- 23 hours ago
Boyega told THR that working with director Kathryn Bigelow is the best experience of his career as an actor.
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00:06My name is Chris Sauer. I'm a professor of dramatic writing here at the college.
00:13For those of my students who missed class this morning, I'm sorry, but this is worth it, I think.
00:19I have the honor of introducing the first guy that's coming out here, and I wanted to come out and
00:24say something really nice about him.
00:25Scott Feinberg is a reporter for The Hollywood Reporter, and if you don't read his column, his columns, you should.
00:33And if you don't listen to his podcast, you're missing a lot.
00:37And he's been a great friend of the college. He brings the docs to watch every year, which have been
00:42phenomenal this year.
00:43And he also does wonderful interviews with some of our special festival guests, and we're so pleased to, and I'm
00:50pleased to introduce him as a friend and as a terrific journalist.
00:54Would you please welcome Scott Feinberg from The Hollywood Reporter?
01:05Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you so much for coming out, and thank you, Chris.
01:11Today it is my great honor and privilege to welcome to Savannah, on behalf of everyone involved with the festival
01:18and the city, someone who, at just 25, has already established himself as one of the greatest actors of his
01:27generation.
01:27I encourage you. There's a few movies that I think we've all seen. There's others that are worth taking the
01:35time to seek out.
01:37Just to mention a couple of things, he made his name in this business right off the bat in a
01:43movie in 2011.
01:44He played Moses, a resident of a South London housing project that's targeted by aliens, in Attack the Block, which
01:51is fantastic.
01:55Among the people who were blown away by his work in that was J.J. Abrams, who, not long thereafter,
02:02of course, cast him as Finn, a leading stormtrooper who becomes disillusioned and deserts to join the resistance in 2015
02:12Star Wars The Force Awakens, which received rapturous reviews and went on to become only the third highest grossing movie
02:19of all time.
02:21So you might have seen that. You might have heard of it.
02:27Now in his first major role since then and last before another little movie comes out, we are seeing some
02:37of the best work he's done yet and something that I know he's particularly proud of, which is why he's
02:41come across the ocean to join us here in Savannah.
02:44So, ladies and gentlemen, I hope the force is with us, but I know that a very special guest is
02:50with us.
02:51Please join me in welcoming the great John Boyega.
02:59Good to see you, man.
03:00That was a good bloody freaking intro.
03:02Hi, everyone.
03:03You're all right.
03:04Now, sit down.
03:05Cool.
03:06Cool.
03:06Cool, man.
03:10You lot relax, man.
03:11Just chill.
03:14As you can see, they're a little excited to see you and have you here.
03:18I'm surprised you're enthusiastic after that.
03:21I want to begin by reading you a few things that you've said about this movie, Detroit, that everyone's just
03:26seen.
03:27Quote, this movie is far beyond anything I've ever done.
03:30Close quote.
03:31Quote, this was huge to me.
03:32To me, this is the biggest thing I've ever done so far.
03:35Close quote.
03:36And, quote, it's the biggest movie of my career so far.
03:39Close quote.
03:40So, to begin with, how did you wind up working with Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman ever to win the
03:45Best Director Oscar?
03:47And, also, what is it about the experience of making it, the resulting movie, all of that, that prompts you
03:56to say such glowing things?
03:59I think, first of all, thank you so much.
04:01I appreciate it.
04:02Thank you for having me here.
04:03I think the first thing, it was just, Kathryn has an outstanding body of work.
04:09I mean, Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker, just to name a few of the movies that she's done
04:13that have, obviously, affected the world politically and had a big impact on our social constructs.
04:19So, for me, I wanted to be a part of a movie that explores the issues of race in a
04:24very factual but also a very dramatic way.
04:28And, I just think she was the best form of collaboration.
04:31I never knew it was going to happen.
04:33I was looking for a film in a short space of time.
04:36I just wanted to pack my schedule for two years.
04:40And, Detroit was just, it was just the perfect fit.
04:43And, I ended up going to New York to meet her to audition for it.
04:48And, after the audition, I got the part, read the script, and you just knew that it was going to
04:52be something really, really big and impactful.
04:55And, as far as the main things you took away from the short time that, because it was a quick
05:01shoot, right?
05:02Yeah.
05:03I mean, just a few, yeah.
05:04It was a few weeks for me.
05:05Yeah.
05:05It was a few weeks for me.
05:06And, pretty tight budget.
05:07I mean, do you remember what it was?
05:09It was like, not, this is not Star Wars.
05:11I don't know.
05:12I mean, I don't know.
05:12Like, yeah, it was, it's not that film.
05:16But, it's, despite the budget, I think that you don't think about that on a Kathryn Bigelow set because the
05:22amazing thing she does is that,
05:23as an actor, you, you, she kind of removes camera consciousness from you.
05:28So, you don't know where the camera is at any given time.
05:31She was hiding cameras in walls and had the cinematographers in the most uncomfortable positions trying to get these shots.
05:38And, we would just live and breathe and walk as these characters.
05:42In fact, she had three blocks of the street dressed and with, you know, cars from that era.
05:48So, you really felt like you were there and they would just drive in a loop.
05:51So, you felt like you were in Detroit at that time.
05:54And, you know, something like that, it just removes the element of budget consciousness or any of that, you know.
05:59I think, unfortunately, most Americans don't know much, if at all, about the 1967 Detroit riot, let alone, you know,
06:07certainly the Alger Motel situation.
06:11So, I wonder, in, in England, I can't imagine it's something that's that widely known either.
06:17And, and so for you, what was your, you know, had you heard about it before becoming involved with this
06:21film?
06:22What was your education about it?
06:23I, I knew about the Detroit riots in general, but I, but I didn't know about this, this specific event
06:28at the LJS Motel.
06:29I had, I had no idea.
06:31So, but it was, most of us on the cast just, you know, we didn't know.
06:34We felt a bit like, why?
06:35Even though it's highly documented, obviously, it's seriously controversial and, and, and was one of the, the biggest, you know,
06:42revolutions of, of United States history.
06:44And, and I think that, you know, something that we, we kind of had to catch up on in terms
06:48of the research and the facts and to, to know what happened.
06:51Um, you're playing a real man who lived and lives, Melvin Dismukes.
06:56Uh, in terms of preparation beyond the script, were you able to spend any time with him, pick his brain,
07:02find out what it was like for him to go through all this?
07:05Yeah, when I, when I returned from New York to London, um, I mean, I think I was, I was
07:09driving in my, I was driving and, um, Catherine called me and she said, Melvin's on the phone.
07:14So I just pulled up, you know, the person behind me, sorry, mate.
07:18Um, and then I, and then I picked up the phone and, and just spoke to him and, uh, we,
07:22we kind of just got to know each other first.
07:24I didn't want to just ask him, okay, cool, who got killed first?
07:27Like I wanted to just be a bit, a bit sensitive.
07:30Um, and, and I just decided to get to know him as a person first, just get to know his
07:34experiences, his childhood.
07:36Um, he's a big community man.
07:37He's an introvert.
07:39That was one of the first things for me.
07:40Um, just hearing the way in which he's the, the tone of his voice as well.
07:44I knew that I would need to use a different register on my voice, especially for the accent and the
07:48accent is so specific.
07:50Um, and so it was those little notes that I got from, from, from speaking to him and I always
07:55had access to him.
07:56He was like, dude, I know how this acting thing goes.
07:59However much you want me on set.
08:00I'll be there.
08:01If you don't want me there, I won't be there.
08:02So he was really flexible.
08:04I didn't have him there because you know, it's, it's a sensitive, uh, subject, but yeah, we, he, I really
08:10learned a lot from him for this.
08:11And I, I previously interviewed you about this stuff and you mentioned something that just blew my mind, which was
08:16that he's been given certainly since the release of the movie.
08:19But I think even before there have been people that have been giving him a hard time about you should
08:24have done this.
08:25So why didn't you do this?
08:26How did you handle it?
08:27Um, how did, how was that explained to you?
08:30And, and what do you make of that?
08:32Yeah, it was, it was, it was funny because when we, when we were doing the publicity for this, I
08:37didn't expect to get that question a lot of times.
08:39And as we, as we went through the promotion, a lot of people were asking, Oh, well, why didn't he
08:43do this? And why didn't he do that?
08:44And I just think that is just the effect of too many Marvel films. Like we're just, we're just watching
08:49too many superhero films and we're, and we're forgetting about the reality of, of, of your existence.
08:54And for me, like, uh, before race, before any of those things, you're a human being. And the first thing
08:59you're going to go into is survival mode as a mammal.
09:01And that's what's going to happen. Um, and so I think I understood it more from, from that perspective, rather
09:07than him getting the shotgun, putting it to the guy's head and wanting to be Liam Neeson.
09:11That's not really what the deal was. Um, so the movie, I think in, in a, in the best sense,
09:18um, you know, and I think that it's going for feels like a pressure cooker and builds and builds.
09:24And obviously, you know, then what happens happens. But I wonder with that being the story that you guys were
09:30telling, what was the mood on the set?
09:33Like, could you actually just turn it off and like go play cards and drink or, or was it just
09:37a sort of quiet set?
09:39Yeah. I mean, most times it was, it was very quiet and we concentrate, especially the scenes that we filmed
09:45at the motel.
09:46Um, cause we filmed all of that in order as well. And it was, it was about two to three
09:50weeks in that, in that corridor. It was a long time.
09:53But you're saying you filmed it in sequence cause that's an unusual, unusual process, but because of the, you know,
10:00the, just the emotion and the way which it was, especially will, you know, will Poulter, who's amazing in this
10:06film, who has to play an idiot.
10:09Um, you know, was, was, was, was put under stress a lot. And, and we would always check up on
10:13him because, you know, he's such a nice guy.
10:16It's hard to believe, but he's, he's actually such a nice guy.
10:19A fellow Brit, right?
10:20Yeah, yeah. A fellow Brit. He's a cool dude.
10:22We contracted out our, our bad guys, uh, in this case. Um, so I want to ask you about the,
10:29one of the most powerful scenes that you have to play, which is when all of a sudden the tables
10:34are turned on Melvin and he finds himself being interrogated for this.
10:37I understand that it was not, uh, you were asked to do that a lot sooner than you anticipated having
10:44to perform that scene, which is one that you would probably want to take some time to, uh, get your,
10:49get yourself ready for.
10:50That scene was my, my first week of filming. Um, and I.
10:55And it was originally supposed to be.
10:57You know what happened? It's so annoying. Like, I have to tell you guys this, like, do you understand? I
11:01came onto set and, and obviously I knew that hearing about Catherine Bigelow's representation, like her reputation, she does not
11:08play when it comes to preparation on set.
11:11So I obviously learnt all my scenes, which is great, but I didn't expect emotionally. I just hadn't been through
11:16the earlier scenes of, of Desmuk's life to kind of get me warmed up to that.
11:19And it actually happened because there was a technical difficulty in one of the, the, the rooms and we're supposed
11:25to see, uh, film a completely different scene.
11:27And what ended up happening was that this, this AC, this bloody AC in the wall was, was making noise
11:33so the sound guys couldn't use the room.
11:34So Catherine was just like, the only room we can use is this room and the only film we can,
11:39the only scene we can shoot right now is the interrogation scene.
11:42Do you want to, do you want to do it? And I'm kind of like, yeah, all right.
11:46And then when we got into the room though, it was, there was something about the way she set up
11:50the scenario. She, she made sure that there, there, there was a minimal people in the room.
11:54The camera was set just at the corner. Um, cinematographer was just doing his thing quietly in the corner. I
12:00didn't even notice he was there.
12:01Um, I was actually kept waiting as if I was in a real interview. So I was waiting there for,
12:06for a while.
12:07And I started to notice things like the handcuffs on the, on the, on the bar and the bloodstains on
12:12the wall.
12:12And then that in itself as an actor, obviously it, it caused the response.
12:16And it was amazing what happened because with the other detectives that came in that the images and the stuff
12:21that started to come into my mind when the tables turned on Desmux was the image of Trayvon Martin,
12:26the image of Sandra Bland and all those people and who, who, who died, um, under, uh, the cause of
12:32injustice.
12:33And for me that just, it naturally made the scene what it was.
12:37It helped you to bring out some emotion.
12:38Yeah. Yeah. Just made it what it was. And at the end of the day, I was just like, Catherine,
12:41I don't know how you did it, but you're a bloody good director. Really good.
12:45There, there's been a lot of think pieces written about this movie and about the making of the movie and
12:51every aspect of it, because I think it makes people uncomfortable, which is great if that's what, what a movie
12:57does.
12:57I think, um, some, I want to ask you about one topic that seems to have come up a few
13:02times because I, I wonder what your take is.
13:05There are critics who are black and white who have suggested that the screenwriter, Mark Bull and Catherine as, as
13:13white people maybe shouldn't have told this story because in some ways, how can they be the, how can they
13:20understand it as, as well as a person of color who can kind of, uh, tap into it a little
13:26differently.
13:29Um, what would you say to those people? Because I've, I've seen passionate arguments on both sides of that.
13:35Yeah. I mean, I, I, I saw, I saw that too. And, um, for, for me, I understand it. It's,
13:40it's totally understandable. It's an understandable point to have.
13:43And, um, I think that a lot of the times when I experienced people expressing that opinion, it was quite
13:47respectful. Um, and, and everybody's entitled to that.
13:50Um, but at the same time, I feel like Catherine was in a position in which she, she didn't have
13:54to choose this film. Um, she didn't have to choose this story. And, uh, according to her, it was not
13:59only a creative choice, but a moral choice, a responsibility with her given platform, uh, being the only one in
14:06that realm, in that category to do that, that it would be impactful.
14:10Um, and in watching the film, um, I don't feel like she exploited the story in any way. Um, and,
14:17you know, just in terms of the way she was on set, she asked more questions than she made demands.
14:22She was, she was respectful and had the right team around her because I can't lie. I was thinking the
14:27same thing slightly because I was like, she better have some black folk around her when she, on her damn
14:32stage.
14:34But she, she, uh, she had the right people around her that were advising her and giving her Intel and
14:39facts. And she was always open to listen. And I feel like if you are put in that position to
14:44do so, then you should, you should do so. And she'd done a fantastic job. So.
14:48Yeah. Who do you hope is, I mean, this movie has been rolling out for a while now already. So,
14:55uh, I mean, I guess in some ways this question has been answered, but I mean, who, who did you
14:58hope would go and see it?
15:00Who do you hope will still go and see it? And, and what would you, you know, if you could
15:04snap your fingers and have them actually take away something specific from it, what would that be?
15:09I think everybody should go and see it. And I know it's a cliche answer, but I think it's very,
15:13very important. I think we're, we're all being affected right now. We all had a few years ago, we all
15:19had our personal bubble.
15:20We had our families, our friends and an understanding of our perspective of our system. And now since, you know,
15:26there's been political change, there's been so much controversy and what's happening with our industries.
15:29In our, in our, in our world, we're all affected by it. And it kind of is our mess to
15:34clean up. We all have a role to play and no matter how small, no matter how big.
15:38So I feel like that motivation to, to brainstorm and think as into how your life affects this situation. Um,
15:46and this social issue is something that I want people to take away from it.
15:49Um, and also at the same time, it's, um, it's a story that's, that's necessary, especially for young people, because
15:55everyone, anyone that's in their early twenties going through to their thirties, we are the next, you know, the next
15:59generation.
16:00And it's important for us to understand that in order to cure something, you kind of need to know what
16:05the root is. And, and this film helps in, in, in, in brainstorming that conversation.
16:09You said another interview quote, all the films I've done have had a secret commentary on stereotypical mentalities close quote.
16:18So is that purely coincidental that those are the projects that you've done, or do you think that you gravitate
16:24towards that material?
16:26Everything I've done, I've, I've, I've, I've chosen. I've, I've never, um, you know, growing up, I, I, I just,
16:33myself and my manager of Femi, we always decided that we would, we would try as much as possible to
16:38make my, my work a body of work.
16:41So that it all kind of made sense for the time, for the year. Um, Star Wars for me was
16:47specific to, to, to, to something that I, I, I, I kind of understood and felt that the need to
16:53be different and, and to take a stand in being.
16:55And to be okay with being different, even though everybody looks exactly the same, something that was symbolic to me
17:01was Finn taking off his, his helmet, being the first official storm trooper to do that is, is, is something
17:08that felt to me, it did felt like there was a slight element of social commentary to that.
17:12And to be honest, the best sci-fi has social commentary, the best, um, ET, and they, they all go
17:18in and touch on these subjects in a way that doesn't make it unbearable for us.
17:22And I think that's something I've always wanted to be a part of, you know, you can watch something and
17:26be entertained, but it's also important in our day to day lives to just take a little, a little something
17:30from it.
17:31And the exciting news is that as of, I think a year ago, you can now really, even more so
17:38than most actors control what you are going to do and what you're not going to do because, what is,
17:45and not only because of Star Wars, which people may be thinking is what I'm referring to, but can you
17:50explain what Upper Room Entertainment Limited is?
17:52It's my company. It's my production company. Thank you. It's my production company. Um, Upper Room, Upper Room, um, was,
18:03was, was like birthed from my, my childhood. A lot of the, like, when I was auditioning for Star Wars,
18:09I was still at home with my parents.
18:10Um, and so I was, and I didn't tell them about it. And so it, it, it, it was a
18:15room to me that just, it's, there was something significant about it.
18:18I felt like, um, Harry Potter in, in the dungeon, you know, when he's under the stairs, I felt like
18:23that for a while, you know, studying and trying to get this acting thing to work.
18:27So Upper Room was birthed from the, the, the struggle of, of, of, of, of trying to, to get my
18:31foot into the industry and, uh, Pacific Rim Uprising is our first, is our first project. Um, a subtle way
18:38to start, but, um, a good way nonetheless. And I'm really, really excited about what we're about to do next.
18:44Because you can basically, what this means, if a lot of these folks here are in the business or want
18:50to be in the business, but for anyone who isn't, having your own production company essentially means you're going to
18:54pick your scripts.
18:54Yeah, you, you, you get, you get creative control. I mean, most actors, uh, unfortunately will have to wait for
19:01the phone to ring. Um, but for me, I just, I, I feel that there's much more of a, a
19:05time now to be proactive. Um, uh, and, and Upper Room is, is that significant. And I, and I wanted
19:10to come on board as a producer, uh, for Pacific Rim, um, because I love the franchise. Um, I love
19:16Idris Elba and it was a great way of continuing that, that, that, that, that legacy and, and legendary and
19:21universal. They've been great collaborators. It's been really cool. Really cool.
19:24Today is November 2nd, on December 15th, which is 43 days from now. Not that anyone is counting.
19:31You have another little movie coming out and I can't let you go without asking you, is there anything, you
19:37know, just between us in this room that, uh, you want to tell us about Star Wars, The Last Jedi?
19:46I don't know if J.J. Abrams is, no, I, I'm, I'm super excited about that film, but I, I've
19:54been so fixed on, on, on Detroit and we're still doing work on Pacific Rim that I forgot about Star
20:00Wars.
20:01Like I really did. I'm so sorry. I forgot about it because I've just been on the go. Like I've,
20:06I've been moving from country to country.
20:07How long ago did you shoot it?
20:09Uh, uh, I shot it in, uh, like a year and a bit ago.
20:12So you got to keep some secrets.
20:14Yeah, a, a, a lot of secrets. Um, but yeah, now, now it's coming back and I can't, I can't
20:19believe it. It was the other day. It was the first film.
20:21Yeah.
20:21And we were all just like, our lives are about to change. And me and Daisy were like, oh crap,
20:25they're going to hate us.
20:27But it's, it's good to know that we're, we're coming back out and the story is better. It, it, it,
20:32it's, it's darker.
20:33Rian Johnson is just like, you just know when, when a director is, is, is, is making, uh, new risks.
20:40When you see Lucasfilm officials sometime having that drip on the side of their head, like, that's not in the
20:46universe, but okay.
20:50I love it. It's fantastic. I can't wait. You guys are going to love it.
20:56Just only one, I promise, follow up about that. I have to ask, I believe that, I don't know if
21:00it was through the first or the second of the films, but I believe you got to be pretty close
21:05with Carrie Fisher.
21:06And this is going to be obviously the first Star Wars that we'll see without her.
21:10And so I just wonder any special, particularly special, uh, memories of her working on this movie that you can
21:19share with us.
21:19I have to go through the files. It's Carrie Fisher. Um, and, and, and, I mean, the great thing about,
21:24about this movie is that it's kind of split into two, you know, Rey is doing her Jedi stuff.
21:30And the resistance is, is, is on its last legs and, and, and, and general Leia, she's, she is the
21:36only hope.
21:37And, and, and for me, I just think it's, it's historical, it's heroic. Um, there's some shocking moments as it
21:43pertains to her specifically that, that just makes it a powerful way of just closing the curtains.
21:49And I think a, a well-deserved career, but I remember on Star Wars eight, um, I was anyway, Disney,
21:55not whatever.
21:55I was supposed to be, um, I was supposed to be on a diet for the, for the whole thing.
22:02And, um, I was really hungry. Um, and I wanted a Kit Kat specifically.
22:07You know, when that happens, you just want one thing.
22:09Oh, you know, it's that one thing where it's just like that little nibble.
22:12And I go, oh yeah. And I was like to Carrie, I go, um, yeah, I'm supposed to be on
22:16a diet, but, um, I, I, I, I want a Kit Kat.
22:19She goes, go to Billy. Billy's in my trailer. Have fun and enjoy it.
22:24I was like, Carrie, I'm supposed to be all professional.
22:26She was like, you do you, John. You do you.
22:29Oh, I went in her trailer and I ravaged that, that whole fridge.
22:32It was ridiculous. Came out with crumbs.
22:35Just, Ryan, what's next?
22:39She's fantastic though.
22:40Well, we are, uh, so thrilled that you came and hope that you get to see the city.
22:44And thank you on behalf of everybody for making the time.
22:46Really appreciate it.
22:47Thank you, man. Much appreciated. Thank you.
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