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Pattinson shared how he came to know the Safdie brothers and why he chose to work with the directors.
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00:00Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Scott Feinberg with The Hollywood Reporter, and so glad you could be with us today because
00:07it is my great honor and privilege to introduce a man who, at just 31, has already proven himself among
00:15the finest actors of his generation.
00:17He has packed a ton into the last decade. We all know that he played a brooding vampire, Edward Cullen,
00:25in five phenomenally popular Twilight movies, which turned him into an international star, and in addition to that series, he
00:33has been hired by and done acclaimed work for just about, you know, he's making his way through all the
00:38great directors out there right now.
00:40We've got David Cronenberg twice, Werner Herzog, James Gray, Anton Corbin, David Michaud, and now in what I and a
00:47lot of other people think is his best work yet, what you've just seen, the Softie brothers in Good Time.
00:52So, at this rate, it seems there's nothing that he can't do, and it's extremely exciting to see what he's
00:57going to do over the coming decade and decades.
01:00We do know for sure, though, what he's doing today, and that is joining us here at SCAD for the
01:05Savannah Film Festival, and so I hope you'll join me in welcoming Robert Pattinson.
01:27Wow. Thank you.
01:31And they were doing that before you came out at the end of the movie, so we know they really
01:34love this movie.
01:35I like the screams for Werner Herzog as well.
01:39Some really enthusiastic Werner Herzog.
01:41He's got a big cult down here.
01:43Well, thank you for coming.
01:45I know it's a big trip, and I guess I want to just sort of set the scene for this
01:50movie in the broader context of your career.
01:53You know, the world got to know you through the Twilight movies, but even during, in between those, you, when
02:00you could have been at home laying on the couch, you know, having a beer, you worked during those hiatuses,
02:06or is that the proper plural?
02:08I don't know.
02:09They were in those hiatuses.
02:10They were in those hiatuses, and I just wonder, first of all, what that was about.
02:14Were you kind of thinking long-term as far back as that?
02:20Yeah, yeah.
02:22I mean, I was kind of, yeah, I think when something becomes, the first Twilight became so big, and it
02:30suddenly, like, your control of your life suddenly feels wrenched away from you.
02:34I think the easiest way to feel like you're controlling it again is just to keep working all the time.
02:40So, yeah, I, yeah, I think there's a period of, like, five years where I just didn't stop, really.
02:45And, you know, we can touch upon some of those, but I think we should also mention just that, to
02:50remind people, because we all know what Twilight became, but the first movie was, as far as you knew when
02:56you started to do it, and the first one was an indie feel, indie budget, indie director, Catherine Hardwick.
03:04Like, it's not like you had suddenly decided, I'm going to go make a massive franchise when you sign up
03:09for the first, right?
03:10Yeah, no, not at all.
03:11Like, it was, yeah, it was time.
03:13No one ever believes me when I say that now.
03:16But, like, I couldn't even get the books at Barnes & Noble when I did the first one.
03:22You had to order them off Amazon.
03:23It was that early.
03:23Yeah, yeah.
03:24Wow.
03:25So, post-Twilight, I mentioned some of these filmmakers that you worked with, and it's incredible, and I just want
03:30to list the films now as well.
03:32Cronenberg with Cosmopolis and Maps of the Stars both went to Cannes, Michaud, The Rover, Herzog, Queen of the Desert,
03:40Corbin Life, and James Gray, Lost City of Z, and now this one, of course, with The Softies.
03:45Is there anything that all of these share in common?
03:48Is there something that you specifically were seeking that led you to all of these ones?
03:58I mean, character-wise, not really.
03:59But, I mean, I think in terms of directors who have a very singular approach, they have a very strict
04:05identity.
04:07I think you work with someone who you know that if they put their name on something, it's going to
04:14be their movie afterwards, and I was trying to find that, I think.
04:18Real, every one of these actors, as they say.
04:22I want to also ask you, you know, if you, I guess with the Softie brothers, these are guys that
04:29have primarily worked with, like, micro-budgets on their movies, typically not with people who have been actors professionally before.
04:38Or how did, how familiar with their work were you, and how did you guys end up teaming up?
04:44I mean, I wasn't familiar with them at all, embarrassingly.
04:50But I'd seen this still, and I've told the story a million times, but, like, I saw a still on
04:57IndieWide website, and there was just something about it I just really loved.
05:06From one of their earlier movies?
05:07Yeah, from Heaven Knows What, and then I kind of committed to this on the strength of, like, nothing.
05:13Like, I mean, I kind of, there was no script for this, there was nothing, and I really liked them
05:18in the meeting, but I hadn't seen anything, really.
05:21They're just charming guys.
05:22Yeah, they are.
05:23They're just so good looking.
05:27Double dose of them.
05:29So, they, I guess this script and character, Connie, they, there's, it doesn't feel like anything we've seen you do
05:38before, and I wonder if you can kind of pinpoint what some of the specific, you know, new territory for
05:45you was as an actor with this one.
05:47And did you, what were the things you were most excited to bite into with this guy as the script
05:51sort of eventually did come together?
05:56I mean, I like things where the moral compass of a character is not, it's quite vague.
06:01I think, you know, it's, I think the interesting part for me of this movie is that you don't, I
06:07mean, if you add up some of his actions, he's ostensibly a bad person.
06:13There's something about it that, like, you can't, like, entirely put him into a box that he's a bad person.
06:20And that's always fun.
06:22It kind of, it frees you up to do quite a lot of different things in the, in the performance.
06:27But, yeah, I mean, I think that sort of dynamic, like, New York energy, I think all the movies which
06:34I grew up watching and kind of being influenced by were all that kind of, sort of, like, like, hustlers
06:44and stuff.
06:45I'd, sort of, like, the opposite of being an English person, basically.
06:52Now, what was your reaction, I guess, how early on did you find out and what was your reaction to
06:57finding out that one of these co-directors, Benny, was not only going to be directing you, but was also
07:03going to be playing your mentally challenged brother?
07:05I, I mean, it turned out great.
07:08It could have gone very wrong.
07:10I mean, he, he auditioned for it.
07:13Um, and a lot of people auditioned for it.
07:16Uh, and when they sent me Benny's audition tape, I mean, it's kind of unfair, because Benny can literally improvise
07:26as that character for an entire day.
07:29And so, like, no one can really, no one can, no one can compete with it at all.
07:33Um, so, yeah, I was kind of, I watched his audition tape and it was 40 minutes of him in
07:39character.
07:39And, like, I, I mean, it's just, it was insane.
07:42I mean, I was more nervous about him kind of out-acting me after.
07:48Now, logistically, how does this work?
07:50Like, you, end of a scene, does he just break character and say cut?
07:54Or how does this work?
07:55Yeah, not really.
07:56I mean, it's kind of, that was, there were scenes when he has all the bandages on his face after
08:00the hospital.
08:01I mean, he's literally kind of, would break character like 25% and then kind of, so he'd still sort
08:06of have his voice and stuff.
08:08And then kind of directs me when he's in a scene with me.
08:12But also our character dynamics as well.
08:14I mean, I was literally, whenever he said something, you're kind of just like, shut up.
08:19I would have to, I would have to get him to say it to Josh and then say it to
08:22me afterwards.
08:23Which, yeah, it was interesting.
08:25I mean, yeah, I was wondering, have you ever had anything like that?
08:27I don't think too many actors have where you're.
08:29I actually did it, the movie I did immediately afterwards.
08:33I did it with two directors with his, with his illness.
08:35They were both in the movie.
08:38Yeah, so I did it, another, another sibling double act.
08:42So, talk about, was there one scene or moment in this movie that challenged you the most?
08:49Was there something where you felt, maybe even when you looked at the call sheet, you're like,
08:54oh, geez, I'm not looking forward to this day.
08:56And then it turned out okay.
08:57I want to just kind of ask you that.
08:59Um, I mean, it was all so kind of, like, it was very, like, seat of your pants kind of
09:11thing.
09:11So, you could never really fully prepare for stuff.
09:13I remember the last, the last scene with me and Buddy Ray having an argument.
09:20Um, that was kind of crazy, because, I mean, the dynamic of the scene is totally different
09:28from what it was, it was supposed to be me just, like, completely laying into Buddy and
09:33just humiliating him.
09:35And, um, Buddy the day before was just like, I'm just not having a scene when, when you're
09:40gonna, you're just gonna humiliate me.
09:43So, and I remember, like, turning up to set and I could just see him sitting in the set,
09:48like, ready, like, and he was literally, and I was like, and he'd planned out all these
09:53comebacks and, like, um, and we were kind of improvising a lot of that scene at the end.
09:57And so, uh, but it ended up being kind of interesting because it's sort of, it's, it's Connie basically
10:05looking in the mirror and accusing, accusing another person of being a disgrace when he's
10:10just describing himself.
10:12Um, and, uh, but yeah, that, I think that was, that was one of the more nerve-wracking scenes,
10:17but it was really fun.
10:18How do you like improvising?
10:19Is that something that has been a part of most of the movies you've worked on or not
10:22so much?
10:23Um, I don't really like it.
10:26I mean, I like, I really like good writing and I think, you know, you'd think if, if you
10:32can just improvise a movie, then, like, it's completely negates the writing.
10:36I mean, it's, I spend my entire life trying to look for good scripts.
10:39Like, I kind of want someone to write it well.
10:41But, uh, I think in, in that scene, especially, if I, if I, if I hype myself up enough so
10:48I
10:49don't, I'm not self-conscious at all and don't understand really what's going on, sometimes
10:53you get a few good pieces out of it.
10:55But, um, yeah, I think it devolves into just swearing at each other too easily.
11:01Like, everyone's just doing Reservoir Talks impressions.
11:05Yeah, right.
11:07Well, one thing that I remembered, uh, hearing you say was that you and, I, I guess Benny
11:13had, uh, did some interesting character development before any of the cameras ever rolled in that.
11:19But in, in not the normal, like, let's just talk about our, our characters and their history
11:24kind of way, but actually via email?
11:27Um, yeah, we were writing, like, um, letters from Connie in, in prison, um, and we did that
11:34for a while.
11:35That's when I was shooting Lost 3 B of Z.
11:36Um, but, uh, that went on for a while and then we did stuff kind of in character, like
11:45just going out into the world, trying to kind of just see how people reacted to the, the sibling
11:52dynamic between us, um, which is kind of interesting too.
11:55I suspect not a lot of people would have recognized you with this, uh, flop sweat and all the other
12:01things this guy's got.
12:02So, we, um, well, one thing actually where I believe there was on-camera interaction with
12:08just un, un, uh, aware members of the public was the mall sequence, right?
12:15Yeah.
12:15How did that work?
12:17Uh, I mean, there was a lot of stuff, it was interesting because the, when we were doing
12:21the police chase, it was funny because, uh, we had, no one knew we were shooting a movie,
12:29but people were dressed up as cops, like, around chasing after us, but the general public kept
12:34trying to get in the way of the cops and were like, like, trying to tripping them up and
12:38stuff, like, getting that out of the way, but, but then, like, the ironic thing as well was
12:42that Josh had hired real cops, so they were actually real cops, and they were, like, trying,
12:48they were thinking about actually arresting the people.
12:50Oh, my God.
12:50So, it became, like, an actual, an actual, uh, crime scene as we were shooting it.
12:55Which, it's nice to know they wanted you to get away.
12:58Let's see.
12:58They had your back.
12:59Exactly.
12:59Um, so the movie premiered at Cannes in May, uh, was phenomenally received there and, um,
13:09and has continued to be as it's rolled out more and more, and I just wonder what it's
13:13been like for you to get this type of, uh, reception, particularly your performance, um,
13:20in some cases from people who may have given you a hard time in the past, it might make it
13:24extra sweet.
13:25I don't know.
13:25But, I mean, really, what this is, you've got to be feeling pretty good.
13:28This is the best, uh, I would, I would think, as, as well received as anything you've done.
13:34Yeah, no, it's great.
13:34I mean, it's kind of, uh, I think it's really nice to know that it, it was such a kind
13:42of
13:42a punt, I don't know how you describe it, like a punt from, like, having no script at
13:47the beginning, and I just, I just really knew it was going to be something.
13:51Um, I meant to see Josh and Benny, like, kind of go into, like, the stratosphere, directing
13:57things for everybody now.
13:59Um, and, uh, I don't know, it's great.
14:02It's, it's also, it's just kind of nice, as well, when people, it's, it's just, I mean,
14:08in a lot of ways, sort of against type, I guess.
14:10Yeah.
14:10Um, uh, yeah, it's nice for people to sort of believe, at least believe it.
14:16Yeah.
14:17Um, I guess, I wonder if we can close with a few big picture questions, just sort of your
14:22take on some things.
14:23So now that you've done this sort of territory of something that you've not previously really
14:29done before, what, what is the next thing you would most like to be given the opportunity
14:33to do that you haven't done?
14:34Um, is there some kind of a character or genre or, uh, anything like that?
14:41I don't know.
14:42I think just the longer I do it, I just realize it's just, you just pick directors.
14:45That's it.
14:46That's like, it's the, it's the only thing you have to do.
14:49Um, and just go off to, just go off to the best directors.
14:55Um, and you don't have to think about anything else.
14:57You don't even have to read the script.
15:00Well, you were saying, like, it doesn't even have to be a script.
15:03Right.
15:04And just, and you were like, I think just between us, if it doesn't make any money, that's okay
15:08also, right?
15:09But, um, one other thing though, I wondered is having made five movies, I guess, in five
15:16years that were part of a, a big franchise, would you ever do another franchise type project?
15:22Yeah, for sure.
15:23I mean, it's the same thing.
15:23It's just like, if there's a director, it's just always a director.
15:26Um, I think anyway, I mean, you know, until you've got, you know, tons of alimony to pay
15:32and stuff, then, then, then, then everything changes again.
15:36Well, we should even remind folks, I mean, there were some great directors of those films,
15:40Bill Condon and Oscar and a lot of people.
15:43So, but that's interesting.
15:45So just as long as it's a great director, no limitations on whatever else.
15:49Yeah.
15:49If it's like, you know, if suddenly Claire Denis is doing Spider-Man, I'm like, I'm 100% down.
15:56Um, yeah, that needs another reboot, I think, after three of them.
16:01Um, if you had to name one other actor working today, maybe somebody who's older, been doing
16:09it a little longer, and, and you had a gun to your head, that you have to name somebody
16:12whose career trajectory you would most like the rest of yours to resemble.
16:17It doesn't mean you're going to make the exact same choices, but the kind of career that
16:21you imagine for yourself going forward.
16:23Who, who else is, uh, kind of a model to you?
16:26Oh, I don't know.
16:28I mean, uh, it's like, yeah, I don't know.
16:32I mean, I guess, uh, I, I was talking about it earlier.
16:37I mean, I remember working with Paul Giamatti on Cosmopolis and just sit, when we had this
16:42big scene together.
16:43And I was so nervous about it because it was, it was really long scene.
16:46It was really complicated.
16:46And I was just absolutely terrified.
16:49And then when I went to set, he was, I just saw Paul just like trembling.
16:54And I was just thinking like that, I've thought about it more and more since.
16:58Like that's what, that's, I just want to feel like that when I, when I, and I don't
17:03know how much older Paul is for me, but like, but when you've just done so many movies and
17:07you still have that kind of, the level of adrenaline and that kind of the fear, um, and, and the
17:14need to prove yourself, like it's, I find it's the most satisfying thing.
17:18I mean, it drives you completely crazy on one hand.
17:20You're kind of trying to satisfy this, uh, this amorphous blob, this hole inside you that's
17:28never going to be filled by anything.
17:29Um, but like, but it's nice, but it's nice to, yeah, but there's something nice about having
17:35a hole to fill what better, what better place to, to end on that.
17:47We are excited to, uh, we will be, uh, we are very excited that you are here.
18:03And are going to be, uh, filling a hole on your mantelpiece later this evening.
18:12So, uh, congratulations.
18:13And thank you so much for coming.
18:15Thanks.
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