Excerpt from Scott Speedman's full interview.
Kristen Stewart said at the Cannes press conference for the film that the cast would get together after shooting and try to make sense of the film together. What did you all unlock together through that process?
We did do that, but also, we’re coming down from the day, having fun, going out for dinners. Trying to get away from work more than anything. I think she talked about how she didn’t know what she was doing, but I think she did. She knows what she’s doing, man.
Excerpt from the full interview.
You mentioned the humor, and the macabre comedy in the film is fantastic. Is that evident on David Cronenberg’s screenplay page, or is it something you find on set?
Mortensen: I mean, some lines in the script are funny. I laughed when I was reading some of it, and then some of it has to do with the way things are expressed. For example, I’m reading on the page the character of Timlin or Wippet, but then when we’re doing our first scene, the way that Kristen [Stewart] plays Timlin — her voice, her body, the look in her eye — it was unexpected, perfect, and it was funny at times. And Wippet talks a lot, he’s got all these ideas, and he’s nervous, but a lot of that came from the performance that Don McKellar came up with. When I read it, there were some moments with a sort of a dry humor. But then there were many more in the doing because of what other performers brought or what David inspired. He’s very careful, always, about his casting. He got together a really good group of very diverse actors with very different approaches and backgrounds. He’s got a gift to make each person feel comfortable. He adapts to what they seem to need because he’s just trying to get good performances out of each of them and have them be relaxed. It’s a very particular skill. Not that many directors have that gift.
Speaking of the ensemble, Kristen Stewart has said the cast would get together and talk about the script, trying to figure it out. Was there anything that you all discovered in that collaboration?
Mortensen: You and I were kind of a little bit off on our own a lot. But sometimes, you guys talked. I don’t remember discussing what the movie was about a lot.
Seydoux: No, not really; we didn’t talk about it a lot.
Mortensen: Maybe some of the ideas.
Seydoux: Sometimes we were like, “Oh, yeah, I thought this and that.”
Mortensen: Or, “It was interesting that that happened. Maybe it means something else for the next scene.”
Seydoux: Kristen, when we were in Cannes, said, “It’s funny because now the movie feels very clear and easy to understand.”
Mortensen: Yeah.
Seydoux: She said, “I thought it was much more complex.”
Mortensen: Obscure.
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