you guys to please watch it on the big screen.
24:39You just won't believe how that looks.
24:41I watched it on the big screen.
24:43I said to everyone, I said, I've had my birthday.
24:45That's been my birthday for the year now.
24:47I don't need anything.
24:49It was just so beautiful watching you guys on there.
24:53You've got to see it on the big screen.
24:54Please, if you can.
24:55Yeah.
24:56We'll wait.
24:57Awesome.
24:59Yeah.
25:00I wish we had more time because there was a lot I want to get into with the cinematography
25:03and with your work with Matteo.
25:06But to wrap it up, there's one section of the film that I want to talk about just for
25:12a few minutes.
25:12And it's the prison break that required the underwater scuba diving and shooting underwater.
25:20So just what were some of the most memorable aspects of that section of production?
25:26And how difficult was that to pull all that off?
25:30I mean, I can't speak for John being the first time working in water.
25:37But for myself, we all did our scuba certifications and put in the work.
25:46And we were all very excited about shooting underwater and just being able to do the stunts ourselves.
25:54That was a very important thing that we wanted to do.
25:56And I will say that just being underwater and being in gear and just being immersed in this environment
26:03that is alien to you, that brought out a whole different aspect.
26:08And just those days of shooting underwater was so special because it's an experience that was
26:15completely new to me and, you know, there were times that it was really tough.
26:21But man, oh man, it was cool.
26:24It was just so, so cool.
26:26Trying to communicate underwater when you can't speak and just everything around it.
26:31Like, you know, again, it was tough on the day.
26:34We were, Bronte and I were under the water for hours at a time with our gear, trying to get those shots.
26:41Yeah.
26:41It was just cool.
26:42It was really cool.
26:43It was really amazing.
26:45I mean, nothing can prepare you for it.
26:47I mean, we went and did the scuba course.
26:50We obviously went underwater a couple of times.
26:54But when we started rolling and like full gear, like there, it was just amazing how your instincts
27:01just have to kick in.
27:03And there was one time, I think we were under the water for maybe 45 minutes and maybe we
27:10weren't exactly sure what was going on.
27:12They were shooting and we were under the water.
27:14But like the fact that we could like speak with hand signals and understand each other,
27:18it was insane.
27:21Like, I'm just, yeah.
27:23The instructors were awesome.
27:24They were so helpful.
27:25But it was definitely, it definitely took our acting to another level.
27:29Oh my gosh.
27:30Shooting underwater.
27:31But it was, it was really epic.
27:33I'm just so proud of Shumala and I.
27:35Like what, we kicked ass.
27:37And then, I mean, Jacques, he, he had to do most of it without even gear.
27:42So, yeah.
27:44He's, he's always amazing.
27:46He was naked.
27:47My God.
27:47I felt bad for a cold, Thomas.
27:49The water is freezing cold.
27:53Oh my gosh.
27:54It was, it was insane.
27:56Definitely won't forget that experience.
27:58Yeah.
28:00I mean, Jacques can talk about his, I mean, him without a wetsuit on there, it was 13 degrees
28:05Celsius.
28:08I'd say 50, I think we said like 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
28:11I'm not cold at it, but it's, it's, it's cold without a wetsuit for a couple of hours.
28:15And I, I made this mistake of, we stick, we stuck to the schedule and in the schedule,
28:20we had the girls jumping in the water.
28:21And then, obviously we're waiting for this big moment because Jacques had to do this
28:27crazy thing without a wetsuit.
28:29It was like, we didn't have enough time to prep.
28:31We didn't have, but what actually happened is I realized that while we're waiting, well,
28:36Shamila reminded me that, you know, the girls have been in longer than the boys.
28:40Because Shamila would do that.
28:42But I realized that while we were there, that shit, the girls.
28:45You know, we've been here for four hours and the girls are only arriving here to do their
28:48one shots.
28:50Yeah, yeah.
28:50I was like, we're getting ready for, we're getting ready now for Jerome to arrive here
28:56without a sweatsuit on.
28:57And the girls have got like, they're in the water, they got their suits on, they got their
29:01stuff.
29:01They're like, we've been in the water for three hours already, John.
29:05So we had planned it so badly that they were in for ages.
29:08And then we still had to do all of Jacques's scenes in, like Jerome's scenes for the next
29:14time.
29:14So they were in the water for six hours almost.
29:15It was crazy.
29:16That's a huge respect to all of them.
29:18And Jacques over there is absolutely insane.
29:23He must tell you about it.
29:24But huge respect for him and the ladies.
29:26Just incredible respect for what they did on that day.
29:29Never moaned at all.
29:31So just beautiful actors.
29:32So cool.
29:34Jacques, you hate me.
29:35I must disagree with Bronte.
29:38Or maybe those four hours did them good because I had no instincts.
29:42There were no instincts that kicked in for me under the water.
29:45It froze.
29:46My instinct said, get out, go up, breathe.
29:51I remember seeing you just before you went in because we had, all the swimmers were in
30:00their wetsuits.
30:01All the guys, actors in their wetsuits.
30:03And then Jacques was sitting on the edge, like in those little, those underwear, that
30:08black costume.
30:09He was in and he was, and it was really cold just being outside.
30:12And then he was taking deep breaths.
30:14And it was a crazy challenge because he had to get into the water.
30:17So then he had to decompress, he had to go all the way down to the bottom of the ocean
30:21and wait at the bottom of the ocean.
30:23Then for Keisha character then to swim up and buddy breathe them up to the top.
30:27I mean, that's what I thought was an opportunity.
30:29Oh, the buddy breathing.
30:30The buddy breathing was so tough, actually.
30:33Because we thought like we had it, we had it.
30:35But every single time we did a buddy breathe for the shot, like a new challenge would arrive.
30:41Like you don't, like Thomas, your instincts when you're underwater and you can't breathe
30:45is to just breathe as much air as you can.
30:49But now you have to share it.
30:50And like, we had to come to this understanding of like, okay, I take two breaths, then you
30:55take two breaths and I take, but sometimes like Jacques needed three breaths, but you
31:00can't communicate this under the water.
31:01So he's going into that third breath and I'm going, oh my God, I'm going to die.
31:05Please give me the thing back.
31:06I'm going to die.
31:07So there's constant battle between like the fight for, not the fight for this, but like
31:11the, the, yeah, the fight for this mouthpiece to breathe and then how we kind of just needed
31:17without communication at the bottom of the ocean needed to just like communicate and
31:22just like come into sync with our bodies and our breathing so that we could do this set
31:27and the, the, the trust that happened around that.
31:29And it was just such a, not even on an acting scale, just as like human to human, it was such
31:34a special moment that we didn't realize it was so connecting.
31:37It was, yeah, it was wild.
31:39It was a wild moment.
31:45Well, it really has been.
31:48I'll go for it, John.
31:50No, it was just crazy directing.
31:52It was such a, we realized in the water that we just were not prepared enough.
31:55Like we had storyboarded, the guys had gone for lessons.
31:59We had all these plans.
32:00The three will swim past there.
32:02We're going to the island.
32:03Then all seven will swim past.
32:05And so, you know, we had, we had worked all of that, but we just hadn't taken into account
32:09the crazy nature of the sea and how difficult it is to, like, like Shamila was saying, like,
32:16how do you direct under the water?
32:17I mean, you know, you like, you start doing things like, you know, and then you, and everyone's
32:23tired and there's some up there and Joey Rustin can't decompress.
32:28He can't go down.
32:29And he's just looking around and he's just looking around and then you go, there's probably sharks
32:32and whales on the water.
32:34It's just, you know, and jocks.
32:36We're in like an area, Thomas, where like the most great white sharks live also.
32:42That's where we decided to shoot.
32:44But that wasn't even a fact.
32:45I don't think anyone ever mentioned sharks because we were just out there trying to survive.
32:49Oh my gosh.
32:55Well, it really has been a privilege to speak with all of you today and to see you all again.
32:59And I wish we had more time, but I know y'all have a lot of these lined up, but I wish I
33:04got told to you for hours on end and looking forward to sharing more conversations in the
33:09future.
33:09And just thank you all for your time again.
33:12Thank you so much.
33:13Thank you for being such a great support.
33:16Awesome.
33:17Thanks, Thomas.
33:17Thomas, I'm loving what you're doing.
33:18It's been great also following you over the last year.
33:21It's been awesome.
33:22Well done.
33:23Congratulations.
33:24Thank you, Jacques.
33:25I appreciate it.
33:26Thank you, Annie.
33:27Thanks, Thomas.
33:28We appreciate you.
33:29Thanks.
33:29Y'all have a good one.
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